Balinsasayao Twin Lakes, Negros Oriental

14/9/2018

Balinsasayao Twin Lakes Natural Park

I had my two Swedish friends visiting me here in the Philippines, so I wanted to show them how beautiful the nature can be in Negros Oriental. I decided to take them to Balinsasayao Twin Lakes not far from Dumaguete. We had our own transportation so the ride from Dumaguete went smooth as silk. Every time when I drive up that mountain slope of Mt Talinis I get stunned how beautiful it is.

Balinsasayao Twin Lakes, Dumaguete, Negros Oriental, Philippines © travelblogonline.com

My two friends from Sweden were also impressed of the views on our way up the mountain

Balinsasayao Twin Lakes, Visitors center, Dumaguete, Negros Oriental, Philippines © travelblogonline.com

Before we arrived at Balinsasayao Twin Lakes we needed to register and pay at the visitors center. After registration we needed to drive for additional 5-10 minutes to reach the actual park.

Balinsasayao Twin Lakes, Landslide, Dumaguete, Negros Oriental, Philippines © travelblogonline.com

Sometimes when going up in the mountains you can see the effects of landslides

Balinsasayao Twin Lakes, Habal Habal, Dumaguete, Negros Oriental, Philippines © travelblogonline.com

If you don't have your own transportation you can ride a habal habal, a motorcycle taxi. Room for 4 passengers and a driver!

Behind the visitors center...

Behind the visitors centers we took some stunning pictures. There is this lake which I don't know the name of which is really beautiful. The surface of the lake was like a mirror. After registration and paying the entrance fee we saddle up again and drove for another 10 minutes before we came to Lake Balinsasayao.

A small fishing boat

Fishing net

Picture picture time!

The lake was like a mirror

Walk or rent a boat

When we arrived at the Lake Balinsasayao I presented the two main options for my friends. Walk or rent a boat. We wanted to go to the watch tower between the two lakes so either we could walk the trail along the shore or rent a boat. But since we all needed a little bit exercise they decided that we would walk the trail. The trail itself is not long, only maybe around 600-700 m to the watch tower.

One of the twin lakes, the Lake Balinsasayao. Depth 90 m and around 850 m above the sea level. From here you can rent small boats for roaming around in the lake.

Balinsasayao Twin Lakes, The trail, Dumaguete, Negros Oriental, Philippines © travelblogonline.com

Off we went on the trail! Not advisable to walk here when it's wet, then it will be very slippery for sure!

The winding trail made the distance felt longer than it actually was...

View over Lake Balinsasayao along the trail

Balinsasayao Twin Lakes, Ants, Dumaguete, Negros Oriental, Philippines © travelblogonline.com

The ants were marching smoothly up the tree

The watch tower

Our walk to the watch tower went well and took about 20-30 minutes. I was amazed by the fresh air and how quiet it was. We only met a few other visitors here. We stayed for a while and just enjoyed the scenery before we started going back. If you are the sporty type of person, I recommend the trail if not go for the boat.

They were also admiring the view over Lake Balinsasayao, but they came by boat

This is the bigger lake of the two, Lake Balinsasayao

Balinsasayao Twin Lakes, Lake Danao, Dumaguete, Negros Oriental, Philippines © travelblogonline.com

This is the Lake Danao, the smaller lake.

This little guy was very curious on me and likewise I was curious on him

Balinsasayao Twin Lakes, Two Fishermen, Dumaguete, Negros Oriental, Philippines © travelblogonline.com

When we came back after our walk we saw these two guys fishing... I didn't see them catching anything though.

The video is a compilation of our walk back and forth the watch tower

Facts:

Description
Balinsasayao Twin Lakes Natural Park is a natural park surrounding Lake Balinsasayao and Lake Danao in the province of Negros Oriental, 14.5 km west of Dumaguete. Lakes Balinsasayao and Danao are two small crater lakes separated by a narrow mountain ridge. They are located on the eastern slope of the Talinis mountain range which are volcanic in origin. Lake Balinsasayao has maximum depth of around 90 metres (300 ft). The smaller Lake Danao, on the other hand, has a maximum depth of around 58 metres (190 ft).
Entrance fee
The entrance fee to the park is P100 for foreigners and P50 for Filipinos.
A restaurant also
At the Lake Balinsasayao there is a restaurant that offers variety of dishes at an acceptable rate.

To get there:

Own transportation
The far most convenient way is to have your own transportation. Beware of that the road going up the mountain is very steep at some points, means slippery when it's raining. It's possible to drive your own car all the way up there but motorcycle is preferable.
Public transportation
With public transportation you can go by bus or jeepney to the Lalaan junction for Twin Lakes, 7.5 km from the Sibulan town or 13.5 km from Dumaguete. Around P10-15 per person. From the Lalaan junction take a habal habal up the mountain an additional 13 km until you reach the Twin Lakes. You find the drivers at the junction. Standard rate is P300 for a solo passenger and P400 for two back and forth. You will probably need to pay the entrance fee for the driver as well since after registration there is an additional distance to cover before reaching the lake. The driver will wait for you until you like to go back.

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