Our habal-habal motorcycle slowly climbed the steep uphill drive towards our lodging. Riding at the back with my travel buddy—and with our big-ass backpacks on—we tightly prayed that we don’t fall off and crash. After what seemed like an eternity, which really must have been less than a minute, we stopped in front of the inn and gladly jumped off the bike. We took in the scenery below, our sigh of relief coming at the same moment as our breath being taken away—a panorama of Lake Sebu opened below.

After flying almost 200 meters above ground through Lake Sebu’s Seven Falls Zipline, we huffed and puffed our way to the park’s second waterfall. The path was easy enough but adrenaline was still pumping through our blood. After a few minutes, a sheer rock wall lined with layers of time led to the seventy-foot Hikong Bente waterfalls. It was almost the end of our Lake Sebu day tour and all our weariness of riding the habal-habal motorbike all day seemed worth it.

HIKONG ALO, THE FIRST WATERFALL WITH A HEIGHT OF 35 FEET

I have read a lot about the Seven Falls Zipline and the famed seven waterfalls of Lake Sebu but I actually have no idea how we would proceed about it. Do we have to hike from one falls to another like at Negros Occidental’s Seven Falls of Mabukal, do we see all the seven waterfalls by riding one zipline, or do we actually zip from one waterfall to the next?

It turned out to be a combination of the three.

► BOOK A LODGING IN LAKE SEBU

Tendrils of mist lazily rose from the water, waiting for the rays of the early morning sun to reach it. Sunrise at South Cotabato’s Lake Seloton takes a bit of waiting, being situated 700 meters above sea level, and add to that, an eastern mountain range blocking its arrival. The sun finally broke through and its light touched the waters, the once gray scene turned magical—the lilies bloomed with colors as fisherfolks aboard their wooden owong dugout canoes started to make their graceful way across the gleaming waters. Life was starting at Lake Seloton.

LAKE SELOTON BEFORE SUNRISE

Our own day started not at the town of Lake Sebu where Lake Seloton is located, but at General Santos City. It took two hours through a combination of an ordinary bus, a cramped van, and a habal-habal motorbike up and down unpaved roads, to reach this famed lake in Mindanao.

► SEE: LAKE SEBU DAY TOUR