Summer Place (Palakol)

Summer Place (Palakol)

                  Located in the northeastern part of Floridablanca, about 8 kms from the town proper and 31 kms from the City of San Fernando, Sitio Palakol along the Gumain River is simply known as the ’summer place’ to the local community. It is blessed with a continuous crystal clear water that does not drain even during summer months. Its source of water comes from Mount Abu atop the Zambales mountain which is believed to have a large natural water reservoir.

                 The road was a real adventure and could be best enjoyed in 4-wheel drives.  You can rent tricycles or jeepneys in Guagua to bring you to the place but it’s best to have own cars because it is not part of the routes of the public transportation vehicles. On the other side of the river are huts where people can rent for I think less than 50 pesos.

                The river itself is like a natural water park, upstream is like a pool that is free from rocks and gets deeper as you go up. Downstream is where the big rocks which creates the playground, you can recline on, climb on and other such things you can come up with. Since it is a river it even has its own current. It’s like an all-in-one water park. You can also map the Palakol River once you locate the SCTEX Bridge / Gumain Bridge, one of the tallest bridge in Pampanga. Since the river is directly below the SCTEX Bridge/Gumain Bridge, the bridge basically becomes a shade for people who swim in the river.

- Lorie Palad