Holy Weekend at Lake Agco Resort, Foot of Mt. Apo

It has been 7 seven years since I last climbed the highest peak in the Philippines, Mt. Apo (in 2001) so it was a joy for me to be able to relieve the seven-year itch in me to see the majestic Mt. Apo once again. But despite my constant prodding, my wife doesn’t want to so instead; we decided to just go to the Lake Agco Resort located at the foot of Mt. Apo (3,937 ft. above sea level). Well, at least I am still within Mt. Apo’s grasp (by comparison, Mt. Apo is 9,692 ft. above sea level). We heard that they have renovated it and is fast becoming a tourist spot. So along with our friends Malou and Arlene, we scheduled to go there on Good Friday and Black Saturday (March 21 - 22).

I’m still a little bit fatigued from our trip at Kiwa Adventure but I don’t care, we might never have the opportunity to do this trip again this year.  

During departure time, my sisters Bona and Dianne decided to tag along since Jo (Bona’s BF) and his companions will also drop by at the resort from their Mt. Apo climb. We did not to bring any cooking utensils since Jo have theirs anyway.

We took a van from our place in Kabacan to Kidapawan City and met our friends at the Our Lady Mediatrix of All Graces Cathedral. We then proceeded to the habal-habal terminal going to Lake Agco. We hired two habal-habals, three of us riding in each one (we were charged P70/person).
We arrived at the resort after a 1-hour bumpy, dusty and hot ride to hell on the way there. Man, it sure pays to have a private vehicle! But if you’re the more adventurous type, you can try riding a habal-habal. It’s supposed to come from the visayan word “habal” meaning “the act of sexual intercourse”. More like an orgy I think since one habal-habal can carry up to 10 passengers all crammed up into that little space they call a motorcycle, hehe..

I was really taken aback after arriving at the place because there are too many people. It seems like we are going to a carnival. I did not expect to see that huge number of people. There are many parked vehicles too. And you can see hundreds of tents dotting the whole landscape! The place has surely become a tourist spot specially during the long holy week break. We paid P15 for the entrance fee.

I grilled bangus and ‘panga ng tuna’ and had our  lunch at our cottage we rented for P200.

Here I am preparing a hammock for relaxation time.

With my wife just idling the time away while Jo and his companions who just arrived from Mt. Apo prepare our tents.

Climbers/visitors can put up their tents at the camping grounds of the resort. There are actually closed cottages for rent but that is if you are lucky to get one because the waiting list is too long due to the sheer number of visitors who frequent the resort.

At the entrance to the “jacuzzi” steam and spa. You must shell out a mere P5 to get inside.

At the stairway going down to the “jacuzzi”.

At the stairway going up to the “boiling mud”.

Look down below! That’s boiling mud down there. They say that you can actually use it as a mud pack for your face. Whew, baka malapnos mukha ko nun! I just don’t know why the management decided to close the way down there. Upon closer inspection, I saw that it must be because the man-made stairway had eroded and just too risky for visitors.

At the entrance to the spa. The steam is coming from underground vents and actually reeks of rotten eggs. Well, that’s because they are sulfuric. Takes some time getting used to it. But it’s soothing when you just sit inside and relax although it feels like you are being baked in a hot oven which is in contrast to the chilling cold you’ll feel outside.

The Lake Agco camp site 3,937 ft. above sea level. This is outside the Lake Agco resort. Wala’ng bayad dito.

  
On the way to Lake Agco. The lake is also outside the resort’s fenced perimeter.
  
That’s Lake Agco behind us. It’s sad to see that the sign posts are filled with vandals. Sigh…

That’s Lake Agco, the second most popular lake in the Apo mountain range (Lake Venado at the camp near the summit being the first). No one can bath in it though because it’s so hot. So hot that you can actually boil an egg in it… or so they say as we have not tried it.

That’s steam in the background rising from the lake. Maybe you can do boil eggs in the lake.
  

After our tour of the resort and its nearby surroundings, we took a dip in one of its hot springs. It’s hot at first when your body touces the water but gradually, you’ll acclimatize to it soon after. It also smells like rotten eggs because of its sulfuric content but don’t mind it; they said that it is therapeutic so ok lang. Bathing on a hot spring is supposed to help us sooth our tired muscles and aching joints, cure our wounds and skin tissue problems and cure rheumatism. They even said that you can drink the sulfuric water but I did not dare try it.

Well for me, I felt relaxed and sleepy after; and according to my wife, my face seemed smoother as all whiteheads were washed away (yaikss…) Maybe I’ll come here every month then, hehe…

The cold water from the falls comes from a river which cascades down to the pool of hot spring. Resort guys can alter the volume of water falling to the pool to make the pool hotter or colder. More cold water rushing in from the falls makes the pool colder and vice-versa. Para’ng tinitimpla ba. Meron kasing iba na hindi makatiis sa sobrang init ng hot spring kaya pinapalaksan ang tubig galing sa falls para medyo maging maligamgam.
 
We went home after an overnight stay. It so cold the night before as it rained hard and our tents were soaking wet. We already wore multiple thick clothes, pants, socks and jackets but you can still feel the freezing cold! Makes you think that you should never came to the place after all. Haha… if it had not rained, the coldness would be bearable. And if we have managed to rent one of the cottages, we would have slept tightly.

But then, where’s the fun in that? An adventure or trip should have challenges. More enjoying that way.

We took a dip to the hot spring one more time before we packed and went home.