#Beautiful Philippines....Twin Lakes Dumaguete

Near Dumaguete is Balinsasayao Twin Lakes Natural Park. It is in the municipality of Sibulan and just an hour's drive from downtown Dumaguete.

Near the park entrance is a gov't office which has a 3D topo map of the area which shows the relative location and dimension of the lakes to the surrounding terrain.  The lake has no above ground outlet and one wonders where the source of the water is as the are near the peaks of the mountains!

As you drive up, there are smaller ponds with interesting features.  We were there in March - in the heat of summer but the flora was thriving.

It was graduation time at Siliman University so Dumaguete was packed but at the lakes, there was tranquility.  You have the option of being brought across the main lake by a single boatman who literally paddles you across or do a hike along a nature trail to get to the viewdeck in the middle of the two lakes.  There are no noticeable currents and the lake is murky and according to wikipedia, the deepest parts are 90 meters for Lake Balinsasayao and 58 meters for Lake Danao.

Folklore has it that a castle rises up out of the lakes at certain times of the year.  Swimming was not allowed.

The government via the Dept of Environment and Natural Resources manages the area with the local rangers.

They are suitably equipped to enable swift response of authorities and they are very knowledgeable of the do's and don'ts but this unfortunately came from actual experience.  They learned the hard way that feeding the fish actually pollutes the water and thus strictly enforce the no-feeding policy. Unfortunately, tilapia was introduced into the lakes which practically killed the endemic species. Mahagony was also introduced and now they ensure that the this tree is restricted to the areas easily accessible as they control the spread removing any wildings that spring up.  Mahogany has the unfortunate trait of stifling growth underneath their branches of other plants.  The local flora is spectacular!

The trails are for the physically fit but the place was cool and surpisingly not too humid and also not infested with bugs.  There are alot of birds in the area which probably puts a balance into the ecosystem.

Trees grow to large sizes and when they fall, they get washed to the shores.  The storm that brought this tree to the side must have been a really big one!

We did not  know what to do in the Dumaguete area, though I had been there often for work, it was amazing to see so many interesting sites - the Twin Lakes was just one of more than 5 places that warrant a special write-up.  

Tourists and tour groups already go regularly to the area but one can easily see it has great potential. It is also very cheap as compared to similar types of half day tours in other countries, it just needs some upgrades in infrastructure (really just for safety) and the whole chain working seamlessly from airport pick-ups to travel, lunch  (there is a resto along the route which is beautifully located) and of course the locals giving the story.  This is actually a business opportunity which I will explore....

So, if you have a half day to spare, hire a van, drive up, have lunch at the Azealea and spend a very quiet, stress relieving afternoon at the twin lakes.