Magical Magpupungko

A wonderful surprise during my visit to Siargao was my trip to Magpupungko. This relatively new tourist destination in Siargao is a 30 minute drive from General Luna. Its main attraction are the natural pool formations which appears at low tide. So you have to check the schedule of low tide and time your visit accordingly.

You can only enjoy this beautiful natural pool for about 3 hours during low tide.The sea water is so calm and clean and there are even live corals. The pool is set against a backdrop of limestone formations and raging sea waters which are calmed by the corals and rocks on the beach area.

Magpupungko is a unique and magical place. And the local tourism experts told me that it was in fact featured on National Geographic. Make a visit to Magpunpungko a "must" when you go to Siargao.

Beautiful Blue Lagoon

Since I was not a swimmer, I was advised not to go Sohoton Caves. To fully enjoy Sohoton Caves you have to swim through the caves, lagoons and then dive from a cliff into the open sea. As an alternative, they suggested that I go instead to Blue Lagoon.

To go to the Blue Lagoon, you travel by land to the town of Caob and then take an hour boat ride to reach the lagoon. The boat ride takes you around the mangroves of Caob which are a tourist attraction by itself, and then into the clear and clean waters surrounded by tree covered limestone cliffs.

When you finally reached the Blue Lagoon, you will be awed by the beauty of nature in its unspoilt best. The pristine shallow waters even has live corals in bright colors. The place reminded me of the Big Lagoon of El Nido, only this time, more serene and isolated because not a lot of tourists have actually been to this place.

However, there is trouble in this paradise. A local resident has claimed ownership of the area and is actually building a pavilion on the left side of a limestone cliff which sits at the middle of the blue lagoon. The pretty view therefore of both sides of the lagoon is obstructed. Furthermore, said "owner" has installed exposed electric wires along the waterway route to the lagoon. You actually have to get permission from said "owner" to access the place.

The provincial government and Department of Tourism from what I heard is disputing this claim. Rightfully so, since I believe that any body of water is public domain and ownership can not be granted to any individual or entity.

Hopefully, said ownership issue will be resolved soon and the place can be developed properly to ensure proper preservation of this truly beautiful place.

Mangroves of Caob

Around an hour by tricycle from Gen Luna is the town of Caob. This seaside town boasts of hectares of mangrove forests. Tours around the mangroves by bancas are now being offered. A jetty has also been constructed which is intended to be the docking area for bigger boats which will be soon doing the mangrove forest cruise.

The mangrove forest is impressive because of the relatively large area that it occupies. Since the mangrove area is actually a maze it is therefore easy to lose your way around if you do not have a reliable and knowledgeable local guide.

Dako: The Biggest and the Best

Dako ("Big")Island is not only the biggest of the three islands in Siargao but also the best! It is inhabited with a small town which was celebrating its fiesta during the time I was there. The island is picture pretty with its powdery white sand, and clean and clear turquoise waters.

I would have loved to stay in this island instead of General Luna town in Siargao. But unfortunately there are no resorts here at present although there are plans to open resorts in the near future. Dako is a short 15 minute boat ride away from General Luna. Hopefully next time I visit Siargao, I would have the opportunity of staying in this stunningly beautiful island.

Beaching at Guyam

Guyam is a small island with rock formations on one side and a white fine sand beach on the other side. It has a lot of coconut trees and its calm clean and shallow waters makes its ideal for non swimmers. Birds also make a rest stop on the rock formations of Guyam.

Like Boracay, you can actually walk on the fine sand beach for about 30 feet from shore and still feel safe to play and swim around the beach area. Since I do not swim, I actually had a good time in Guyam.

Goin Naked in Siargao

A short boat ride away from General Luna in Siargao are three (3) beautiful islands, namely, Naked Island, Guyam and Dako.

Naked Island as the name suggests is barren with no plants or trees except for a small patch of grass. The sand here is white and fine, and the water clean and turquoise in color. If you do not mind getting a good tan, since there are no trees to give you shade from the sun, you will enjoy staying and swimming here.

Surfin Siargao

I was in Siargao 12 years ago when not too many tourists were going there. Stayed there only for a day and a night. But the little that I saw, I liked and I vowed to return.

Thanks to Cebu Pacific traveling to Siargao has been made easy and cheaper ( if you avail of promo rates). They have flights from Manila that connect to Siargao via Cebu. So finally this July I got the chance to stay for a week and took the opportunity to see more of this island paradise.

This time around there were more tourists and the majority were foreigners who came mainly for surfing. Cloud 9 ( the surfing area of Siargao) continues to be the main attraction of Siargao. In July, surf was mild which was good for beginners. Best time to go for surfers is from August to October where the waves are at its strongest. There is an international surfing competition held annually in September.

For non-surfers, Cloud 9 is still a good place to visit because of the beautiful seascape made rustic with the long wooden walkway that leads to the surfing area.