It's been a dream of mine to set foot on this mountain specially this lake. Lake Holon (Formerlu known as Lake Maughan) is a crater lake, believed was created during its 1641 eruption of Mt. Melibengoy.
After our day tour at Lake Sebu and its Seven Falls, we headed to our first mountain the next day. Traveling from T'Boli municipal hall to JOP was already a pure challenge, it was about an hour of habal habal ride along around 40+ kilometers (just a pure guess) from T'boli municipal hall to Lake Holon registration area in Brgy. Salacafe.
Yes the habal habal ride was a "pain in the butt" but the trip was a worth. We passed several barangays until we entered this vast plantation of Bananas. These bananas are for exports and many other crops along the way.
The registration area in Brgy. Salacafe was a replica of an old house used by the locals before. It is a Small hut, its roof is made of dried grass while the flooring is made of bamboo and its wall were made of woven bamboo strips (lahak). Our guide mentioned that hikers can use the house if they opted to stay overnight. Lake Holon along its nearby mountains is a sacred place to its locals thus a complete respect must be observed by its visitors.
The trail is of gradual terrain and well paved. What I love about the trail is that its worry free, no thorns or scratches from shrubs or bushes, all you need to do is follow the path while listening to the sounds of nature, birds chirping and rustling leaves as the wind blows.... so calm, so peaceful.
We had our last stop before descending to the lake at this open, small field were you can find giant bamboos and an overlooking view of the lake. According to our guide, it will take 30 mins to reach the lake from here, well we all know that any guide's 30mins is possibly doubled when dealing with our pace. That Surreal Beauty of Lake Holon (Lake Maughan) It was a descent alright, very slippery since the local tourism installed cemented path which were now mostly covered with moss. When we reached the Lake, I was in complete awe. The place was so surreal, it was a complete beauty, I cannot imagine that the lake was indeed a crater. The water was so quite, the trees, the surroundings was Peaceful. It was a perfect place for meditation or simply hide from the busy life in the city. I was lost of words when describing my experience in Lake Holon.
We were lucky that time as few locals were fishing tilapia and we bought few and had a fresh tilapia for lunch. We used the kayak and wooden bangka carved from Lauan tree and had some few lapse.
Although our itinerary was to reach the highest peak of Mt. Melibengoy (a different trail is needed thus bypassing the lake) we opted to go straight to the lake instead, our reward for the long trip Mesmerized by the enchanting beauty of Lake Holon, I had a great time and a memory to treasure forever.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
This is my blog...
My Diary..... Travel... Climb... Swim..... My Adventures in Words Archive
February 2016
Mountains
All
Social Media Activities Instagram: @iamnoemptyTravel & Leisure |