Lake Holon: The Gem of Southern Mindanao, Philippines

This majestic crater lake is situated at T’boli, South Cotabato in the Southern portion of the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. The lake is also known as the "Crown Jewel of the South". It has an elevation of 1280.16 masl. It is situated in the caldera of Mt. Parker.

I visited this lake in December. In order to reach this beautiful crater lake, we travelled about 8 hours from our hometown, Cagayan de Oro City located in the northern portion of the island of Mindanao. There are two ways to reach the lake through two trails; The Salacafe and the Kule trail. From the tourism center of T’boli, we rode a habal-habal (Moto Taxi) for 30 minutes going to the trail jump-off.

Upon reaching the jump-off area, we are welcomed by the T’boli tribe. We then underwent orientation and rituals before starting the 5-hr Kule trail trek going to lake Holon.

If you want a great adventure, you can choose the Kule trail as it is more elevated compared to the Salacafe trail and it has a more majestic view of the lake when you reach the view deck after around 4 hours of trekking. The trail may not be easy but there are stations there that you can rest and eat and continue trekking for hours.

Going to lake Holon is really for the brave hearts. The most difficult part in the Kule trail is the uphill going to the view deck.

This is the picture of the dog who accompanied us during the trek. This dog is indeed so strong and enjoys to have a picture with humans.

When you are brave enough to reach the view deck, you would be able to enjoy the 360 degrees view of the majestic Lake Holon. Upon reaching the view deck, you can silently tell yourself, "Oh, congrats! You are great." You can take a picture there with the lake behind you.

The journey does not stop yet when you reach the view deck, you need to descent going to the mouth of the lake. It is a little bit difficult going downhill because it is steep and slippery.

Upon reaching the lake, we then rode a bangka (a small boat) about 5 minutes going the camping site at the middle of the lake on the Salacafe trail portion.

After the boat ride, the camping site would be reached.

At the camping site, you can set up your own tent or rent a tent from the locals. There, you can take a rest, talk with your friends and other campers, or just enjoy the breathtaking view the Lake Holon. Furthermore, you can swim in the lake and enjoy.

During the night, you can enjoy the view of the night sky and the moon and gather with friends and talk about life.

In the camping site, there are comfort rooms available. You can also cook food and buy snacks at the local sari-sari store.

Aside from these activities, you can also opt to ride a boat going to the place called the outlet where you can swim and dive there, but you need to pay for the boat fare.

We just stayed there for one night. The day after, we went back to the center of T'Boli through the Salacafe trail. The trail has both uphill and downhill portions.
I tried to ride a horse going downhill. I can say that it was a very nice experience.

If you are adventurous like me, you can also visit the majestic Lake Holon. You can book a trip with Nature Hike Outdoors or personally with Moi Richkid on Facebook.

Hope you enjoyed my post. Thank you for reading!