Lake Sebu Tour: My South Cotabato Travel Before Pandemic

Just before travel protocols and travel requirements happened, I consider myself lucky as I was able to have a glimpse of South Cotabato province without the face shield and the face mask!! I was able to move around Koronadal City shortly and Lake Sebu which are both parts of  South Cotabato Province of the Socksargen Region. Sounds very Mindanao and I liked it very much.

Casitas Verde Hotel – Where We Stayed

We came for a wedding so we stayed for a night at Casitas Verde in Koronadal City. From the airport to the hotel, we paid P375. We were four in the room and we paid P675 each.

Outside Casitas Verde (left side) is a kiosk tent selling grilled Filipino street food – pork barbecue, grilled chicken intestines, liver, etc. You could have a very sumptuous dinner at P60 here. We could have street food in Manila but street food is much better in Koronodal don’t know why.

A little walking and we had our dinner at a seafood restaurant. I find it very pricey though. We were 12 and we spent P500+ each for the dinner. But it’s really yummy fresh!!

And yes, we came for my Mommy Chuwee’s wedding who is very radiantly happy on that day. Congrats Mommy and Daddy! An hour away from Koronadal is General Santos City, the Tuna Capital of the Philippines!

Lake Sebu Lotus Field

One hour drive from Koronadal City is the municipality of Lake Sebu. While searching, you might get confused about the lakes of the municipality. There are three lakes in Lake Sebu — Lake Sebu which the municipality is named after, Lake Seloton the second largest but the deepest, and Lake Lahit which is the smallest.

We only got the chance to visit Lake Sebu. The van driver noted that the lotus blooms best until 9 AM. We were lucky to get a chance to borrow a Tboli canoe.

So happy to see an actual stretch of pink lotus which I only used to see as a Windows desktop background before, haha.

Lake Sebu 7 Falls and Zipline

Lake Sebu tour is famous for its seven majestic waterfall cascades. The falls are named after the T’boli dialect.

 

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1. Hikung Alu, means passage
2. Hikung Bente or Dongon, means immeasurable
3. Hikong B’Lebel, means zigzag
4. Hikong Lowig, means hiking blowing
5. Hikong K’Fo-l, wildflower
6. Hikong Ukol, means short
7. Hikong Tonok, means soil

 

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The first two falls are accessible on foot but the other five falls would need high-level trekking. What could give you a good top view of the other falls would be the Seven Falls Zipline, which is the highest in Southeast Asia. At high, you would see the seven majestic falls, rainforest, and lakes. Would definitely bring you on a high, metaphor lvl.

In riding the zipline, the bodyweight is considered and the coordinator would approve the bodyweight balance. When it comes to documenting your ride, yes you can bring your own cam at your own risk. The first shot was taken by my friend’s action cam. The last photos were taken by Seven Lake’s Photobooth which you will pay for. It is important also to note that there are two stations for this zipline, so there is a stop in between. I waited for 10 minutes or so for the next zipline ride.

Punta Isla Resort

We headed to Punta Isla Resort for our lunch. While waiting for our lunch we enjoyed picture taking.

 

 

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Thanks ever to our talented photographer, Lea Vinzon! Paka professional nya po talaga mapa manager man or photographer, super hawt nya po, SINGLE, laki sahoood!!!

 

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Extreme Water Tubing

Two hours or more drive, we went for an adventure of Extreme Water Tubing. The activity went for almost three hours.

We were so sad because we paid for the video documentation of our activity but then we checked the file but it isn’t working. So I advise that you check the file is playing before leaving the place.

After water tubing, we drove to our next destination which is Isla Jardin del Mar in Saranggani which would be featured on my next blog! 🙂

I know this blog might be superficial considering the many depths of cultural and ecotourism aspects of Lake Sebu, South Cotabato. There is so much to know more about the T’boli who have known resilience and happiness in simplicity and identity conservation. I am looking forward to a cultural immersion when the pandemic ends.