People outside Mindanao assume that South Cotabato is a land of war and chaos but what they do not know is the peaceful living and hidden jewels of the province. It is a province unfrequented by the tourists. South Cotabato has many wonders unknown to most and yet to be discovered. Since today's generation is usually into travelling, adventures and whatnot, this affiliates to more discoveries of unexplored beautiful places.
Located in the province of the south, the Municipality of T'boli is known for its recently famous Lake Holon/Lake Maughan. Below it is an active volcano named Mt. Parker, from the name of an American General Frank Parker who first discovered it and is locally known as Mt. Melibengoy. It is said that Melibengoy is the T'boli term for volcano while Holon is from a local legend which means "portal to heaven".
You just only have to know how to get to T'boli tourism office, afterwhich they will guide you to your ride (habal-habal) to your chosen starting point and things will follow accordingly.
We commuted all the way from Koronadal City to T'boli via a 16-seater van. We paid the usual fare of (estimatedly) P50/each and since there were 16 of us, we occupied all the seats of the van so it still felt like we rented it but much cheaper. Estimated time of travel is 45 minutes to 1 hour. Just tell the driver to drop you off at the tourism office.
Few days before the planned trip, we first made a call to the T'boli Tourism since they much prefer reservations rather than walk ins. The office made all the preparations that's why we didnt have to wait for long. Also, they were welcoming and very organized.
There are two trails to Lake Holon: Salacafe Trail is for beginners, 3-4 hours of trekking
Kule Trail is midtrail aka Hunter's trail, 4-5 hours of trekking
Our group chose the Kule trail (I am so dead). Rates (tour guides, habal-habal rates) for Kule trail is more expensive than in Salacafe, but the difference is not so significant since we were a big group.
Outside the office were the habal-habal drivers waiting. Everything in there is well monitored by the tourism office, so it everything's safe. A habal-habal can occupy 2-3 passengers, depending on how big the passengers are. The passengers just have to divide the payment among themselves.
It was raining hard, so our itinerary was not followed all through out since we had a lot of stop overs and had to wait for the rain to subside. We also had to buy garbage bags in substitute for raincoats so as not to get wet.
The drive to the Kule trekking site is different and more challenging than the Salacafe. Since our group chose the former, it was more difficult (plus the rain) so it was not comforting at all but nonetheless fun.
Although we arrived at the site around 1PM, we weren't able to trek until 2PM since it was raining. While waiting, we ate lunch by the kubo. It was my first legit-mountain trekking so it was hard for almost all of us, considering also that we chose the harder trail and I have been sedentary for a very long time.
This is the peak point where there is an overlooking of the lake. The lake is usually very very clear but sadly for us it was foggy because of the weather This is one of the advantages of Kule trail since Salacafe is not as high, there is no overlooking of the lake as good as this view.
Another advantage of the Kule trail is that you have to cross the lake in order to get to the camping site (disavantage is another payment but totally worth it). A kayak costs P50/head.
It was around 6PM when we reached the camping site. So it was getting real dark and there were no lights since there is no electricity, no signal, only 2 bathrooms (not clean due to many campers), and the only water source you have is from the lake (which is very clean).
Only the 4 of us took a dip in the lake. It was kinda scary considering the depth of the water is unknown, it was dark, it was really really cold, and there might be unknown species lurking but I really needed the dip. I needed the bath. We weren't there for long, tho.
Lake Holon is very very pretty especially at night (this photo doesn't give even the slightest justice). With its peaceful surroundings (we were the only group who was very noisy so the person in charge kept on giving us warnings until he gave us the final warning letting us know that the management wants to see us the next day, turned out he was just lying because other campers had been complaining about our noise), bright moon shining upon its clear water, it was a place you would never want to leave.
We only stayed for a night, so early in the morning we had to pack up. We started preparing at 8AM and started moving at 10AM
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| Hipster of the day (lol got no clothes anymore) |
Salacafe trail is the way back (that's how it is) so it was easier plus it was not raining so less the hassle. Although there were stairs that made it harder and more tiring. But since we're from the bottom, the stairs was leading up which made it five times harder than it's supposed to be.
There were habal-habal drivers waiting when we got to the Salacafe camping site, and we were told that it would be nice to take a side trip at (also) the recently famous Bakngeb River Cave since it would be cheaper compared to if we visit T'boli again for the sole purpose of visiting the river.
We did river rafting inside the cave and it was really fun. Although it was short, the waiting and the money was worth it. We didn't have any photos inside though.
Itinerary:
FIRST DAY
9 AM - Call time
10 AM - Otw to T'boli (45 minutes - 1hr travel time)
11 AM - Otw to Kule trail trekking site (~1hour habal-habal travel)
1 PM - Arrival at the trekking site
2 PM - Otw to Lake Holon (4-5 hours trekking time)
6:30 PM - Arrival at the camping site
SECOND DAY
7 AM - Morning start
8 AM - Packing up
10 AM - Otw to Salacafe
12 PM - Arrival at Salacafe
1 PM - Arrival at Bakngeb
2 PM - River rafting
3:30 PM - Packing up
4 PM - Departure
5 PM - Home
Budget Breakdown (estimation):
P 50 - Fare Koronadal to T'boli
P 100 - Entrance fee
P 50 - Environmental fee
P 600 (divided by 16) - Tour guides for Kule trail
P 450 (divided by 3) - Habal habal from tourism office to Kule trekking site
P 50 - Kayak fro Kule to camping site
P 200 (divided by 3) - Habal habal from Salacafe to Bakngeb
P 20 - Entrance to Bakngeb
P 100 - River rafting
P 60 - Habal habal from Bakngeb to van transport terminal
P 50 - Fare T'boli to Koronadal
*Note:
Entrance: 100.00
Environmental Fee: 50.00
Habal-Habal Rates
A.) Tourism Office to Salacafe PHP 300.00/Habalhabal 2-3 passengers
B.) Tourism Office to Kule PHP 450.00/Habalhabal 2-3 passengers
Porter: PHP. 20.00/ Kilo (One Way)
Tour guide:
A.) Salacafe Trail - PHP 300.00 Max of 10Pax
B.) Kule Trail - PHP 600.00 Max of 10Pax
T'boli Tourism Office for Reservation: 0912-473-1515 or 0912-720-4151
P.S Most of the photos are from my friends so I dont take credit for most of it. + I went there around May 2016, so rates or whatever may probably have changed without prior notice.
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