Happy Monday Hivers!

It was Friday evening when my friend and I decided to have breakfast together on the next day before I left Dumaguete City for a family visit in Cebu. My initial plan was to travel back home on Saturday at 9 AM. So, I told her that we would meet earlier to have enough time to catch up. Since she is an understanding friend, she immediately agreed.

The next day, I prepared everything before meeting her so that I could easily grab my things even if I was running a little bit late. But what astonished me was that the plan was completely changed in the blink of an eye.

She asked me if I already had a ticket. When she found out that I didn't have one yet, I was surprised when she told me that we would be going to Balinsasayao Twin Lakes. It was as if I was hypnotized by someone whom I didn't know because I immediately agreed.

After almost 2 hours, I was already close to the mountain ranges because I had reached the mountainous area of Sibulan, and I found myself in front of this spectacular mountain. I had no regrets of saying yes to her.

We stopped for a while at the information center to pay our entrance fee, which cost around $1.15 per person. By the way, if you're traveling from Dumaguete City, you can take a bus at Ceres Terminal and inform the bus conductor to drop you off in San Jose on the way to Twin Lakes. The estimated fare is around $0.77.

You need to travel 135 kilometers from the highway to reach Balinsasayao Twin Lakes. If you don't have a car or motorbike, that won't be a problem if you want to visit the twin lakes as there are many motorbikes driver waiting along the highway to take you there however, I have no idea how much it would cost to travel from the highway to Twin Lakes since we only used my friend's motorbike.

While my friend was paying, there's something piqued my curiosity, so I came closer to it. It was a huge map of Negros Island laid out on the table. After a few minutes of taking photos, my friend approached me and said that we could set off.

After she paid the entrance fee, the real pleasure began. So, we drove a few minutes from the entrance before reaching the starting point. When we arrived, we saw many signs displayed for the tourists' safety.

After reading the sign, I wanted to know why drones were prohibited. So, I asked my friend. She told me that she asked the same question to an employee, who explained that it was because of the birds. They didn't want them to be disturbed.

I also found images of birds and plants near the restaurant. They said that you can see them in the Balinsasayao Twin Lakes Natural Park.

So now let me take you inside the natural park, are you ready for the virtual tour? Let's begin.

Despite the scorching sun, hiking in Balinsasayao Twin Lakes Natural Park was comfortable because the tall trees provided shade and protected us from the sun's rays.

We hiked for about 10 minutes before I was able to see Balinsasayao Lake. I had been wanting to visit this place for a few months, but I kept postponing it because I read online reviews that the road was a little bit scary due to its steepness.

I couldn't explain how happy I was on the day I went there because I finally got to see the beauty of Twin Lakes that I had only seen on YouTube and other blogs.

The breathtaking sight of the mountain ranges kissing the water tempted me to have photos with it, without feeling shy, even with some tourists looking at me.

The view was absolutely stunning. I'm certain that no one left this place without taking a photo, unless they weren't interested in collecting photo souvenirs.

There is a viewing deck located farther, and there are two ways of getting there.

You can choose to go there by boat or on foot using the trail, but since we like to explore, we chose the latter.

There's a decent trail going to the viewing deck, so I did not find hiking difficult.

While we were hiking, we saw wildflowers, and we couldn't just leave without taking a photo of them.

Oops, you should be mindful while hiking so you won't have an accident. Some trees were blocking our way to the viewing deck, but we could still use the pathway because we are small and could easily duck under the trees.

We also passed through a narrow pathway, but it was okay because, as I mentioned earlier, we are petite.

We met some tourists who were also hiking, but they were on their way back to the entrance. They kept telling us, "Oh, you're still very far. What I had in mind was that it's okay because I was already enjoying my hike, thanks to the jaw-dropping view.

We also found a banana tree that was blocking the pathway, with both bananas and blossom in the center.

I was already tired when we reached this point, and my feet had started to hurt. My friend told me that we were almost there.

When I saw this sign I started to feel energized, I know we were already so close to the viewing deck.

There's another steep climb, but I pushed myself because I wanted to see the beauty of the Twin Lakes.

But my friend didn't agree with the idea of immediately going to the viewing deck.

She brought me close to the lake, but instead of complaining, I was grateful as I was able to take a rest for a while. I thought I would just stare blankly at the lake while resting, but what happened was far different from what I had thought.

While resting my feet, I enjoyed the serenity. The only sound I heard was the chirping of different birds.

I used to check the surroundings especially when I am in the forest because I am scared of snake. While checking, I saw a kaleidoscope of butterflies.

I thought they would leave the place because of our presence, but they didn't fly away.

I tried to catch one and let it perch on my finger. I was fortunate that it stayed there longer. My friend and I whispered to each other while talking because we didn't want them to fly away.

After resting, we headed to the viewing deck. It was so quiet. We were grateful as there were no other guests around.

We climbed to the 3rd floor, so we had a stunning view of the twin lakes. From this side, you can see the Balinsasayao Lake clearly. It is much bigger compared to the other lake. I still remember how I kept whispering to the wind about how beautiful the lakes are.

I transferred to the other side. Although the Danao Lake is smaller compared to the Balinsasayao, it is still beautiful. We were lucky to enjoy the view all to ourselves since my friend and I were the only people around. We savored the breathtaking view of the lakes.

If you want to know more about the twin lakes, you can read about it here.

As we heard the voices of people, we gradually went down and headed to the restaurant. The restaurant is located near the starting point, so we walked for a few kilometers. When we reached the restaurant, I thought we could also see the twin lakes, but as we got there, only the Balinsasayao Lake was visible.

After almost 5 hours of staying at the Balinsasayao Twin Lakes Natural Park, we headed to Dumaguete City. I picked up my bag from my dormitory and my friend took me to the Ceres Bus Terminal. I thought there was a 5 PM trip bound for Cebu, but I was dismayed to find out that the next trip would be at 10:30 PM. I didn't go back to my dormitory because I was certain that I could no longer return to the Ceres Terminal since I was already so tired. I just waited for the 10:30 PM trip at the Bus Terminal. Although it was so tiring, I had a great day exploring the Balinsasayao Twin Lakes Natural Park.

Thank you for reading and see you on my next blog. Cheers!

Watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places.