One of the outdoor activity that I really love is mountain climbing. I have climbed several mountains in the past but I never reached a summit. So when my wife's cousin invited us for an overnight hike to Mount Batulao, I didn't hesitate. So I grabbed out my camping bag from the closet and started packing.
I have heard and read a lot about Mount Batulao. It is said that it's not that difficult to climb. A perfect course for beginners. Located at Nasugbu, Batangas, it is one of the nearest climbing site from Manila. Reading more about Mount Batulao from the internet just made me felt more excited.
I have heard and read a lot about Mount Batulao. It is said that it's not that difficult to climb. A perfect course for beginners. Located at Nasugbu, Batangas, it is one of the nearest climbing site from Manila. Reading more about Mount Batulao from the internet just made me felt more excited.
Going from Metro Manila to Mount Batulao is very easy. We rode a bus from a bus station in Pasay Rotonda (at the back of Mc Donald's near the MRT station) going to Nasugbu. It only took us a couple of hours to reach Evercrest Golf Club Resort.
Right after we step off the bus, several kids offer us their service of accompanying us to the mountain for Php 200. Since some of us have been there before, we decided to go up by ourselves.
Actually, we can start the trek from the entrance of Evercrest, but to save time and energy, we rode a tricycle up until we reached a small community somewhere in the foothills of Mount Batulao - the jumpoff point. There we had our late lunch (its already 2:00pm at that time) then we prepared ourselves for the trek which we expected to take 2 to 3 hours.
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| Mount Batulao |
All along the first few minutes of our trek, several houses can be seen along the way. Friendly smiles from the locals welcome us as we pass by. Campers and other mountain enthusiasts walking towards us also gave us warm greetings. Those little things gave us an extra energy boost and excitement as we continue our trek.
While we advance on our trek, I didn't notice at once that we were getting higher and higher. The trail now goes up and down on an array of slopes. I suddenly felt the strong wind which helped lessen the heat from the sun. At this time of the year, one should expect a hot, dry yet windy trail. I prefer trekking with this kind of weather condition. During the rainy season, the trail may probably be muddy and slippery.
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| The magnificent view along the trail |
As we go on, I enjoyed the very scenic view along the trail. I loved how the yellow rays of the sun blends with the green colors of the grass. We can't stop taking pictures on all sides and different angles. We can see the towering summit of Mount Batulao playing hide and seek with the clouds from where we stand. And from afar, we saw the panoramic landscapes of Batanggas. Actually, I even spotted the large Ferris Wheel at Sky Ranch, Tagaytay!
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| Looking Back |
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| Still a long way to go... |
The breathtaking view never left us all throughout our up and down escapade. I am unable to manage to track down how long we've been trekking. At some point, we reached an intersection. From there, the path split up into two: the Old and the New Trail. We chose to go to the New Trail, but first, we took a short break at the small Buko Juice and Halo-halo stall situated along the path.
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| The new trail |
After a few minutes of rest, we continued walking. This time, we kept our pace up until we reached peak 1 in no time. This is one of a few numbered peaks along the new trail. The markers on every peak served as a guide for us on how far we are from the campsite (located between peak 7 and 8). A quick picture taking did not cause us a delay. We also took advantage of the moment to take a short breather at the peak. Timeout!
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| Peak 1 |
We moved ahead again going up and down and up and down the grassy slopes. One by one we passed through the peak labels until we arrived at peak 6.
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| Climbing up the dusty trails |
Before reaching peak 7, we noticed a ruined small wooden house. They said this was the house of Ma'am Janet Belarmino - one of the first Filipinos to climb Mt. Everest. I don't know what happened to the house but I really felt sorry about it.
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| Ruins of Ma'am Janet Belarmino's House |
Upon reaching the campsite, We went to Mang Resting's place to register [Update: Registration fee at the new trail as of June 2015 is 50 pesos per head]. We then pick a spot to set up our tent. Afterwards, we enjoyed taking pictures at the top of peak 8. The temperature starts to fall as the sun prepares to set. Fog covers the area from time to time. The view and the weather at the site is enough for us to be rejuvenated.
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| At the campsite |
As the night falls, we had our dinner. Considering how tired and starving we are, we really enjoyed eating luncheon meat and canned tuna. Then the main event of the night followed - "Inuman Na!". Six happy people, two bottles of brandy and a thousand things to talk about, the night definitely ended with a bang!
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| Chips, tuna and Empi Lights |
We woke up at 4 o'clock in the morning because we're planning to reach the summit before sunrise. We started the trek in a short while. We noticed other group of mountaineers are also preparing to climb so I expected that we will all go up at the same time.
At that time, the trail is dark and foggy. Flashlights or headlamps are really necessary. As we progress, the slopes beside the trail are getting steeper. There came a point where both sides of the trail are high slopes, seems like I'm going to fall down in a single misstep. Strong winds challenged us along the way (and the hangover as well).
The sky becomes brighter and brighter as we get closer to the summit. A couple of stops and a bottle of water really helped recharging ourselves. Then the trek continues until we reached the summit.
At that time, the trail is dark and foggy. Flashlights or headlamps are really necessary. As we progress, the slopes beside the trail are getting steeper. There came a point where both sides of the trail are high slopes, seems like I'm going to fall down in a single misstep. Strong winds challenged us along the way (and the hangover as well).
The sky becomes brighter and brighter as we get closer to the summit. A couple of stops and a bottle of water really helped recharging ourselves. Then the trek continues until we reached the summit.
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| At the summit |
The moment that I set foot at the top, I stretched my arms wide open, smiled at the rising sun then breath the fresh cold air. The view alone is very exhilarating. As the sun gets higher, the awesome landscapes became more visible. The beautiful rock formations, the Taal lake, the grassy plains, the coastline from afar... just by looking at those masterpieces of God, overwhelmed is an understatement to what I felt.
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| Morning Sun |
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| The view at the top of Mount Batulao |
Fresh coconut juice and Mountain Dew are being sold at the summit. Unbelievable right? After a few hours of relaxing, picture taking and jokingly jumping off the peak, we decided to go back to camp.
We went down to the camp pretty much quicker compared to when we climbed up the summit. We rested at Mang Resting's store before packing up our things. We planned on having our lunch at Mushroom Burger, Tagaytay so we went down before noon.
We went down to the camp pretty much quicker compared to when we climbed up the summit. We rested at Mang Resting's store before packing up our things. We planned on having our lunch at Mushroom Burger, Tagaytay so we went down before noon.
Once again, Mother Nature didn't fail to excite me. Hiking at Mount Batulao for me is an unforgettable experience, it's the first summit that I've reached. I also met new friends and I learned a lot in this experience. I will definitely go back to Mount Batulao someday but next time, I think I'm going to try the Old Trail.
Killed Bills
105.00 - Bus fare from Pasay Rotonda to Evercrest
40.00 - 2 liters of Mineral Water
74.00 - 2 bottles of Pocari Sweat
110.00 - Chowking Take-out lunch
33.00 - Tricycle fare from Evercrest Entrance to Batulao (100 for 3 persons)
30.00 - Fresh Buko
30.00 - Camping Registration
80.00 - Emperador Lights
25.00 - Mountain Dew
35.00 - Jeepney fare from Batulao to Evercrest
23.00 - Jeepney fare from Evercrest to Mushroom Burger Tagaytay
106.00 - Mushroom Burger
Php 691.00 - TOTAL
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