Posted by geemiz | Posted in Byahe Pilipinas, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Misamis Occidental, North Cotabato, Sarangani, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat | Posted on 17-03-2014
Tags: Backpacking Philippines, Land Trip, Travel Guide
This article is a guest post from a good friend who also loves to go backpacking. We have traveled twice together last year, first in the Thailand – Cambodia Trip and second in the Manila to Cebu Land Trip. Andrew is a Chemist who loves to climb mountains and travel.
Seven provinces, 600 kilometers, five days.
Stepped on (A) GenSan, Sarangani (B) Lake Sebu, South Cotabato (C) Surallah, South Cotabato (D) Isulan, Sultan Kudarat (E) Tacurong, Sultan Kudarat (F) Matalam, North Cotabato (G) Libungan, North Cotabato (H) Alamada, North Cotabato (I) Cotabato City (J) Marawi, Lanao del Sur (K) Iligan, Lanao del Norte (L) Ozamis, Misamis Occidental
As my second solo backpacking trip, I chose this area for one reason: to see the unspoilt beauty of this part of the country, which is spoiled by a “DANGEROUS” stereotype. And in fact, locals were generally very friendly and happy to assist, LIKE any other place in the PH. Just use a bit more of common sense though.
I will not forget them 🙂
I intentionally did not research everything in detail, as I learned it spoils the challenge. Only thing I researched are the routes and places to stay (para mapilian jud ang pinakabarato). I realized during the trip though that the time frame is too ambitious and tight, and that I seriously don’t know anything about the Maguindanao leg that I have to pass through and incidentally is the tensest part of the trip–for obvious reasons (FYI, the Narciso Ramos highway is MILF’s lair for years until the war in 2000; it is still notorious for lawlessness, unfriendly locals, and outrageous but true stories). But that leg for me was more wrought of mental fear than actual danger, and I was thankful I emerged in one piece through common sense, a bit (or oodles) of luck, and the kindness of strangers.
Although I actually got a weird sense of accomplishment to finally see the places only mentioned in the news and witness firsthand the normal lives and culture of our Muslim brothers and sisters, the lands have sadly not yet healed. As advised by someone suhito anang lugara (READ: army), kinahanglan ko magpamisa isip pasalamat.
Reckless? Maybe.
But. Lake Sebu and Asik-asik Falls. They’re safe and outside the conflict areas. Lake Sebu is very cheap and eco-touristic; the 7 falls are a breathtaking backdrop for a hike, the zipline is cheap but offers the best views in the country, and the lake–the center of T’boli tribal culture–is a cultural gem.
Asikasik Falls in Alamada, North Cotabato
On the way to Asik-asik Falls in Alamada, Cotabato, an ignorance on travel routes turned to misadventure and then into the best adventure I had: spending the night with the locals by myself in the middle of nowhere like a proper backpacker.
Expenses and Itinerary
Day 1 | Cebu – General Santos City | ||
Time | Particulars | Cost | Note |
9:00am | Taxi to Mactan Cebu Airport | 250 | |
ETA GES Airport. Taxi to SM Gensan | 80 | Multican is 50 but takes too long to fill up. Shared taxi with Cebuana visitor. | |
12NN | Lunch SM food court, tuna sinigang | 120 | |
Imit shades | 195 | ||
Trike to Pioneer Ave. | 8 | Minimum fare | |
Fan room at Residencia Heneral | 250 | Shared bathroom, not very clean, but has good WIFI at lobby. | |
load | 100 | ||
Snacks of pastil and drinks | 30 | ||
Roam around Oval Plaza, Freedom Park, Watch Kalilangan festivities, watch Manny Pacquiao play basketball. | free | ||
Souvenirs – burloloys, T’nalak coin purse | 55 | ||
Chicken skin street food | 5 | ||
Water | 18 | 1 liter bottle, then just refill anywhere there’s a free water para tipid. | |
Bread for breakfast next day | 15 | ||
Dinner-sinuglaw and pata | 75 | ||
