Mt Romelo - Buruwisan Falls, Batya Batya Falls and Sampaloc Falls

Mt. Romelo is a popular destination for newbie mountaineers. Situated in Siniloan, Laguna and stands at 300 MASL, Mt. Romelo is considered to be a minor climb. It is also rated 2/9 in terms of its difficulty by Pinoy Mountaineer. But despite the given specs, Mt. Romelo is known for having muddy trails on both sunny and specially during rainy seasons. Therefore, extreme precautions must always be observed upon hiking. Some also mistaken called this as Mt. "Famy". A name of a town adjacent to Siniloan.

This mountain is not just about trekking and reaching the summit as it also houses beautiful and hidden falls. Waterfalls like Batya-Batya Falls, Sampaloc Falls, Buruwisan Falls, and Lanzones Falls are found in the forest of Mt. Romelo and most of them are located near the campsite. Having said that, Mt Romelo are hiked all year-round. Trekking on summer is ideal because the trails are less muddy but to be able to see the full water size of the falls, trekking on rainy season is advised.

How to get there?
You may take a bus at Raymond Bus Line bound to Infanta, Quezon. This is the only bus line that passes right thru the jump-off of Mt. Romelo from Manila. Just tell the bus conductor that you'll be heading at Mt. Romelo and to drop you off at Trois Restaurant in Siniloan. Near Trois Restaurant is the jump off point to Mt. Romelo. By the way, Raymond Bus Line terminal is situated at Sampaloc, Manila. Fare going to Siniloan is about 130 pesos.

After we registered and logged our names which costs us 50 pesos per head, our adventure to Mt. Romelo starts! Trail going to the peak starts with crossing a stream of river. From that moment, I knew that our trek will be slippery and muddy at the same time.

Start of our trek

I found the trail going to the peak of Mt Romelo as beginners-friendly. 1) There were resting site scattered evenly along the way with long log that serves as chairs for trekkers, 2) vendors [of buko juice and sodas] are visible until almost half of the trek, 3) shades are also available for most of the part and 4) lastly, it has lesser steep trails compared to other mountains I've been through.

Shady part of the trail

Smile guys!

One of the store you'll encounter at Mt. Romelo

The view is also superb. There is a spot at Mt. Romelo wherein we stopped for a couple of minutes to enjoy a 360 view while fresh air touches our skins and blowing our hair. During the stop, we also have some group shots and not to forget, "selfies".

Though we only stopped for about 5 or 10 minutes, it was really refreshing and energizing. We went back again on trekking and rushed because we want to be in campsite before the sun goes down.

Group photo op

Random citizen in Mt Romelo

After 2 hours of walking/trekking, we finally reached the campsite. I must say that the site is pretty big and can accommodate several groups. There are available nipa huts that can be rented which is ideal for night campers (but I don't know how much they cost). But for us, we have our tents. We miss sleeping in tents despite the uneven floor from stones and roots. So after pitching our tents, we prepared and eat our dinner, had some socials, swim a bit in the river, then we all took a rest.

Rest and chat time...

Batya Batya Falls, Sampaloc Falls, and Buruwisan Falls

We started our second day having a goal of exploring all the waterfalls in Mt. Romelo. However we failed to accomplish that goal. There are seven waterfalls known and have been explored in the area, namely: Buruwisan Falls, Lansones Falls, Sampaloc Falls, Batya-Batya Falls, Old Buruwisan Falls, Twin Falls, and Sapang Labo Falls. Among the stated waterfalls we were able to visit only three. Aw.

Just experimenting...

First off is Batya Batya Falls. Batya Batya Falls which means "small tub" or "basin" is located in the northern part of the campsite and approximately a kilometer away. Reaching Batya Batya Falls is quiet hard especially when you have gadgets with you. I suggest you put them on a dry bag or waterproof case before visiting Batya Batya Falls. Why? Because in order to reach the falls, you'll be wading along shoulder-deep to neck-dip water. I even had to carry my camera and tripod high up as I swim across to reach land again.

