Balinsasayao Twin Lakes Natural Park | Negros Oriental

June 24, 2020July 25, 2021 Rex Lim Lim balinsasayao, BLOG, ITINERARY, negros oriental, TOURIST SPOTS, TRANSIT PINAS, TRAVEL GUIDE, twin lakes

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The placid waters of lake Balinsasayao mirrored the sky from above as if creating a parallel world.

The calmness of the lake was a perfect respite from the city. Our boatman kept paddling across the serene waters of Balinsasayao Lake that’s 900 meters above sea level.

Cuernos De Negros

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The twin lakes are located inside the famed Cuernos de Negros range in the southern portion of the island. It will take an hour from Dumaguete City to reach the entrance of the Balinsasayao Twin Lakes Natural Park nestled around 800 meters in the highlands of Sibulan.

The lakes are actually formed after a volcanic eruption. The larger Lake Balinsasayao is around 90 meters deep and spans around 76 hectares.

Lake Danao, the smaller one, is measured to be 58 meters deep and spans around 30 hectares. Moreover, this separated from the larger lake by a small mountain ridge surrounded by several more peaks on the eastern flank of Mt. Talinis.

Upon registration, a short trek will lead you to the eerily quiet waters of Lake Balinsasayao. One can opt to trek to reach Lake Danao or ride a boat then trek to reach the three story viewdeck on the other side.

The Bleeding Heart

Communing with nature is the biggest draw of the park. Drone flying is definitely not allowed since drones attract the attentions of the birds nesting inside the dipterocarp forests. For instance, one incident happened where a bird died after attacking a drone. After that, the drone did a nosedive in the lake and wasn’t recovered.

Swimming is also prohibited since the waters from here drain to the Amlan, Ayuquitan, Hinotongan, Okoy, and Cauitan Rivers. However, one can rent kayaks and canoes to paddle around.

This is also an important habitat for several endemic fauna including the critically endangered Negros Bleeding Heart and Visayan Wrinkled Hornbill. In addition, there’s also other endangered species such as the Philippine Spotted Deer, Visayan Warty Pig and Leopard Cat.

Negros Bleeding Heart (Photo from Alain Pascua, edgeofexistence.org)

Visayan Wrinkled Hornbill (Photo from en.wikipedia.org)

We left after having generous servings of Pomegranates, Dragon Fruit and Turon at the park’s restaurant near the entrance.

Next Stop! Pulang Bato Falls (click HERE)

How to Get There

Balinsasayao Twin Lakes Natural Park spans across the towns of Sibulan, Valencia and San Jose, Negros Oriental. The access road is in Sibulan and is 14.5 kilometers west of Dumaguete
The nearest transportation hub is the Sibulan Airport in Dumaguete City.
Cebu Pacific flies to Dumaguete at the following schedules:
- MNL- DGT – 4x daily (0625, 0935, 1340, 1615) travel time is 1.5 hours
  - I tried to mock book a month in advance and cheapest regular roundtrip fare costs around 2,914php
- CEB-DGT – 4x daily (0540, 1050, 1730, 1910)
  - I tried to mock book a month in advance and cheapest regular roundtrip fare costs around 1,939php
- Philippine Airlines flies to Dumaguete at the following schedules:
  - MNL – DGT – 3x daily (0400, 0840, 1325) travel time 1.5hrs
    - I tried to mock book a month in advance and cheapest regular roundtrip fare costs around 3,949php

From the city proper just charter a habal-habal to take you to the park since there are no public transportation going there directly. Price ranges from 600-800php depending on your arrangement.
Alternatively, you can avail the services of Deodor Mapula who took us on a habal-habal trip. The package includes Balinsasayao Twin Lakes, Pulang Bato Falls, Kaipuhan Sulfur Vents, Casaroro Falls and Tierra Alta Lighthouse for 1800php/ 2pax.
Entrance Fee is 50php. Other optional fees are renting of boat (250php/hr), Kayaking (150php/hr) and trekking (300php/guide/3 pax)