Seven Lakes in San Pablo City, Philippines

Of the places in Laguna, the most ideal for field trips is San Pablo City. It has seven lakes found in seven different locations and of seven different characteristics.

The most accessible of all is the Sampaloc Lake located right beside the Municipality of San Pablo. It is said to be the largest of all and has the most number of fish pens. It is referred to as a eutrophic lake because its saucer-like in terms of depth.

Bunot lake is another eutrophic lake. It is called so because people living along the periphery of the lake husk coconut fruit for a living. Along its edge are houses of people who depend on it for their source of livelihood. And this situation explains why, the lake appears to be the most polluted.

Calibato lake, on the other hand, is said to be located on the highest point of San Pablo. Trekking upon a quarried mountain and going down the cliff are undertaken for one to get to the location. Water here stinks a bit but not as stinky as the water from Bunot Lake. This is categorized as a mesotrophic lake because it’s deeper than the first two. Mesotrophic lakes are said to resemble with a plate when it comes to its depth.

Among the lakes, Pandin is the most visited. It is found in Sto. Angel and a twenty-minute walk from the main road. It’s guitar-shaped and 180 ft. deep which explains why it is categorized as an oligotrophic lake.  Along its periphery live fifteen families whose members depend on fishing and rafting as sources of their daily needs.

Another oligotrophic  and the most challenging to find is Pandin’s twin lake – Yambo. Trekking the steep and slippery hill has to be undertaken to get there. This can only be viewed from the top of the hill and going down the lake is impossible because no trail is provided. Unlike the aforementioned lakes, this has no residents along its margin. Hence, it is considered to be the cleanest of all.

Muhikap and Palakpaquin lakes are difficult to reach due to their locations.

These seven lakes are brought about by the eruptions of the volcanoes – Mt. Cristobal (known as the devil mountain), Mt. Banahaw (the sacred mountain) and Mt. Makiling which surround the place and  were all active volcanoes before.

These lakes attract tourists from different parts of the world and provide livelihood for the people of San Pablo City.