General Santos City: Gateway to Lake Sebu & Sarangani
General Santos City is the capital city of the province of South Cotabato. It is also the gateway to my adventure to the southern most part of Mindanao. Budget for this trip is only P5,000. I stayed at Isabela Lourdes Pension House for P495 aircon room per night. Upon arrival in General Santos City Airport I immediately started my adventure. Here is the account of my trip:
Zipline at the 7 Falls, Lake Sebu.
Lake Sebu is a famous tourist spot at the same time one of the municipalities of South Cotabato.
HOW TO GET THERE:
From the airport, ride a jeep for P50 (each) to Bulaong Terminal. From the Bulaong Terminal, you may take either a van/bus to Koronadal City. Travel time is approximately 1 hour. Tell the driver to drop you at the Koronadal Bus Terminal. Take a Van ride to Lake Sebu. Travel time is 45 mins. Tell the driver to drop you off at the entrance of 7 Falls. From there take a Habal2x ride at the entrance and tell the driver to bring you to the zipline area. One way habal2x ride cost P40. You may inform the driver to wait for you and bring you back at the highway. Zipline cost P200 and if you want them to shot your pics it will cost additional P250. They will use their DSLR cam and pics are indeed on very high resolution. After, back to General Santos City and stayed at Isabella Pension House.
2nd Day:
White Water Tubing & Visit Pawikan Hatchery at Maitum, Sarangani.
Maitum is one of the municipalities of Sarangani.
HOW TO GET THERE:
Take a Van ride from the KCC Mall Terminal bound for Maitum. Travel time is 1 hour. Tell the driver to drop you off at the corner street for the white water tubing. From there, Take a habal2x ride to the briefing area. You may inform the driver to wait for you. The activity cost P200 and will take around 30 mins. You may also avail help from them to take your pics for ONLY P50 (using your own cam/phone) and they will take care of all the angles and actions. From the briefing area, tell the driver to take you to the pawikan hatchery area. There is no entrance fee but you can give any amount for donation. Tell the driver to take you to the Terminal and take a Van back to General Santos
City and stayed at Isabella Pension House.
For Habal2x services in Lake Sebu, you may contact Mr. Oprik 0926-122-2207 for affordable rides.
3rd Day:
Glan, Sarangani
Glan is another municipality of Sarangani Province. Gumasa is a barangay in Glan which is famous for its "Boracay looking" beaches.
HOW TO GET THERE:
Take a Van ride at the KCC Mall Terminal or take a tricycle ride at Lagao Terminal. Travel time is around 1 hour. From Glan, take a Habal2x ride to Gumasa.
I took the tricycle ride which is so uncomfortable as the seat has no foam and it was indeed "siksikan" due to the vehicle is small. Later did I know that there is Van going there at the KCC Mall Terminal. Lesson learned.
Upon arrival at Glan proper, since all passengers already disembarked, the driver offered to bring me to Gumasa. His offer is just the same if I took a habal2 ride so I said Yes. He asked which resort am I going to stay? I told him to bring me to the best beach in Gumasa. Along the highway, I am already seeing the white sand, bluish turquoise beaches. Then I passed by White Haven Beach Resort where I stayed for a day. It actually met my expectation. It has long shoreline, white powdery sand, and the water is just so stunning. There were less beach goers which is what I like because the beach is all mine. No photobombers.. just me! LOL
After, back to General Santos City and stayed at Isabella Pension House.
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