TOTAL | 1,201 | ||
Day 2 | Gensan – Lake – Sebu | ||
Time | Particulars | Cost | Note |
Hot water and toiletries | 8 | ||
7:00am | Trike to jumpoff point to tuna fishport | 8 | |
Trike to tuna fishport complex | 20 | 30 min. travel to Brgy. Tambler | |
8:00am | Arrived at fishport. Pants/boots rental | 40 | 20 each. WEAR pants in advance, strict dress code |
9:00am | Transpo back to Residencia Heneral | 20 | Jeepney ride |
9:45am | Checkout. Trike to Bulalong terminal | 8 | |
10:15am | Gensan to Marbel Koronadal | 70 | AC Van, 1 hr travel |
11:15am | Trike to Denmark Terminal | 8 | You can just also walk because it is just in the highway |
Lunch | 30 | ||
11:30am | Van Marbel to Lake Sebu | 55 | Non AC, 1 hr travel. You will pass by the seven falls first |
12:45pm | Habal-habal pakyaw | 500 | Originally just around the 7 falls, but figured it would be a hassle to go around the place transferring from one habal-habal to the other. Turns out Allan also is a guide and a very good one. Includes transpo for the next day |
1:00pm to 4:00pm | The seven falls (Hikongs) of Lake Sebu. Hiked from 2nd to 7th falls | free | 30 entrance but luckily they let me inn for free J |
Zipline | 300 | 250 on weekdays and Take you zipline pic for 100 | |
drinks | 35 | ||
Souvenir ref magnet & accessories | 50 | ||
4:15pm | Punta Isla T’boli Museum | 0 | Not much to see only souvenir shops |
4:45pm | Visit Lang Dulay’s T’boli dreamweaving (t’nalak) school | 200 | Donation to the school since I cannot afford the 4000 t’nalak cloth |
5:30pm | Dorm room at Lemobung Lodge (LGU tourism lodge) | 60 | Shared bathroom with another room |
Fried tilapia for dinner | 110 | 190/kl your choice how the tilapia is cooked. Half reserved for breakfast. 15 brown rice/meal | |
TOTAL | 1527 | ||
Day3 | Lake Sebu, SoCotabato – Tacurong City, SK – Asik-asik Falls, Cotabato | ||
Time | Particulars | Cost | Note |
7:00am | Wake up time, coffee, walk along the lake | free | |
8:00am | Sinigang Tilapia breakfast | 110 | I think the serving is good for 3 |
8:30am | Punta Isla Resort | 0 | Native T’boli perform cultural show starting at 10:00am everyday |
9:30am | Lake Sebu Terminal – Surallah | 35 | 30 minute jeepney travel |
10:00am | Surrallah – Isulan | 40 | 1 hour non AC van travel |
11:15am | Isulan – Tacurong City | 10 | 30 minute multicab travel |
12:00NN | Tacurong – Matalam | 100 | 2 hrs van. Seems like no direct van to Midsayap due to BIFF fighting |
2:00pm | Weena bus Matalam – Libungan via Pikit | 80 | 1.5 hour bus travel |
3:30pm | Rented habal-habal to Asik-asik falls jump off point (Sitio Dulao, Upper Dado, Alamada) | 1100 | |
5:30pm | Asik-asik Falls | 30 | Entrance fee |
5:30pm to 8:00am | 230 | Food 2 meals for 2: 180 native chicken adobo dinner and breakfast, 40 rice, 10 coffee for Rick | |
120 | Drinks | ||
200 | Thank you to the awesome, friendly locals who let me sleep in their stall for the night | ||
TOTAL | 2055 | ||
*Initially expected the habal-habal ride to asik-asik falls as a ripoff, but considering Rick consented to a late 2 hour ride uphill long the worst 40 km road, being stranded for the night up there and return trip next morning; it is justified. If you are a bit early you can haggle to 700php.
Cheaper option to access Asik-asik Falls:
Starting from Davao or Gensan (Davao is nearer), spend the night at Midsayap. Be early to catch jeep from Midsayap to Upper Dado (P75-100, until 10 AM only). Better to have local contacts.Then habal2x P75 to the falls. Later than that, jeep from Midsayap-Alamada town proper or Libungan-Alamada, around that rate still; but habal2x will be around P300 one way already. Much later than that, pakyaw. Road from Dado to Dulao is very bad and damaged by “truck attack” (large trucks with chained wheels) and “wings” (motorcycles with chained wheels). Hardly passable when it rains. Road is gradually fixed, but hope it is done ASAP!
