In one of my trips to Sagada, I happened to explore one of its landmarks on my own, by foot.

Without an itinerary in mind and a group to join with, I just walked one morning to an uphill road. I passed by the elementary school, the Sagada Pottery and followed the road leading to Besao. I realized that I was heading to Lake Danum, and after an hour walk to an almost empty road, I reached the lake.

Located in Sitio Patay, Lake Danum or Lake Banao (from those in Besao) is approximately four kilometers from Sagada Municipal Hall. With its grassy and tree-shaded ground, it is a perfect place for camping or picnic, and serves as jump-off point to a Mt. Ampacao trek.

The lake is small, it is actually more of a pond, but the locals refer to it as lake. The water is low during summer and turns brown to orange, but on wet season, it turns green to murky. When the lake overflows during heavy rains, the water flows down to Balas-iyan River.

Some also say that Lake Danum offers the best view of sunset in Sagada, this I must see 🙂

Danum is the Kankana-ey (Sagada’s local dialect) term for water.