Lake Pandin and the Seven Lakes

San Pablo sits on a cluster of maars - volcanic craters formed by steam explosions and long since filled with water - and the city counts seven of them within its boundaries: Sampaloc, the largest, ringed by a walking promenade; Palakpakin, Bunot, Mohicap, Calibato, and the twin lakes Pandin and Yambo separated by a narrow ridge. Pandin is the one visitors come for. From the trailhead a ten-minute walk drops to the shore, where a women's cooperative runs bamboo rafts: guests sit at a low table, the raft is pulled slowly across the lake by a swimmer hauling a rope, lunch of grilled tilapia, kesong puti and buko comes out mid-crossing, and the far side has a rope swing and swimming off the raft in deep green water. The cooperative has run it for years and the arrangement - local women, fixed prices, no motors - is the reason the lake stays quiet. Yambo, over the ridge, is the wilder twin.

What you actually see

• The bamboo raft - hauled across Pandin by rope with lunch aboard.
• The crater walls - forested slopes ringing the water.
• Yambo over the ridge - the quieter twin lake.
• The other maars - Sampaloc's promenade and the smaller lakes.

When to go

November to May for dry trails and clear water; weekdays for calm, since weekends fill the rafts. Book ahead in peak season through the cooperative.

Honest expectations

The raft package is per person and includes lunch - it is not a cheap picnic but it pays the cooperative. The walk down is short but steep and muddy after rain. Some of the seven lakes are heavily fish-penned and less scenic.

Nearby

Mount Makiling and Los Banos' hot springs lie north; Majayjay and Luisiana's waterfalls are east.