Reaching the site of Batya Batya Falls

Batya Batya Falls is a two-level waterfall. You'll be swimming at 18 ft. deep water in order to reach the other side and see its second level. This time I didn't brought my camera. Leaving my camera was a mistake because Sampaloc Falls is just right above Batya Batya Falls. Shame. Having said that, I didn't have any photo of Sampaloc Falls. Sampaloc Falls has its own cascading beauty and a decent-sized catch-basin.

Last is Buruwisan Falls. Buruwisan Falls is just located below the campsite. This is the biggest and tallest waterfall in Mt Romelo. It is approximately 180 ft tall and characterized with large catch-basin. Rappelling is one of the many things that can be done in Buruwisan Falls. Don't resist yourself from diving into the water because you'll just going to fail. With clear and wide catch-basin, it is really hard not to go for a swim in Buruwisan Falls.

Presenting... Buruwisan Falls

We wanted to visit the other falls unfortunately, we don't have enough time. We enjoyed and stayed too much  in the 3 waterfalls stated above. We miscalculated our time and we need to leave in order to reach Manila before nightfall. I guess this is not the last time I'll be seeing Mt. Romelo...

... So I guess this is just the first part of my write up on Mt. Romelo and it is decent to say, "Till we meet again".

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My First Hike: Mt. Maculot and the "Rockies" of Cuenca, Batangas

It's time for some Throwback Thursday (Blog Edition)!

My love for mountain hiking started back in 2009 when I was invited by a college friend to have an overnight on top of a mountain. He has done hiking before and he wanted to encourage others, along with my other college friends, to try out this adventure. Overnight on top of a mountain sounds fun so everybody accepted the invitation... or should I say, the challenge? Paul (the one who invited us) chose Mt Maculot of Cuenca, Batangas. Reasons are: 1) It is considered an average in terms of its height in which it is ideal for newbies like us. 2) He's also familiar with the place because he'd already been to Mt Maculot.

PS: Please ignore our outfits in the following photos. They are inappropriate for hiking and we regret wearing them. #lol 

Cuenca, Batangas - Blurring out those campaign ads (Photo from Edward Calugtong)

How to get there:

From Buendia/Gil Puyat, take a bus going to Lemery. Usual bus rate is 147 pesos. Inform your conductor that you'll go at Mt Maculot and drop you off at Cuenca, Batangas. From there, you can hire a tricycle that will bring you to the jump off point of Mt Maculot. Fare is 20 pesos per pax. But before going to the jump off, ask your driver to stop you at the Registration Area which is near the Barangay Hall of Cuenca. Registration fee is 10 pesos per pax. Log everybody in the logbook. This is our first lesson about hiking. Never miss out to register because that will be used for emergency purposes.

Sign that we are heading to the right direction =] (Photo from Edward Calugtong)

After the registration, we headed at the jump-off point to gear up and start the hike. We started the hike with a prayer followed by a stretching. That's our second and third lessons. Always ask for guidance from our creator and prepare your body with this extreme adventure. These two are very important. We should never fail to ask assistance to God as this kind of sport comes with lots of danger. Also, stretch out to increase your range of motion, which means your limbs and joints can move further before an injury occurs.

Yup, this is our official outfits for Mt Maculot hike. #throwbackThursday  (Photo from Edward Calugtong)

I can still remember my excitement that day on this first hiking adventure of mine. I really don't know what to expect up there and I thought this was just a plain activity. Well, everybody is excited and oozing with energy on the first quarter as we went up to the peak of Mt Maculot. Everybody is chatting, laughing, joking and even singing. But those were minimized as we gone through the second and third quarter. Trails are getting stiffer and harder. We started to feel our weight and the weight of our things that we carry. Lesson number four: Only bring what you need. Do not bring unnecessary things. Just keep it light.  There are also some parts of the trail that requires you to grasp on soil, grass and branches in order to continue. Never hesitate to put your hands on this things. This is not the place for people who has an "attitude". One must have a strong legs and feet to surpass the obstacles. That makes us realize that this activity should be taken with precautions.

