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Sidetrip: Magpupungko Beach Lagoon (Siargao)

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Magpupungko Beach is located in Pilar. It took us an hour to travel from General Luna (were we had tip-off point for our island hopping in Siargao) through a habal-habal.

This was named as Magpupungko because of a rock formation wherein a huge rock is seated perfectly into a smaller rock. This is surrounded by limestone and granite sculptures and is facing the Pacific Ocean.

When we did our research for Siargao, one place that was overly-raped and mentioned on articles was the Magpupungko Beach and Natural Pool. Looking at pictures alone, we were right away sold to the idea that we must drop by Magpupungko.

Before we headed for Magpupungko, our habal-habal driver told us that he would pass by a welding shop to have the broken canopy from his habal-habal be welded as this will serve as protection from the heat during the long trip. This canopies on the habal-habals in Siargao makes them one of the most unique habal-habals I have seen so far. It makes them look more like a tricycle than a habal-habal.
Magpupungko Rock (see the big rock sitting on the smaller one?)
The trip to Magpupungko from General Luna was butt-numbing to say the least. It starts off with a smooth ride in General Luna but upon entering the non-concrete curve to Magpupungko, the agony begins. The road is laid with shades from trees along the road helping the habal-habal canopy do its work. Cool breeze kisses your cheeks through out the trip, but another bump on the road makes just wakes you up to the reality that the agony ain’t over yet. Steep ascends causes you to hold tight to anywhere you can get your hands to while steep descends will result to all of you getting squished to the front looking really odd if all of you are big muscled guys all cramped to the driver’s end.
Bumps, wide curves, steep ascend and descend on non-concrete road summarizes the whole trip. In my mind you just hope that the whole trip be worth it once you get to Magpupungko. On my very rough estimate, 70% of the road to Magpupungko is not concrete but we saw a number of big machines doing roadwork along the road which could mean that you may not experience the same butt-numbing experience that we had when you get the chance to visit.
Upon seeing the Natural Pool, don’t get overly excited to dive in. Make sure your valuables are safe and in a high place as the tide may go up while you are enjoying the natural pool. First order of business upon arriving was to take pictures then after it was all done, we hurriedly undressed and swam our to our heart content.
After almost 1 hour and a half of bumps and curves, we finally reached Magpupungko Beach. Always keep in mind that it is best to visit Magpupungko when the tide is low. Why? Because Magpupungko Beach boasts their natural pool and this will not be visible when the tide is high. Also, Magpupungko has rocky shores and waves are rough so I’m pretty sure it will not be as pleasing to take a dip here.

It will be best to bring a snorkeling gear or goggles to fully enjoy the view down low. An underwater camera will also help. Good thing Nelson brought a goggle which he didn’t hesitate to lend us.

We were all laughs and talks while enjoying the cool waters in the natural pool but I just can’t seem to stop the urge to climb the tall rock and take a dive. So I prepped myself, asked permission from Sheena and gave her my last will and testament before taking the dive.

Here is the video of my very awkward looking jump and dive.

Is Magpupungko Beach a must-visit? Yes definitely. So if you get the chance to visit Siargao, visit Magpupungko Beach.

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  3. Love this place. Did Sheena go for a swim?(According to your whale shark post she’s a nonswimmer.) If memory serves me right, the pool was quite deep…

    Reply

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