Ever been to a serene, away-from-the-city place where you could just release all the tension and have fun at the same time? Well, I've been to many places and there's still part of me who craves for a paradise and hot springs and jacuzzi and steam baths and cold pools all put into one place. Yeap. It sure is Lake Agco, Kidapawan City in North Cotabato.
One of the main reasons why I have been captured by Kidapawan so quickly is that, although there are no beaches surrounding it, there's so much to the place that's wondrous and amazing that you could actually take pride to as a Filipino, and of course, as a Kidapaweño. One very fascinating example to that would be the Lake Agco.
I googled some photos of Lake Agco for you to have a quick sight of the place.
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| The hot bath. (google photo) |
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| The famous Agco Lake. (google photo) |
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| google photo |
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| google photo |
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| The cold Agco pool (google photo) |
Lake Agco is located at the foot of Mount Apo, the highest peak in the Philippines. So, expect a 45 minute habal-habal (motorcycle) ride from the city to Lake Agco. What's very nice with this is, the travel would not give you stress at all. There are climbs to resorts and hidden paradise that's too steep or too bumpy or too humid. But during my first time ride to Lake Agco, it was surreal. The weather rapidly changed from slightly humid (city temperature, we traveled at around eleven in the morning) to cold (when the ride started to climb at higher levels). So I recommend you bring with you jacket or/and thick clothing. The view, of course, is a thing not to be missed; luscious green surround your every sight and the neighboring mountains of Mt. Apo stood tall and proud, making you look so puny, at an areal's view.
Of course, right after setting foot to the place, we grabbed our phone for a quick selfie.
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| Selfie after the habal-habal ride :) |
Our eyes never stopped moving from left to right, and yes, we were like strangers to Earth. I know some of my companions there have been coming and going to the place, but I can see that they're as excited as I am. After the duty pa yan ha, wala pang tulog 'tong mga taong 'to.
As we heed to the sights, we settled down at an open cottage (200 pesos, can accommodate to at least 15 persons, or depending on body size haha) near the pool. The pool is dramatically cold, so we stayed and talked and ate Cheesy Bacon Mushroom Yum and smoked (di alam ni Papa so wag maingay) before actually deciding to have our stressed bodies release all the stress by dipping into what I consider as "the best pool" so far, along with Iligan City's Timoga Resort's spring pools. Of course, we played games, but most of the time, we just enjoyed the relaxing chilly waters as it pampered our skins.
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| Smile :) |
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| The Dfinetech Solutions team with Miss Pipes featuring Jej pose |
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| Hi Sir Brat, nice ang tubig? |
Then, we decided to go for an adventure and try the hot bath. It was scary, of course. I never tried dipping into a boiling pool, neither a sauna. So much for being weak, after a few attempts of soaking my whole body to the water, it was worth it. It was damn worth it. The heat that would perforate in your whole body actually gives you a surprising feeling of warmth, comfort, tranquility, and a feeling of light all at the same time, after the cool pool drip. I never got the chance to take a picture of us, enjoying the hot bath and feeling the breeze hitting our face and the warm, fuzzy feeling inside.
It was around two in the afternoon, I think, when the fog started to cover the entire place. It was a fascinating encounter of nature, so I guess the pictures will have to explain how awesome it is to be caught up awestruck and all.
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| Miss Piper's capture of the pool being covered with fog. |
Miss Piper also took a video while the spectacular view was happening.
This was actually my second time visiting Lake Agco. The first time was just an initial glimpse; a thorough observation of the entire place. But, I guess second chances are the best experience.
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| This is me getting high after inhaling a generous amount of Hydrogen Sulfide gas (a.k.a. rotten egg) during my first Lake Agco Hot Spring and Resort experience. |
Because of the thickening fog and the heavy rain, we were advised to stay until it subsided. However, if it does not, we're going to have to stay for the night. Fortunately, after three hours of downpour, the fog gradually decreased and the rain stopped so we decided to go home and call it a marvelous day.
If you can visit Lake Agco anytime, you can also stop by to their souvenir stores.
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| Grabbed from Sir Bratt's Facebook post. The store's called Kalumad, and you can get all sorts souvenirs such as carved pens, bracelets, necklaces, customized souvenir items and the like.   |
Before leaving, I got my last selfie of the day haha.
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| Tadaaaaaaaaa! |
My purpose for joining the trip was pure relaxation, so I didn't get to have a photo op of the entire place. Some of the pictures I have here were from my officemate's phone, PJ Lumacas and the video from our Virtual Assistance trainer miss Piper Ramboanga. For additional photos, I searched in Instagram using the hashtag Lake Agco.
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| https://instagram.com/explore/tags/lakeagco/ |
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| https://instagram.com/explore/tags/lakeagco/ |
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| https://instagram.com/explore/tags/lakeagco/ |
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| https://instagram.com/explore/tags/lakeagco/ |
I think I should visit this too... :D hahaha
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