Pandin Lake Adventure

Want a relaxing day out? Be one with nature? Enjoy time with your family or friends? Then, a day at Pandin Lake is what you're looking for 🍃🍃

Hello, gladiators!

Let me tell about my experience at Pandin Lake located at San Pablo, Laguna. My friends and I wanted to bond and go out, just to catch up with each other. Just like everybody else, nagiging "drawing" din ang lakad namin kadalasan. But this trip proceeded. 😊😊

Pandin has an area of 20.5 hectares and a maximum depth of 63 meters. It has a calculated volume of 6,600 cubic meters of water in storage. Pandin is considered oligotrophic because of the abundant plant and fish life.

How to go there?
From Manila: 

-Ride a bus bound to Santa Cruz, Laguna (DLTB or Jac Liner) then drop off to the intersection going to Bae, Santa Cruz, and San Pablo (Trademark: Jollibee)

-Wait for a jeepney bound to San Pablo and drop off to town/plaza.
-Ride another jeep "Ilog" and talk to the driver to drop you off the Pandin Lake.

From Santa Cruz, Laguna:
-In the plaza, ride a jeep bound to San Pablo and then drop off to town/plaza.
-Ride another jeep going to "Ilog" and talk to the driver to drop you off the Pandin Lake.

Note: You may or may not hire a guide to lead you in the Pandin Lake proper.

We opted not to hire because it'll just cost us more money and we thought that we could probably figure out how to get there eventually. And yes, we did not get lost. It is a 15-minute walk from the last dropping point.


How much is it? 
You have to pay 360 pesos/per person for the rafting and lunch. If you would just like to do rafting, its only 180 pesos/per person.

Are life jackets provided?
Yes, swimming on the lake requires you to wear a life jacket (no matter how good swimmer you are). The water in the center of the lake is about 180 feet, and the water on the part that they allow visitors to swim is about 80 feet.

If you see this ranch, then you're on the right track!!

At last! We finally got there!! This is what you will see when you get to the area.

This is a picture of me and my friends while waiting for our turn to ride the raft, a simplified version of a "balangay." Although we already book a reservation we still waited for verification purposes and for the preparation of food. They (my friends) were changing to their swimming clothes while I sit there waiting because I have my period that day and I really don't like swimming when I have my period. I guess, I really did not have the full experience.

Below are the foods that they offered, unfortunately, you don't get to choose what food to eat because these foods are the only food they serve. Good thing there's a lot of sari-sari stores and food vendors that sell varieties of foods like corn, buko, manga, and such.

Ginataang hipon, Inihaw ng Tilapia, Banana, Rice, and Some vegetables

I thought we were the only one riding the boat but to accommodate more visitors, they made sure that the raft was 10 pax full to maximize its capacity. We were joined by a family from Manila visiting their relatives in San Pablo. They were nice, we had talks and they even volunteered to take photos of us.

This is the area where all the rafts are gathered and where all the people enjoy to dip in the cold, fresh water.

The food was really good. I'm sure my tummy was happy. Side note, I was already eating before we even got to the swimming area. 😂

After reaching the swimming area, there is a trail where you can go to see the other side of the lake which is Lake Yambo, the hike took probably 3-5 minutes depending on your pace. 

Lake Yambo at the back

We spent probably 5 minutes up there to just take photos and then we got back down because there was really not much to do up there but to take photos. Going back to the swimming area, the rafts were so close together that made bridges to go from one raft to another. There was a swing made from tire, wood, and string and we took photos with it.

My friend

They finally swam but I was left on the raft taking their photos. Sad life for me. The water was really clear although it is green due to some algae or other organism.

More scenery:

We were only allowed to spend 2-3 hours in total to enjoy the place. To pave way for the other visitors because the rafts were few. My friends said the time was not enough tho. I really think the place was good enough and I do wish that there would be no more establishments to be added to preserve its natural beauty. But I do wish that they improve the comfort rooms and provide more options for food. Addition of other activities would also be nice like kayaking, snorkeling, diving, etc. Overall, it was a fun and calming experience. Everything was so fresh unlike the air in the city.

Hope this helped you plan your next trip to the province! Here's the contact number of Lake Pandin Personnel: 0907 995 2983

Thank you for reading! Until next time.