Lotus
On the water.
Herbertkikoy — CC BY-SA 4.0 · GinaD — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Herbertkikoy — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Southlens62 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Patrickroque01 — CC BY-SA 4.0
Sebu is a calm lake among green hills in southern Mindanao. Its water mirrors the sky and clouds, pink lotus flowers float on the surface, narrow wooden canoes rest on the shore, small wooded islands dot the water and fish cages sit on it. The lake is in the municipality that bears its name in South Cotabato, and the government counts it among the country's most important watersheds, irrigating fields in two provinces. Its traditional people are the Tboli and Ubo, and in 1993 the government recognised the lake and its surroundings as their ancestral domain. The tourism department promotes it as a major eco-tourism destination. You take a boat on the lake among the lotus and islands, watch the fishermen and fish cages. The lake is about 34 km in a straight line southwest of Koronadal. It is ancestral land for its people, so respect their villages and ask before taking photos. The UK advises against all travel to western and central Mindanao and all but essential travel to the rest of the island, so check current advice before you go.
On the water.
Narrow wooden.
Wooded.
Lake Sebu municipality, South Cotabato, Mindanao
The Tboli and Ubo peoples.
By boat on the lake.