Start of our trek

Trail are getting difficult...

Everybody was tired and sweating hard. The sun sets to its highest position. Getting thirsty is inevitable. Fifth lesson: Have enough water supply. This is a vital thing that mountaineers should bring on every hike. Thank God, there are stalls in different parts of Mt Maculot that sells "buko" juice and other cold beverages. Yup, its cold but they're a bit pricey too. We bought drinks on most of the stalls we passed by. Having cold drinks in this tiring activity is priceless! You'll come to appreciate them. It is also a way to conserve our packed water. So instead of drinking them, we reserved it and will be used while our stay on top and going down the next day.

 Store in the middle of the trail | That's my friend, Julius (Photo from Edward Calugtong)

What I also noticed is that as we encounter other mountaineers, they always greet fellow mountaineers even they're are strangers. "Magandang umaga/tanghali/gabi sir/ma'am" (good morning/afternoon/evening sir/ma'am) and/or "ingat po" (take care) are the most commonly used greetings. That is lesson number six: greet fellow mountaineers.

Emac, Eteng and Julius finding doing their own ways

After 2 hours of trekking. The group finally reached the top! Our hard work paid off and what I felt upon reaching the top was un-explainable (but I know it's in a good way). The view on top of Mt Maculot is superb.

Heaven and Earth

Sunset at Mt Maculot

After a quick tour on top, we started to pitch our tent. The camp site of Mt. Maculot is quite big and can a accommodate large group of mountaineers. Then we started to cook and prepare our dinner. It was a great dinner even though only canned goods and noodles were served in the table ground. We talked about our experiences and thoughts as we went up to this mountain while eating. Energy is getting high again. The dinner was followed by socials. Lesson number seven: Have fun. Though hiking is an extreme activity, mountaineers should also enjoy and have fun!

EdPau pitching the tent

Socials that night - Pinoy Henyo and 1,2,3 pass (Photo from Edward Calugtong)

After the socials that night, all went to rest. And that was my first sleep on top of a mountain. Beat that!

The Rockies

Day 2 of our Mt Maculot Hike

The following morning, everybody woke up early to prepare and eat breakfast. This time we will be heading to a so-called place, Rockies. Rockies is a piece of Mt Maculot that offers its visitors an amazing view. Just refer on the photos below to see what I mean. It is just a 30 minutes or less of trekking from the camp site of Mt. Maculot. Extreme caution should be observed since the wind blows hard on this part of the mountain and the space on top of Rockies is a bit narrow.

Off our way to Rockies

We are young, wild and free... also extreme!

Edward and Paula - moments of love. Yiiiihiii

This shot is much better when taken zoom out...

Am I right? :]

After almost an hour of stay and photo op at Rockies, the group decided to descend back to our camp site and start trekking down. Lesson number eight arise here: Take Nothing but pictures, Leave nothing but footsteps, Kill nothing but time. No need to explain further, right?

Climbing Mt Maculot is definitely a great experience. Though trekking up and down can sweat the hell out of me, the view on top and the pride you may feel and get as you reach the peak pays off all those hard works. Just like the famous saying... No Pain, No Gain - I guess that's the ninth lesson.

Breakdown of Expenses:
Bus ride (Pasay to Lemery, Lemery to Cubao) - 300.00 PhP (two-way)
Tricycle (Lemery to Jump off, Jump off to Lemery) - 20.00 x 2 way = 40.00 PhP/pax
Registration - 10.00 PhP
Food: **.**

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Mt Marami of Maragondon, Cavite

Plenty, lots and many. These are just some of the synonyms for the Tagalog word MARAMI. It was so called Mt Marami because of the many rocks that formed this mountain. If Pico de Loro has "Parrot's Beak", Mt Marami has its own "Silyang Bato". An enormous composite of rock pillars.

