Kayangan Lake

The classic photograph of Coron — a small, ultramarine lake hemmed in by sharp karst cliffs, taken from a notch in the rocks above — is taken at Kayangan. Boats from Coron town pull up at a small wooden dock; you climb a steep set of steps over a ridge to reach the lake itself, with the famous viewpoint just before the descent.

The water is brackish (where freshwater springs mix with seawater), unusually clear and several metres deep against the cliff. Swimming is allowed but life jackets are required and a daily visitor quota now applies. Get there early.

things to do sight
A story
Kayangan Lake is sacred to the Tagbanua, the indigenous people of Coron Island, who own and run the lake as a community enterprise. They closed it briefly in 2020 to allow the water — which had become measurably less clear — to recover.