Lake Sebu: Exploring the Fog Lake
Three boats and dusk at Lake Sebu
It is one thing seeing Lake Sebu from afar, but it’s another thing exploring the actual lake itself. For Php 350 at Punta Isla Lake Resort, you could hire a motor boat good for 8-10 persons in addition to your personal tour guide and boat man. Their tour guides are native T’bolis and are accredited by the DOT (Department of Tourism), so you get loads of information as well as stunning views of the lake during the boat ride. And I can say is that I truly appreciated the lake more while cruising along its expanse.
The floating restaurant at the lake
Situated at approximately 1000m (3000feet) above sea level, the municipality of Lake Sebu is considered as the “Summer Capital of Southern Mindanao.” I can attest to this as the air here is very cool especially at nights where air conditioning is no longer needed. In fact there was a short brownout one night while we were sleeping but it didn’t matter since it was very cool anyways. Unlike its northern counterpart of Baguio, the air here is still fresh and most of the structures are still the native huts and houses. And due to this elevation, most of the time the sky can become gray and cloudy, and at times we heard the place is covered with fog with a limited visibility of a couple of feet or more.
A boatman passing by the Tilapia Farm
Even when we were there, there were some rains and drizzles, but I think we were really fortunate or the weather was on our side, because it rains during our breaks but when we were about to start our tour, the sun would come out. Like during our boat tour, it was after our lunch when the rain abated, then we took the tour. As I noticed, after the rain, colors of nature are more vibrant and the green is a lot greener. We had the pleasure of the company of 4 DPP (Digital Photographer Philippines) forum members whom we met that day at the resort. They came all the way from Davao’s Kidapawan festival and decided to do a little side trip here.
Lake Sebu is surrounded by forested mountains
Soon we found our boat pulling off from the docks. Our direction was counter clockwise of the whole lake going right passing by the floating restaurant. Soon we were passing by numerous Tilapia Farms and making rounds of the islands. Our guide, Che, began her introductions in English and pointed some facts about the whole municipality. Che is a pretty 15 years old T’Boli, fully garbed in T’boli attire of T’nalak and brass wares and is one of the younger guides there. Despite some bickering and teasing from the DPP members, she managed to handle them well and maintain her composure.
The lake has 3 islands/inlets which are inhabited
Che informed us that there are 3 lakes in the municipality of Lake Sebu, Lake Sebu being the largest measuring 354 hectares, Lake Seloton measuring 48 hectares but being the deepest and Lake Lahit with an area of 24 hectares. In Lake Sebu, there are 3 islands which are inhabited, the largest of them is called Isla Grande. Most of their livelihood is from fishing, particularly Tilapia which is very abundant here.
Scenic lake houses at the island of Isla Grande
Cruising along Lake Sebu made me appreciate the place more as I really saw how majestic it is. Imagine a large lake like this high up the mountains. Somehow I think this also a large crater similar to Taal. It’s like being in a bowl and you are surrounded by a stunning vista of mountainscapes often covered with clouds.
Children of the lake
The lake houses stands out clearly from the greenery of the islands and the reflecting lake, making them really picturesque. We saw some families living there, along with their pets as well. For tourist like us though there is a curfew hours for going around the lake. We are not allowed to roam the lake from 6pm to 5am.
More green and sweeping vistas on our way back
There is a local myth on how the Lake came to be. A time ago, a local princess had a dream of coming to the mountain lands of Sebu. The princess saw a big leaf. When she opened it up a frog leaped out along with a gush of water which flooded the land and became the lake. From the heavens she threw here pythons to the earth which formed the islands at the lake. And in order for the princess to pass by the lake, her brother parted the islands. The name Sebu actually came from the loyal servant of the princess who fell and died on this lake during his service.
More scenic lake houses on other islands
Lake Sebu is truly one of God’s creative wonders. Literally a large food bowl given to the locals in the area since the lake is abundant of fish and never dries up no matter what.
The red roofed structure is their tourism center. Also a nice vantage point in viewing the whole Lake Sebu
The tour around the lake took less than an hour, but it was an educational coupled with breath taking sceneries. Really makes you appreciate the beauty of Lake Sebu itself.
Tags: Lake Sebu, Lakes, Punta Isla Resort, South Cotabato
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Sunday, September 2nd, 2007 at 12:54 pm 
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September 2nd, 2007 at 11:34 pm
what a pretty lake.
September 3rd, 2007 at 2:30 am
Nice shots. I love the last picture.
September 3rd, 2007 at 3:21 am
ganda ng shots. as usual. nakakamiss naman ang sight ng bahay kubo
September 3rd, 2007 at 11:09 am
i like the first picture….
September 3rd, 2007 at 11:26 am
Wonderful photos! I love them all.
It seems like a nice place to visit and the name is so unique.
