Coron Island is known for having the cleanest inland body of water in the Philippines, called Kayangan Lake. Kayangan Lake and its surrounding water is an ancestral domain of the indigenous people of Tagbanua and is covered by the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (RA 8371) of 1997.
It is one of the destinations for our first island hopping tour. Here, one could look forward to see the amazing rock formations. As we docked near the pier, the view from pier was so mesmerizing. A strike contrast of various boats’ colours against the clear water and blackstone background makes for a picture-perfect landscape. It was later that I noted the narrow canal does not permit entrance to boats of large size. A cruise boat docked 200 metre away from the pier and the passengers had to swim to the pier in order to go to Kayangan Lake.
Before one reaches the staircase leading to Kayangan Lake, a set of coloured notice boards providing information about Tagbanua people, their daily life and biodiversity value of Coron Islands.
What threatened life in Coron?
Scientists and government agencies have declared the island to be one of the richest in biodiversity and one of the largest sources of economically important marine life. But the major coral reefs system have been devastated by dynamite and cyanide fishing and battered by muro ami. Fish resources have dwindled tremendously from illegal and commercial fishing on our traditional waters.
The beautiful and steep rock formations are pounded and crushed by outsiders.
Reading all these information, it is not hard for me to understand the importance of Tagbanua Tribe of Coron Association (TTCIA) to support CLTGA’s Sea Awareness Campaign.
At the start of the steps leading to Kayangan Lake, a sign board that lay down the do’s and don’t s are observed.
1. All visitors are responsible for their own safety!
2. Diving and kayaking at Kayangan Lake is prohibited!
3. Keep noise and the use of chemical solutions, sunblock, mosquito repellent etc.. to a minimum!
4. Bringing of food and beverage is prohibited. Consumption of these is restricted to the boat.
5. Observe visitation hours from 8.00a.m. to 4p.m.
6. Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, keep nothing but memories, kill nothing but time.
7. Tagbanua watchmen with proper identification are empowered to enforce the above rules.
The steps/walkways are narrow such that when you bump into another visitor going the opposite way, you need to squeeze to allow for space. About 15 steps, you will reach the famous Kayangan Lake view point, at which, a memorable picture or two must be taken. Well of course, with you in the picture and tell you what, you will take pride when you show them to friends at home. The kind of picture that tells others you have been to paradise on earth. Just right in front of the view point is a small cave. At the time of visitation, no one did go inside the cave but reading on others’ experiences one could go inside and swim.
And then, one will descend to the lake area. Boy, this is really beautiful! Crystal clear. Visibility to the maximum.
Come see yourself why Kayangan has been awarded the country’s cleanest lake for 2 years in a row.
We had 45minutes to 1 hour time in Kayangan Lake.
Kayangan Lake is definitely a lake like no other.
Click here for more Kayangan Lake pictures.
7 Comments
The place looks so surreal and a bit eerie too. Fits with the name Kayangan.
When I first discovered Kayangan Lake, the word kayangan surprised me most. The best named lake thus far. It fits its name the best. Nobody has ever scaled the depth of the lake. Ramai yang pergi tak kembali.
clear water is the prettiest! do you have any idea if Kayangan in tagalog refers to the same meaning as malay’s Kayangan? :p
yet another attempt to comment now using diffrent email coz i just realized the other email is likely to be seen as s p a m m er in wp blogs.. dont know why! 🙁
Hi Ilyani,
2 of your comments were well received into my comments for approval inbox and I retrieved the rest from my spam inbox. I’m so sorry to have caused you so much trouble. InsyaAllah after this, comments from both your email adds will appear right after you have commented because i have marked the adds as not spam. 🙂
Nobody seems to know the meaning of Kayangan in tagalog. But some believe the word derives from their tribe Cuyunin. It is also possible theory that Kayangan is the same like Malay archipelago’s Kayangan as most tribes in Coron originated from Indonesia.
ok then. let’s see if my email no longer goes to s p a m now.. test, test.. (you may remove this comment later, just for testing lol)
yay,tak masuk spam dah. 🙂
That’s it! i’m going. Hahaha thanks for sharing Farah.