Lake Holon: A trek to the Majestic Crown Jewel of the South

The Gypsies are off to an adventure again. This time we went to Lake Maughan. It is commonly known as Lake Holon, the South Cotabato’s Crown Jewel. Located in Tiboli, Lake Holon is the crater lake of the Parker Mountain Range (Mt. Melibingoy) which is an active volcano. It is 304 hectares wide and its depth is still unknown.

The trek to Lake Holon will cover 3 to 4 hours hike depending on your pace.

It has two accessible trails:

Salacafe

• From T’boli Tourism travel time riding a habal-habal or private transport will take you 1 hour and 20 minutes. When you reached Salacafe Receiving Area, first to do is to pay the other fees (breakdown below). Then, a T’boli representative will give an orientation on what are the do’s and don’ts in Lake Holon.
• Salacafe is known to be the easy trail. I guess they call it easy because it has a wider trekking area. If you are tired of hiking, you may opt to ride a horse. It will cost you Php400. But, please we went there to hike. Spare the horse 🙂
• On your first 30 – 40 minutes hike you will reach Sitio Nabul, this is where they sell local foods (native coffee, cassava cue, red banana etc). They also sell souvenir items like a mug made of bamboo, flute, t-shirts, keychains, ref magnets, etc.
• Lat 2017 when they opened the Sala Byaan view deck (a closer Panoramic view of Lake Holon).
• From Salacafe receiving area to Lake Holon campsite is 9 km in distance.
• Difficulty Level 3

Kule Trail

• Known as Hunter Trail, which is the difficult trail. Locals used to hunt baboy ramo in this area before.
• Travel time of Habal-habal From T’boli Tourism to Kule receiving area is approximately two (2) hours. The road going to Kule trail is somewhat called the Habal-habal of death because it has small patchy cracked paths. You can also pass through 60 degrees uphill and downhill rocky passage.
• Kule trail is 7 km away from the campsite. It is a one-way ascending and one-way descending trek. When you reach the bottom of the trail you’ll then ride a rubber boat going to the campsite.
• From Kule Receiving Area to Lake Holon campsite is 7 km in distance.
• Difficulty Level 6

This is my 3rd time to trek to Lake Holon.

1. My first trek was last March 2016 when I first went to this beautiful scenery. I joined the Pilgrimage to Lake Holon, a yearly celebration, which is part of the Seslong Festival Activities. During the pilgrimage, the transportation from T’boli Tourism to Salacafe Receiving Area was a dump truck. I was scared since it was not a typical ride going to a tourist spot, but it was kinda fun. The trail I passed was the Salacafe trail. Back then there was no viewing deck.

   

   

2. The second trek was in July 2016, I tried Kule (Hunter Trail), it was a scary experience since riding a habal-habal is not that easy. Back then Kule trail has the only viewing deck.

   

   

   

3. The third time was just this recently, August 2018. Hiked the Salacafe trail and was mesmerized with the Sala Byaan view deck.

   

   

Gypsies CheckList:

Breakdown of Expenses

• Bus Ride Davao to Gensan- Php240 one-stop Digos; Php300 non-stop ( 3hrs travel)
• Bus Ride Gensan to Marbel- Php100 via Husky Tours; Php80 via Mindanao Star (1 hr travel)
  • Last trip Gensan to Davao bus 10PM; First trip 1:30AM
  • Last trip Marbel to Gensan – 9PM
• Van Ride Marbel to T’boli – Php60; inform the van driver to drop you off T’boli Tourism Office (1 hr travel)

Tourism office:

• Entrance Fee: Php100/head
• Environmental Fee: Php50/head
• Ground Rental for Camping Fee: Php100/tent
• Habal-bal ride to Salacafe Receiving Area: Php150/head/way; max of two passengers
• Habal-bal ride to Kule Receiving Area: Php225/head/way; max of two passengers

Salacafe Receiving Area:

• Local guide: Php450/ local guide; max 10 pax
• Seedling: Php10/head
• Trekking Stick rental: Php30/stick :  If you want to bring it home it costs Php60
• Garbage: Php20 pesos but need to deposit Php200; they will return your Php180 after your trek back to Salacafe receiving area when you bring your trash with you.
• Horse ride(optional): Php400 one way
• Porter(optional): Php20/kilo

Kule Receiving Area:

• Local guide: Php750/ local guide; max 10pax
• Seedling: Php10/head
• Trekking Stick rental: Php30/stick
• Rubber boat: Php50/head
• Garbage: Php20 pesos but need to deposit Php200;
• Porter(optional): Php20/kilo

A Few Reminders:

• Every end of January until 1st Week of March it closes for rehabilitation.
• The restroom at the campsite is another short uphill climb 🙂
• Be sure to place your things inside a trash bag/cellophane before putting it inside your bag. This will ensure that your things will not get wet in case it rains.
• If you plan to visit Lake Holon be sure to book your visit ahead of time. T’boli LGU sets a limit to the number of hikers for conservation purposes.

How to book your hike to Lake Holon:

• Tourism Office opens from 8AM to 5PM only (Monday- Friday).
• You may book via their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/LakeHolonOfficialPage/ or you may call/text 09976091773.
• Confirm your reservation 3 days before the climb.
• The tourism office is open to trekkers who have booked from 8AM to 12Noon. They will not allow you to climb after 1PM.

Day of Trek

• Log-in/Register at the Tourism Office of T’boli
• Short Orientation
• Process Payment
• Wait for the payment slip
• Pay at the Treasurer’s office and get your Official Receipt
• Jump-off going to Receiving Areas

See you on our next Travel….

More Photos of the Gypsies Travel

This slideshow requires JavaScript.