CORON, PALAWAN, PHILIPPINES 3: KAYANGAN LAKE

Then, we went to our next stop: Kayangan Lake.

Kayangan Lake in Coron, Palawan is known as the cleanest lake in the Philippines.

These are the billboards before entering the Kayangan Lake area which gives us information about Coron Island, about the Ancestral Domain Rights and also the map of Coron.

This is the Map of Coron and about the Tagbanua Tribe. 

from Wikipedia: The Tagbanua tribe, one of the oldest tribes in the Philippines, can be mainly found in the central and northern Palawan. Research has shown that the Tagbanua are possible descendants of the Tabon Man; thus, making them one of the original inhabitants of the Philippines.^[1] They are brown-skinned, slim and straight-haired ethnic group.^[2]

The tribe has two major classifications based on the geographical location where they can be found. Central Tagbanuas are found in the western and eastern coastal areas of central Palawan. They are concentrated in the municipalities of Aborlan, Quezon, and Puerto Princesa. Calamian Tagbanua, on the other hand, are found in Baras coast, Busuanga Island, Coron Island and in some parts of El Nido.^[3] These two Tagbanua sub-groups speak different languages and do not exactly have the same custom.^[1][4]

Tagbanua live in compact villages of 45 to 500 individuals.^[5] In 1987, there are 129, 691 Tagbanuas living in Palawan.^[4] At present, Tagbanua tribe has an estimated population of over 10,000.^[1] Of which, 1,800 are in the Calamianes.

Ancestral domain

In 1998, the Tagbanua of Coron Island were awarded a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) over more than 22,000 hectares of land and sea. CADT is the title to the land and the sea that have sustained the community for centuries. It gives the Tagbanua the right to manage the area and preserve its rich marine and land resources.^[6]

The Coron Island Ancestral Domain of the Tagbanua people covers the two villages of Banuang Daan and Cabugao, and the neighboring Delian Island. The ancestral domain is currently ruled by HM Tribal Chieftain Rodolfo Aguilar I, assisted by his Council of Elders.

Here is the group as we approach the steep steps heading to Kayangan Lake.

Note that we continue to wear our vests since we will still be swimming over there.

Here are the steps, with very natural bamboo surroundings.

Does it look steep and high for you? 

For me, it was quite high because I lead a relatively sedentary life ... which means more of brain work! 

My Mom decided to stay in the boat.

But as we reached the top, we were all in AWE!!!
We see a cave on top of the hill...see the texture of the Cave.

And it is in this same hilltop, where we see the most photographed view in all of Palawan!

REALLY AMAZING...FANTABULOUS...AWE-INSPIRING!

And when we thought we were already there, we had to go down another set of stairs.

For others, the trek up and down is actually easy...

And here, I see a peek of the best place in Coron for me!

There are just enough tourists in Kayangan Lake at the time we were there!!!

The water is really pristine and aqua green... we can see the stones deeper beneath the surface.

The limestone cliffs surround the lake and these are covered with trees... with green and orange leaves, just like autumn!

And the lake is really huge, too!


Some leave as we arrived... they say during the peak season, the lines are quite long.

Isn't it breathtaking?

No doubt about it!

But, soon after we have to leave... and see other scenic spots in Coron.

Time to go back up the steps and down again!

Back to our pumpboats as we head on to the next stop...

The weather was getting weird... we were told there was a storm in Busuanga (in the same island!) and the flights can't get through anymore.

We were wondering about that because we were happily skipping from one place to another.

But eventually, the rain did pour as in POUR!!!

So, instead of going to Siete Pecados now, we headed back to Dive Link and postponed the Siete Pecados trip for the next day...