An Escape to the Scenic Heart-shaped Crater Lake Maragang

Hello world, hello Hive, hello friends!
Today, I'm going to share our escape to Lake Maragang, a heart-shaped crater lake located at Mt. Timolan, Tigbao, Zamboanga del Sur. Lake Maragang is a part of Mt. Timolan's protected landscape, which means that this area is well-protected by the locals and the government.

Lake Maragang is naturally beautiful and a soul-captivating place, surrounded by mountains and trees. We did so many activities while we were here because there were amenities like slide, swing, diving board, and kayak, but these amenities did not ruin the natural beauty of the lake, these were just added for the visitors and tourists to enjoy bathing and swimming in the lake.

By the way, swimming without a lifevest is not allowed to avoid possible danger, because the lake was so deep that so many tried to reach the bottom but nobody could ever achieve their goal of touching the deepest point of Lake Maragang.
Many things were dropped in the green waters of this lake but not even one was retrieved, like sunglasses and phones. To be honest, when we were here, an Iphone 15 of a tourist (not one of my colleague) was accidentally dropped on the water while they were taking photos, just that and it's gone forever.

Did we really enjoy our time while we are in here? Well, we swung on the rope swing, we rowed the kayaks, we slid the slides, we jumped the diving board, we immersed ourselves in the clear and cold waters of the lake, we also hiked the Handurawan View Deck located at the highest point of the mountain that surrounds the lake (you can really see the whole lake from the Handurawan View Deck). No, we did not enjoy our stay at Lake Maragang, because it was a very short time, but I want to stay there for a week or month or even my whole life. We did not just enjoy it, we appreciated every blow of the wind, every drop of the water, every mist of the fogs, and every green of the leaves.
We also had a talk with the locals and tourguides there, and they were so warm and welcoming. They answered all our questions, they let us use their kitchen, accompanied us to the Handurawan View Deck, and guided us until it's time to went home, and hiked with us to the bottom of Mt. Timolan.

Do you want to experience Lake Maragang?
Let me guide you through!
From Pagadian City, we rode a van, which fare costs 100 pesos, to the crossing-road of Begong, Tigbao, Zamboanga del Sur, and from there you will have to ride a habal-habal, which fare costs 50 pesos per head, to the Tourism Office of Lake Maragang.
At the Tourism Office, there will be a short seminar and you will also pay an environmental fee which is 25 pesos.

We anticipated that we would hike from the Tourism Office until we reach the peak, but there were no tourguides at the office that time such reason that all the tourguides were staying at the lake because there were a number of tourist during that season, when the New Year was nearly approaching. They will not allow group of hikers to climb without a tourguide, so we needed to ride a habal-habal again to the top of the mountain.
That experience was so crazy! Just imagine this, the road is just 1 and half feet wide, and the side is a cliff. I am very amazed of how skilled and experienced those local drivers are. The road was so steep, high, and narrow but that wasn't a problem, they conquered the challenging road easily.

During our stay in Lake Maragang, we took so many pictures, that if the camera could talk, it would ask us to let it rest for a while. We, then, ate our lunch, bathed at the lake, gathered around a bonfire, and talked about life together with my friends. It was a very unforgettable experience. I hope you could visit Lake Maragang too!

I hope you enjoy reading this one. See you in our next blog!

P.S. The first five photos were edited using Canva.