Day 4 | Asik-asik Falls, Alamada – Cotabato City – Marawi – Iligan | ||
Time | Particulars | Cost | Note |
5:30am | Sunrise, Asik-asik falls visit and falls massage | 15 min walk down to falls; steep at sections. They’re quite strict in preserving the falls, so no soap, shampoo and garbage. Waterfalls is very clean and drinkable | |
8:00am | Breakfast. Socials | ||
9:30am | Asik-asik falls to Libungan Terminal | 2 hrs habal-habal | |
11:30am | Libungan – Cotabato City Weena Bus | 50 | 45 min travel |
12:15pm | Arrived at Weena terminal. Trike to van terminal | 7 | Speak Tagalog. Be respectful |
Lunch, Muslim style beefsteak | 40 | ||
CR | 3 | ||
Biscuits | 14 | ||
1:30pm | Cotabato City – Marawi City via Narciso Ramos Highway | 300 | Given the history of the highway, you can take a nap J Be thankful the numerous checkpoints are manned by the army |
doldol | 30 | 10 each at the stopover by the highway | |
5:45pm | Arrived Marawi. Trike to GMA Terminal | 20 | 8 actually but driver asked 20 coz pakyaw daw |
6:00pm | Marawi – Iligan car for hire | 100 | Last trip! Normal van and jeep are 50. 1 hour travel |
7:00pm | Arrived Iligan. Bought Iligan peanuts at Gaisano | 151 | |
Jeep to MSU-IIT | 8 | Cannot stay at their room | |
Check in D’Morvie Suites | 300 | AC double room. WIFI, cable TV. Single room is 250 but unavailable | |
BBQ Dinner | 48 | ||
TOTAL | 1,071 | ||
Day 5 | Iligan –Ozamis – Cebu | ||
Time | Particulars | Cost | Note |
6:00am | Jeepney to unionbank and Northbound bus terminal | 14 | |
Iligan – Ozamis via Mukas Port | 80 | At least 1.5 hour bus travel | |
Mukas – Ozamis Bridge | 25 | 45 minute | |
Habal-habal pakayaw to Ozamis Airport | 100 | ||
Airport Terminal fee | 75 | ||
Brunch | 40 | ||
11:30am | Arrived Cebu City | 235 | Taxi home |
Total | 569 | ||
TOTAL EXPENSES FOR 5 DAYS | |
Day 1 | Php 1,201 |
Day 2 | Php 1,527 |
Day 3 | Php 2,055 |
Day 4 | Php 1,071 |
Day 5 | Php 569 |
TOTAL | Php 6,423 |
I’m quite proud of this “super-budget” trip, though it can still be lowered maybe by around 1k if you have super haggling skills. And of course, by not traveling solo 🙂
Water Lilies in Lake Sebu
I encourage you guys to visit Lake Sebu and Asik-asik Falls. Access to Asik-asik Falls is really a big hassle but hopefully it will be easier later on with spreading word-of-mouth. I think it would be the next big thing in ecotourism. I’ll gladly provide contact numbers of awesome people who can assist you at Asik-asik Falls and cook for you a baboy ramo. It’s great for camping.
And please, don’t bargain too much, especially with the honest, hardworking local folk. They need it and deserve your hard-earned money.
BY: BYAHE NI DREWKOY
zelle naa bay itinerary from surigao to davao then samal island . moagi sa east coast side. thanks
Hi Kuya
Naa nay way Kuya..
Mag create ko itinerary Davao to Surigao for our land trip This June Davao – Surigao – Butuan – Cagayan – Camiguin – Jagna 🙂
Thanks zel!
Thank Drew for this great and very informative article.
Suya much ko ani na trip. Pwede ka magda namo sunod.
Geemiz oki salmat zelle sa info. thanks
Awesome travel guide with lots of info. Cheaper option in going to Asik Asik Falls…awesome.
wow!! you have your itinerary! how organized!!!
Itinerary is a must each time I travel. It is very helpful especially if you have a tight schedule.
I want to see Lake Sebu because of it’s beauty and I also want to see the rest of Western Mindanao.
I have family in Iligan and Ozamis, as well as other places in Mindanao. You're right, there are many places there that are safe and quite far from the conflicts in the area. It's nice to see that these places get visited and are appreciated too, coz a lot of people are afraid to do that.
Lets promote Mindanao 🙂
Woooh! Another destination to add to my travel bucket list 🙂 Thanks for the detailed post 🙂
You’re welcome Kai. Mindanao is such a beautiful place.
Thank you so much for sharing your travel itinerary and expenses.
You are very much welcome Peach 🙂
hello i just wanna ask abt. tge 500php habal2x, good for whole day tour na yan? o papuntang lake lake lang mismo? abd ano po yan per head?tnx…
Hi
This is a whole day tour na po.