Though this mountain situated at Maragondon, Cavite only stands at 405 MASL (according to Pinoymountaineer), the average trek time to reach its peak is 5-6 hours. It is because Mt Marami's trail is a circulating elavation. The trek to Mt Marami can also be accompanied to the word "ligaw" or lost. Not only it has a lot of rock towers, it also have a lot of misleading trails. It's like a labyrinth of bewildering trails. So having a guide is strongly recommended if you want to visit Mt Marami but we don't, so we went to a lot (a mean "maraming marami") traversing this mountain.

How to get there?

From Manila, take a bus at Baclaran going to Naic, Cavite (65 pesos). Travelling time is about 2 1/2-3 hours. As you reach Naic, take a jeepney going to Magallanes (30 pesos). Just tell to your jeepney driver to drop you at Brgy. Ramirez which is just 10 minutes away from the town proper. Then when you reach Brgy Ramirez look for Brgy. Councilor Punongbayan's house. This will be your registration point before you can start your trek. Prepare 20 pesos/pax for registration fee. You can also ask for a local guide here which costs 300-500 pesos/day.

We conquered the heat and the talahib (photo from Cheers Masa's FB)

(photo from Cheers Masa's FB)

There are 2 rivers that you'll pass through in this trek. The first one is "Ilog na Kayrayag" and the next one is Bangkaan river. This two river can go knee high during rainy season so the best season to visit Mt Marami is after the wet season and summer. Aside from that, trails here can easilly get muddy so it will be more difficult (of course). However, traversing Mt Marami during summer has its own downside. Prepare your skin protector gears and make sure to have a maximum SPF lotion because it can get sweltering hot at noon time. Frequent re-hydration is a must to prevent heat stroke.

Rest mode (photo from Cheers Masa's FB)

Photo inception... (photo from Cheers Masa's FB)

(photo from Cheers Masa's FB)

(photo from Cheers Masa's FB)

Well, I have noticed that my blog entry for this mountain can make my reader retreat from trekking Mt Marami. Please don't. Because above all, a dramatic view on its peak awaits which is very rewarding after the long, confusing trail and sweaty adventure (I'm being negative here again, am I?). Because aside from the colossal and breathtaking rock formations set in an enticing background, a panorama of the Maragondon mountains which include Mt Pico de Loro, Mt Mariveles, and Mt Banahaw are can be seen at the summit. This is a great spot for photo op :]

Photo Op at the tip of this rock (photo from Cheers Masa's FB)

KASAMA (KAbataang SAbik MAmundok) at Mt Marami (photo from Cheers Masa's FB)

Breakdown of budget

Bus (Manila - Naic, roundtrip) - 130 pesos

Jeepney (Naic - Magallanes, roundtrip) - 30 pesos

Local guide (optional but I recommend to have one) - 200-300 pesos

Registration fee - 20 pesos

Food - *.**

This flower looks like... ... ... nevermind (photo from Cheers Masa's FB)

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Mt Manalmon of Madlum, San Miguel, Bulacan

I heard a lot of stories regarding Mt Manalmon and other exciting stuff that you can do in this place. Aside from trekking/hiking, the place also offers outdoor activities such as spelunking (caving), rock climbing, swimming and crossing a monkey bridge made out of two cable wires. So as soon as my friends invited me I said yes right away even it was just a day hike.