September 3rd, 2007 at 11:47 am
I like the first photo. I like how you captured the stillness of the boat lake and the dramatic color of the clouds.
September 3rd, 2007 at 11:49 am
Gorgeous photos, Ferdz!
Thanks for sharing this beautiful place with us in words and pictures.
September 3rd, 2007 at 12:36 pm
ang ganda ng first shot. it looks peaceful alright, but it has an LOTR feel to it.
September 3rd, 2007 at 1:06 pm
Wow Ferdz, I like the picture of boats at dusk. It’s so beautiful. This is what I like about your blog. I can get away while I am here.
September 3rd, 2007 at 1:50 pm
galing, na-maintain mo yung texture at consistency ng tubig. long exposure malamng ‘to no? love the first shot for its ‘difficulty’…i wouldn’t be able to get the same exposure kahit pa siguro mag-iiyak ako. hay. love it, love it!
September 3rd, 2007 at 2:30 pm
may resort na pala
September 3rd, 2007 at 3:24 pm
love the first pic ferdz… and love the whole feature series… anong exposure gamit mo dun sa first pic?
September 3rd, 2007 at 3:27 pm
Superb ang mga photos and story dito… Hanep!
September 3rd, 2007 at 4:08 pm
is it true that going to lake sebu is a little unsafe these days?
i went there 1999. i so love the place! calm and relaxing. we also toured the lake like you did. sana makabalik ako dun
September 3rd, 2007 at 5:36 pm
the lake sebu adventure continues… nice shots ferdz! syempre, paborito ko yung una
September 3rd, 2007 at 5:43 pm
I like how the wooden canoes seems to direct towards the darkening sky above as if a storm is coming.
“it’s gonna be a hard life ahead”.
The capture of the net in the foreground also delves into the type of livelihood these canoes are used for.
September 3rd, 2007 at 9:02 pm
Superb shots. Indeed a very beautiful and unspoiled place.
Now I want to go there too!
September 4th, 2007 at 5:36 am
beautiful pictures. i can travel without leaving the house. great job.
September 4th, 2007 at 12:02 pm
laging abundant ang lake? wow! so buong stay nyo jan puro tilapia ang food? hehe. joke! ang ganda ng lake. parang peaceful. when you look at the pictures, you won’t think it’s in basilan na naririnig mo sa news
September 4th, 2007 at 1:33 pm
Breathtaking! Sa Pilipinas ba talaga yan? It looks like one of those mountain regions in China. Just beautiful! And I also like that legend.
September 4th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
i love the reflection of the sky on the lake.
sana naman magpatuloy ang pagmaintain nila sa lake sebu.
September 4th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
Looks very romantic to me esp. that 2nd foto.Lovely if we would have a vaca house somewhere there! haay mangarap na lang,lol
September 4th, 2007 at 6:09 pm
ano pa bang adjective ang hindi ko nagamit to describe the scenery: amazing, wonderful, beautiful, awesome, fantastic, breathtaking.
September 4th, 2007 at 7:51 pm
i heart the first pic!!!! postcard quality! hanep
September 5th, 2007 at 12:24 am
The place looks so pristine and unspoiled
Hope these folks take care of the environment and preserve its beauty.
September 5th, 2007 at 9:09 pm
It is such a mystic location, aside from being so clean and pristine, nature unspoiled. It is a wonder to me why Lake Sebu is not yet as famous as it should be…
September 6th, 2007 at 7:09 pm
[...] Lake Sebu may wow us with it’s vastness and sullen beauty, but it is in the Lake Seloton, the second largest lake and the deepest of the three mountain lakes, is where you can see a lake bathed in golden light as the sun rises behind the surrounding landscape covered mist. So early morning, on our last day in South Cotabato, we literally had to pull ourselves out of bed just to make our way about 2km to Lake Seloton’s Sunrise Garden Lake Resort. [...]
September 7th, 2007 at 1:33 pm
wow. the dugout boats remind me of the ones i used to ride on in the province when i was younger. nicely composed pictures, as usual.
April 24th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
major tom, kung naging famous yan di na yan ganyan kaganda gaya ng nakikita mo sa picture,people will destroy it. dapat ang makakaalam lang niya e yung mga taong marunong mag appreciate at maiintindihan ang kahalagahan nito hehe. i am planning to go there this next month.
May 4th, 2008 at 11:26 am
i was raised in south cotabato, i did visit the lake just lst Jan 2008, its awesome… i tell u guys.. very peaceful, relaxing and of course beautiful… sa biyahe plang going there enjoy na at unforgetble pa.. habal-habal po sakyan mo… sa daan plang, the schenic view are so fantastic, merong mini rice terraces and the mountain range are like in baguio… and alam ko legend ng lake.. kinuwento saken ng T’boli friend ko… (gusto nio kwneto ko? hehehe!)i am very proud of my province..