HomeAsiaPhilippinesLuzonSorsogonLake Bulusan: Overnight Side Trip to Sorsogon By Marcos Detourist on September 2, 2011Lake Bulusan got me curious after reading how it has been described as the “Switzerland of the Orient.” I was excited to finally get to visit a sizable mountain lake for the first time. I would have already satisfied that goal in Lake Lanao if it weren’t for my major Marawi mishap :( It was already dark when I arrived in Bulusan (I came all the way from Caramoan) and I still had no idea where to spend the night. The van driver told me there weren’t much accommodations in Bulusan town proper and suggested I stay at one of the beach resorts along Dancalan Beach, located just before the town proper area. Since I wasn’t able to research about places to stay in Bulusan, I had to take his word for it :( I really just needed to find a safe place to spend the night so I can visit Lake Bulusan early morning the next day. Colorful kayaks docked at Lake Bulusan in Sorsogon ProvinceOvernight at Dangkalan Beach ResortI told the driver to drop me off at the cheapest beach resort in Dancalan, which turned out to be Dangkalan Beach Resort. Like most resorts in the Philippines, Dangkalan Beach Resort caters to the group/family vacationers. The resort had a few airconditioned cottages rented out for P1,000 per 12 hours. I managed to haggle it down to P800, which was still too high from my usual budget. Getting a room for the night was yet another blow to my pocket … thank goodness I brought extra money. Nightshot of Dangkalan Beach Resort in Bulusan, SorsogonMy room at Dangkalan Beach Resort was very spacious and could probably fit up to 8 to 10 persons (additional bedding). Obviously, it was too big for lil’ me … even their puny aircon unit couldn’t cool down the room sufficiently. My room also had a private TB and a 2nd floor balcony.Try to look for better choices in the area if you’re bent on spending the night in Bulusan. If you have ample time, I suggest staying at Sorsogon City/Legazpi City instead and just do a day trip to Lake Bulusan.I went to the shore to take some night shots of Dancalan. I really liked the calm waters and the (almost) white sand beach. I didn’t notice it back then but the coast of Bulusan, Sorsogon already faces the vast Pacific Ocean … cool!I felt quite alienated being alone on the beach. Seeing groups / couples hanging out at the shoreline made me miss the company of my friends back home. View of the Pacific Ocean from the 2nd floor balcony of my room at Dancalan Beach ResortEarly Morning Trip to Lake BulusanAt 5:00AM, I went to the highway (just outside Dangkalan Beach Resort) and waited for a tricycle ride to the town proper. It was still dark at the time. It seemed the town was still very much asleep so I decided to walk towards the direction of the town proper. The sun was already starting to rise … darn! I was hoping to witness the sunrise in Lake Bulusan. A few townspeople were already up but it still took me a while to find a tricycle driver willing to take me to Lake Bulusan. View of Dancalan Beach at dawn Sunrise at the river near Bulusan town proper A quaint Spanish-colonial (bahay na bato) house in Bulusan Town ProperOne of the locals offered me P300 for the chartered round trip ride to Lake Bulusan. It took 30 minutes to get from Bulusan town proper to the lake on a very very rough road. I was surprised to see developed structures at the entrance gate of Lake Bulusan. The scene was far from the remote natural setting I was expecting.Finally getting a full view of Lake Bulusan, my mood lightened up drastically! It was really beautiful to see the warm colors of sunrise with such a nice view of thick forests and towering mountains. The colorful kayaks at the lakeside also added a nice “pop” to the picturesque view. If only I came an hour earlier, I would’ve loved to take photos of Lake Bulusan at dawn … the 6:10AM light was already starting to get too harsh.Lake Bulusan lies at the heart of Bulusan Volcano National Park, which is home to Mt. Bulusan, one of the most active volcanoes in the Philippines. Mt. Bulusan has three peaks, one of which can be seen from Lake Bulusan. There was an established trail surrounding the whole lake. I was only able to explore part of it since I didn’t have enough time.I could see how the cooler temperature, lakeside setting, and pristine natural beauty of Lake Bulusan could inspire the title “Switzerland of the Orient” but the resemblance is too far from visions of Swiss landscapes (don’t expect pine forests, alpine meadows, or ice caps here). Forest trail surrounding Lake BulusanI would have really loved to spend more time in Lake Bulusan. A whole day actually! I want to follow the trail around the lake and see more of the old growth forest of the Mount Bulusan National Park. While