Craft centre · Buluan, Maguindanao del Sur
Provincial Women Center, Buluan
A centre run by the provincial government where a women's group weaves, manages and exhibits inaul products.
Best: February, during the Inaul Festival
Loading…
Lake · Buluan, Maguindanao del Sur
Lake Buluan
The third-largest lake in Mindanao, a wide shallow basin ringed by mountains.
Save
The place
Lake in Buluan, Maguindanao del Sur
The third-largest lake in Mindanao, a wide shallow basin ringed by mountains.
Lake
Traced to its sources since the guide was written.
When to go
Sunrise, when fishers paddle out to their nets and tilapia pens; December to April are the driest months.
Safety in Maguindanao del Sur
This is the area to arrange rather than improvise. Several municipalities carry standing advisories and a visible military presence, and clan disputes are a real and local phenomenon that outsiders read badly. Travel with a local contact who knows the specific town, coordinate with the LGU, and treat any plan that does not include those two steps as incomplete.
About this place
Lake Buluan covers about 61 square kilometres and sits just 4.5 metres above sea level. It is shared between Buluan and Mangudadatu in Maguindanao del Sur and two towns of Sultan Kudarat province.
It is a basin of linked marshes where the Pulangi, Maanoy, Buluan and Alah rivers gather on their way to the Mindanao River, and it was once ringed by the Sultanate of Buayan. Snakehead, catfish, carp, milkfish and tilapia are fished here.
Show moreShow less
Mining in the neighbouring provinces is named as a threat to the lake.
The lake spans more than 6,000 hectares, about 70% of it shared between Buluan and Mangudadatu. Fish-pen farming of tilapia has grown here with fingerlings, boats and cages from the regional agriculture ministry, and fishers read the water's colour: green is good for the fish, reddish or very clear warns of bad weather.
What to do
Go out on the lake with a local boatman
Fishers here catch snakehead, catfish, carp, milkfish and tilapia; go out only with a boatman, and ask about current conditions first.
en.wikipedia.orgWatch the tilapia pens being fed
Fishers keep tilapia in pens on the lake, one of them more than a hectare; fingerlings are fed 3 times a day in fine-mesh nets before moving to larger pens.
bangsamoro.gov.ph
What to eat
Buluan Lake tilapia
Tilapia from the lake's pens is sold as far as Davao, Pagadian and Cotabato City.
bangsamoro.gov.ph
Before you go
- Go out on the water only with a local boatman.
- Ask locally about current conditions before travelling.
Where you’ll be
Buluan, Maguindanao del Sur
Sources
Crafts made in Buluan
Every craft of the region
textileInaulInaul is the handwoven cloth of the Maguindanaon; the word itself means "woven", and the cloth is mostly sold and worn as a malong. Its patterns are passed down in families, some are inspired by stories, objects or emotions, and some designs were once reserved for royal houses.MarkoDalisay · CC BY-SA 4.0Photo by MarkoDalisay, CC BY-SA 4.0. Open the source file.
Where to sleep in Maguindanao del Sur
No lodging here is named by a public source yet. Ask the area’s tourism office, or stay in its main town.
More to see nearby
Everything in Maguindanao del Sur
Heritage · General Salipada K. Pendatun, Maguindanao del Sur
Tomb of Salipada K. Pendatun
The grave of the World War II guerrilla leader and lawmaker after whom his town is named, marked by the National Historical Commission.
Nature · Datu Abdullah Sangki, Maguindanao del Sur
Bual Spring
A spring of clear, cold pools in Sitio Bisang, kept by the Indigenous community around it.
Best: Weekends are when local visitors come, so go on a weekday for a quieter visit
Mosque · Mamasapano, Maguindanao del Sur
Miracle Mosque
A mosque in Mamasapano that the community dates to 1444, known for a mimbar said to have survived a flood.