PapaKit's Zipline

The zipline at PapaKit’s Marina and Fishing Lagoon in Liloan runs 800 meters on a dual cable, among the longer such rides in Metro Cebu, launched from a platform that puts riders above the resort’s fishponds and out toward Silot Bay. The dual-cable setup means two riders go side by side, which is the main reason it works for couples and families rather than solo thrill-seekers alone.

The route crosses the aquaculture ponds and mangrove fringe that line this stretch of coast — Silot Bay and the towns around it have run brackish-water fish farming for generations, and the ride’s vantage point is really a view of that working coastline as much as a scenic flight. The mangrove strip along the way does double duty as nursery habitat for the fish farms and a buffer against storm surge, which is part of why patches like it get left standing even as ponds expand around them.

A dual-cable line like this typically runs two parallel steel cables strung between two platforms — a launch tower and a landing platform — with riders harnessed to a trolley that rolls along the cable under gravity once released. Running two cables side by side rather than one lets pairs ride together at matching speed, which is less about spectacle and more about keeping the line moving: two riders launched together clear the platform in the time one would, which matters on busy weekends.

At 800 meters, the run is among the longer ziplines in Metro Cebu — long enough that riders spend a noticeable stretch simply gliding rather than launching and landing in quick succession the way a shorter line would feel. That length also means the cable crosses more of the property’s pond and mangrove edge than a shorter zipline would, giving riders a longer look at the working coastline below rather than a brief pass over it.

Keeping mangrove strips standing along an expanding aquaculture shoreline isn’t automatic — plenty of pond expansion elsewhere in the Philippines has come at mangrove cover’s expense — so the patches that remain along PapaKit’s zipline route reflect a choice to leave them rather than clear for more pond space. That choice pays off in fish nursery habitat and storm-surge buffering a cleared shoreline wouldn’t provide, benefits that accrue to the fish farms as much as to the view from the zipline.

Safety runs through trained staff who check harnesses before every launch and brief riders on posture beforehand. Running the zipline safely across an aquaculture and mangrove landscape means staff double as informal caretakers of that shoreline as well as ride operators — checking that the mangrove fringe under the line stays intact and that harness and cable maintenance doesn’t disturb the ponds below. On-site, the zipline pairs naturally with the horse ranch and wall climbing PapaKit’s also runs, so it fits into a longer visit rather than standing alone as the reason to come.

Wind is the main condition that pauses a dual-cable line like this, the same as with any zipline strung over open water and open ground rather than tucked below a tree canopy. Silot Bay’s coastal breeze picks up more predictably in the afternoon, which is part of why morning or late-afternoon slots tend to run smoother than a midday booking, on top of the cooler temperatures those windows offer over the exposed launch platform.

The 800-meter length also means riders cover ground fast enough that the ride is genuinely over before most people expect it — a common comment from first-timers who braced for a longer, slower crossing based on the stated distance and found the actual glide shorter in feel than the number suggested. Pairing it with a slower activity afterward, like the horse ranch, tends to make for a better-paced afternoon than treating the zipline as the day’s single centerpiece.