I was taking photos at the forest trail, I remember realizing how my desire of being a traveler was starting to come true. I wasn’t crossing from nth country to nth+1 country yet but the thought of trekking in the middle of the forest while I still had a plane to catch a couple of hours later fascinated me.Lake Bulusan Overnight Tips Overnight in Dangkalan Beach Resort – P800 per 12 hours (P1,000 original price; Aircon room with private TB) Morning Walk from Dangkalan Beach Resort to Bulusan town proper (20 minutes) Bulusan town proper to Lake Bulusan (30 minutes per way) – P300 roundtrip tricycle charterDon’t leave yet. There’s more!Sorsogon to Legazpi City: Return Flight to ManilaAlbay Churches DIY Tour - Tiwi, Tabaco, and Santo Domingo en…Where I've Wandered Off To in SeptemberOne Week in Bicol - Solo Backpacking & DIY TipsKuala Lumpur Skyline night shot from Lake Titiwangsa,…Caramoan to Legazpi Commute: CamSur PARTIDO Coastal HighwayComments Marky saysSeptember 2, 2011 at 5:30 pmThis is what we missed on our Legazpi-Sorsogon trip. Arrrghhh if we have one more day, we’re sure to have visited this. Kick ass photographs, I’ll make plans for a Sorsogon return trip soon. Marcos saysSeptember 3, 2011 at 11:45 amThanks Marky. Seems you had fun in Calintaan Island anyways :D I wanna come back too for the whale shark season. raul barrios saysSeptember 2, 2011 at 6:52 pmWow, marc! your pictures are amazing! Marcos saysSeptember 3, 2011 at 11:45 amThanks raul! JeffZ saysSeptember 3, 2011 at 5:14 pmOh my.. *speechless*perfect reflection.. ganun ka linaw ung lake? Marcos saysSeptember 7, 2011 at 5:38 pmMalinaw ang Lake Bulusan especially during early mornings. The CPL and 0.4 sec exposure helped to bring the reflections pop a bit more … pero yung actual view niya maganda pa rin. Depende rin siguro sa weather, I was lucky na maganda ang early morning sky during my visit. LINA C. ABOGADIE saysSeptember 3, 2011 at 9:13 pmThanks (again) for sharing your very nice pics(maski late ka na) of the lake. Your pics of Dangcalan Beach are superb! Just continue posting your trips, hoping that one day, i will be there too. Marcos saysSeptember 7, 2011 at 5:30 pmButi maganda pa rin yung view ng Lake Bulusan … I can relate, ganun din feeling ko when I read other blogs … hoping that one day I will be able to experience the same beauty. doreen saysJanuary 12, 2012 at 8:14 pmthanks so much for this post!friends and I are planning to go to Bulusan within this month so your post helps a lot.beautiful pics also…keep posting! and like u, i also have dreams of travels, trekking, etc :) safe trips! Marcos saysJanuary 13, 2012 at 3:04 amcool :) safe trips also doreen! ana isabel dugay saysMay 30, 2012 at 8:20 pmthanks for posting your pictures at bulusan lake.i just want to know how far is bulusan from sorsogon proper?thank you Posting of new comments is disabled temporarily.Connect with Marcos on:Detourista.comMarcosDetourist.comFacebookInstagramTwitterDetourista.comDiscover more travel guides and blogs about the Philippines and beyond by Marcos DetouristChoose your next destination: Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam
Marky saysSeptember 2, 2011 at 5:30 pmThis is what we missed on our Legazpi-Sorsogon trip. Arrrghhh if we have one more day, we’re sure to have visited this. Kick ass photographs, I’ll make plans for a Sorsogon return trip soon.
Marcos saysSeptember 3, 2011 at 11:45 amThanks Marky. Seems you had fun in Calintaan Island anyways :D I wanna come back too for the whale shark season.
JeffZ saysSeptember 3, 2011 at 5:14 pmOh my.. *speechless*perfect reflection.. ganun ka linaw ung lake?
Marcos saysSeptember 7, 2011 at 5:38 pmMalinaw ang Lake Bulusan especially during early mornings. The CPL and 0.4 sec exposure helped to bring the reflections pop a bit more … pero yung actual view niya maganda pa rin. Depende rin siguro sa weather, I was lucky na maganda ang early morning sky during my visit.
LINA C. ABOGADIE saysSeptember 3, 2011 at 9:13 pmThanks (again) for sharing your very nice pics(maski late ka na) of the lake. Your pics of Dangcalan Beach are superb! Just continue posting your trips, hoping that one day, i will be there too.
Marcos saysSeptember 7, 2011 at 5:30 pmButi maganda pa rin yung view ng Lake Bulusan … I can relate, ganun din feeling ko when I read other blogs … hoping that one day I will be able to experience the same beauty.
doreen saysJanuary 12, 2012 at 8:14 pmthanks so much for this post!friends and I are planning to go to Bulusan within this month so your post helps a lot.beautiful pics also…keep posting! and like u, i also have dreams of travels, trekking, etc :) safe trips!
ana isabel dugay saysMay 30, 2012 at 8:20 pmthanks for posting your pictures at bulusan lake.i just want to know how far is bulusan from sorsogon proper?thank you