Zip-line at the 7 Falls | Lake Sebu, South Cotabato

The zip-line at 7 Falls in Lake Sebu is definitely not for the faint of heart. But for thrill-seekers who want a different kind of adrenaline rush, then this might be just what you have been looking for. All you have to do is muster enough guts to make it to the platform on top of Hikong Bente (Falls No. 2). The reassuring crew would then strap you up with the safety harnesses and anchor you afterwards to the steel cable.

While your heart starts to pound faster, try to imagine Joker whispering the following in your ear: “Madness is like gravity, all it takes is a little push.” But before you reach the part where you hear his signature laugh, the zip-line crew would have interrupted your nightmarish reverie by letting you go. You are suddenly plunged into a wickedly awesome scene that only this part of the Philippines can possibly offer.

It was not my first zip-line experience but I must admit that my knees were a little wobbly when we were already on the wooden platform. Because from where we are standing, the 7 Falls gorge seemed to slowly swallow the riders before us. I intended to take a video our flight from start to finish. But at the last minute, I hesitated and turned off my camera. I was admittedly more concerned with the safety of my camera than my own.

Our initial descent was slow, but it began to pick up great speed in just a few seconds. It was a sensory overload: feeling the cool South Cotabato wind against our faces, watching the thick forest canopy and three waterfalls below us, and enjoying all of these while dangling approximately 200 meters off the ground.

I gingerly took my camera off its case and took a video of all the sights just when we were already two-thirds done with the first zip (640 meters). I am not sure now if that was a wise decision. I multitasked by observing everything around us while making sure that my hands are steady enough for a decent and non-Cloverfield video shoot. Some in our group have seen monkeys playing on treetops. I certainly missed that and perhaps a lot more visual feasts. But I would not forgive myself if I failed to capture my zip experience even for just a few megabytes of memory space.

It was all over in less than a minute. Half of my mind wished that it stretched further to Davao, while the rational part reminded me of the remaining 340-meter zip-line ride I have yet to conquer. The agony is perhaps comparable to kissing your girlfriend before your train leaves. You just can’t have too much of every good thing in life. I guess that is what great memories are for. And our zip-line experience at the 7 Falls is without a doubt, one of those.

I know that the zip-line rides at the 7 Falls are not the only rides in the Philippines. Almost every province has or is building one very soon. But the view at the 7 Falls is absolutely hard to beat or even match. Every other ride I have tried elsewhere surprisingly failed in comparison.

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Aside from a convenient access road, you could also reach the zip-line platform by climbing the 774 concrete steps up Hikong Bente (which means ‘unmeasurable’ in Tboli). This well-developed trail starts at the bottom of this magnificent waterfall.

Lantaw provided stunning photos of the 7 Falls in his blog, and the directions in getting there are in this particular entry. Prices, group packages and schedules are displayed in the official South Cotabato website.

This is my second entry to the weekly meme My World.