The Other Lakes of San Pablo City

Aside from the beautiful Pandin Lake, San Pablo is blessed with 6 more lakes.  

Lake Sampaloc comes from the Filipino word for Tamarind.  It is the biggest , the closest to the city center and is said to be an inactive volcano maar or a "flat bottomed volcanic crater". This lake is however, not for those who are doing nature tripping. It is a bit crowded and busy. There are also quite many fish cages in the lake. But, it is still good for hanging out or strolling.

Sampaloc Lake

Sampaloc Lake

There are a number of stores and eateries around Sampaloc lake.  One of them is Cafe Lago, which serves the yummy Crispy Binagoongan and their unique desert, the fried halo-halo. They also sell Champoy Sampaloc or  tamarind candy, which is comparable to the famous Thai tamarind candy.

Fried halohalo in Cafe Lago

The other lakes are also crater lakes, similar to Sampaloc Lake.  We took a picture of the Palakpakin Lake, on our way to Liliw, Laguna.  Similar to Sampaloc, fish cages also abound in the same lake. While fish cages are the source of livelihood of the people, incorrect feeding practices are threatening the lakes Sampaloc and Palakpakin. If this is not addressed, there is a danger that these lakes would die and the people will lose their source of livelihood.

Lake Palakpakin

Yambo lake, the twin lake of Pandin, is as beautiful as its twin.  On the other side of Pandin lake, we alighted the bamboo raft, and a guide welcomed us.  After a 2 minute uphill climb, we were rewarded with the view of this beautiful lake.

Lake Yambo

Our guide

That weekend, we managed to see 4 of the 7 lakes, which leaves us 3 more lakes to visit the next time we pass by San Pablo: Lakes Bunot, Calibato and Mojicap.

Pandin Lake: More Than Just Bamboo Rafting Experience

Only 3 hours away, San Pablo is too close to Manila that I have never thought it to be naturesque. Boy, was I wrong.

Lake Pandin was everything I did not think it would be. It is calm, clean and peaceful- with forested hills surrounding the lake. And we did enjoy bamboo rafting. There is a bamboo table in the bamboo raft -for those who will have their meals during the tour. It was a shame we did not have our lunch there- it would have been more fun!

Pandin Lake from the top

Bamboo rafting in the lake

One of our bangkeros

Lake Pandin is special - but what makes the place more special is the 22 or so families living by the lake. While tourism is their main source of livelihood, they know how to work together and make sure that the lake remains clean and pristine.  Unlike the other tourist places in the Philippines where locals compete for business, the families in Pandin pool together their income from bamboo rafting and divide equally among each other at the end of each day- no matter how small it is.  Both the males and the females work as "bangkero" or "bangkera". Part of the income goes to the regular clean up of the lake.  They also abide by the regulation prohibiting the cutting of trees surrounding the lake. Pardon the use of development jargon--but it is community based resource management at work.  The tourism department did its job well over there- and the people we talked to are giving them credit for organizing and training them and for linking them with the different hotels and establishments in San Pablo. 

The other side of the lake.

Bamboo rafts awaiting their guests

But then of course, like in many areas, they have their challenges. The road leading to the lake is privately owned.  A small pathway leading to the lake was donated to the government to give the people "right of way". However, closer to the lake, the land owner is currently constructing a gate. The people were told the gate will remain open during day time to allow the residents and visitors to pass through- but it will be closed starting 10 at night.  Now, what about the "right of way" of the residents after 10 PM? I hope the local government and the tourism department would help resolve this.