How to get there?
The mountain is located in the town of San Miguel, Bulacan. So if you're trying to visit Mt. Manalmon and you're from Manila, take any Cabanatuan-bound bus at Baliwag Transit,  ES Transport, or Five Star Transport in Pasay or Cubao. Then just tell the bus conductor to drop you at Brgy. Camias. The travel time from Manila to San Miguel, Bulacan is around 2 hours. A long travel time but it will be all worth it as soon as you reach Mt. Manalmon. From Brgy. Camias, you still need to ride a tricycle going to Brgy. Madlum. Prepare 5 pesos because along the way you will need it as a registration fee. As you reach Brgy Madlum, you need to decide whether you want to raft across the river (5 pesos also) or you want to try the monkey bridge (free) to reach the jump off point of Mt. Manalmon. We chose to raft since we have our carry on things and we don't want to get it wet if you we make a mistake passing through that cable wires (but we tried it on after the hike). As you get to the jump off, another registration should be taken and it is worth 5 pesos again.

One of the two ways to reach the jump off 

And here's the other one

Background of the place
Mt Manalmon's peak reaches at 196 MASL (based on Pinoy Mountaineer's specs). A minor climb that you can trek in 2-3 hours (back and forth and including picture taking). By the way, even though it is treated as a minor climb and the trek is just short, people who wanted to explore the mountain are mandatory to have a guide. Kuya Bong, our guide, explains to us why and it is because there is a myth that lies to this mountain. You can ask you're guide about it.

Trekking to the summit will start from passing through Madlum cave (other called it Manalmon Cave). Bats are the main attraction here so prepare your headlights to see them. You will also pass through a river so be ready to get your feet  wet. (sometimes, knee high). Then the rest of the trek will be the normal hiking trails. When I say normal trails, it doesn't mean that the view as you go up is normal as well.

My friend Julius as he put back his shoes after we passed through the river

more water trails ahead

At the peak, we take some rest and feel the cool breeze while we are under the trees while having conversation with Kuya Bong. Of course, picture taking will never be missed while on top.

View from Mt Manalmon peak

That's me from the view deck of Mt Manalmon

Other Activities
Mt Manalmon is a great destination if you want to have an extreme sidetrip after a hike. Yes, extreme trip after another. After the hike and reach again the jump off, we asked Kuya Bong to bring us at Bayukbuk Cave. Note: If  you are claustrophobic (fear of having no escape and being closed in small spaces), think twice in trying this out.

This photo reminds me of the movie 127 Hours (photo from Khai Bautista)

In my opinion, going inside this cave is more challenging and tiring rather than going to the peak of Mt. Manalmon. Bayukbuk Cave will make you crawl, duck [a lot], constrict and get dirt on. You will also encounter rappelling inside this cave. If you are thrill seeker then try this out. It took us 45 mins to explore Bayukbuk Cave. Light is your buddy while inside the cave, so don't forget to bring your headlights in this trip. Wearing head protectors are also advisable.

We also tried crossing the river using the famous activity in Mt Manalmon, the monkey bridge style. Crossing through that cable wires isn't easy. As you go and reach the middle part, the wires begin to shake so make sure to maintain your balance. It is also ideal to use gloves because gripping firmly the wires could hurt you.

That's us waiting for our turn in the monkey bridge

Me and Superman, I mean Baron crossing the monkey bridge

We also gone swimming at Madlum River which is really nice because it is really deep (didn't tried reaching its floor) and wide. It was also refreshing after all those activities we've gone through.

The fearless boys of Brgy Madlum

It was indeed a successful climb/spelunking... or better yet it was a great full packed adventure for us.

We're proud to say that we conquered Mt Manalmon... ahmmm rather Brgy. Madlum 

Breakdown of budget (October 2012):
Bus - P117.00 (Manila to San Miguel, Bulacan)
Tricycle - P250 (Brg. Camias to Sitio Madlum) good for 5 pax
Raft - P5.00 per head (optional)
1st Registration - P5.00 per head
2nd Registration at Sitio Madlum - P5.00 per head
Guide to Mt. Manalmon/Bayukbuk - P300.00 - P500.00 (will be shared by the whole team)

Before I end this blog entry here is my favorite shot of myself during this trek:

That's me and our guide, Kuya Bong (photo from Khai Bautista)

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