Sa Maranat Falls - Norzagaray, Bulacan

   After a night of spectacular stars and city light displays plus the magical sunrise on top of Mt. Balagbag, we decided to go to Maranat Falls. Located at the boundaries of Rizal and Bulacan, this waterfalls is a favorite side trip destination of hikers climbing Mt. Maranat and Mt. Balagbag.

   We started to feel the heat of the sun as it rise up so we hurriedly packed our things and went straight ahead following the trail going to Maranat Falls.

The main waterfalls of Maranat

   Check out our post about Mt. Balagbag to know how we got there.

   From the summit of Mt. Balagbag, we started the trek going down a grassy trail. After a few minutes, we arrived at a junction where small anahaw trees can be seen. We took a right turn and head down to a rocky trail. Small trees shed our way going down to the falls.

   Along the trail, a scenic view of Sierra Madre and Mt. Oriod can be seen. The Ipo watershed is also visible from where we at. We can also see the falls along the trail.

The waterfalls as seen from the trail.

   We just continued our trail going down until we reached the riverbanks where we saw a few people having fun on the place. There we enjoyed eating our lunch while hearing the relaxing sound of the flowing water.

   The main waterfalls is still a few minutes away from the riverbanks but we decided to just stay where we are. Huge boulders are scattered around the river.  We can clearly see the riverbed under the almost transparent water. There is also a huge rock where we can jump off in to the deep part of the river. Floating around its cold water would be enough to cool ones head.

   I tried climbing the boulders following the direction where the water is coming from. A series of lovely mini waterfalls can be found along the way. Then as I continue climbing up the huge boulders, I ended up going to the main waterfalls. A group of people are already there when I arrived.

   The fantastic view of the twin falls of Maranat made me want to shoot a lot of photos. The relaxing sound of its falling water is a sweet music to my ears. Climbing the huge boulders is quite a challenge but reaching the main falls really is very rewarding.

   One local guide told me about an easier trail going back to the riverbank where my friends are staying so I got back to them quickly.

   After a few minutes, we packed our things up and cleaned the area before leaving the place. We started the long trail back to Licao-Licao through a "shortcut" where we won't have to climb back up to Mt. Balagbag again.

   With a slower pace and more frequent break, we arrived at a store late in the afternoon. We had our snack at this famous store also known as the "Mini Stop" before continuing the trek.

Mini Stop!

   The sun is about to set when we arrived at the main road where we hired a tricycle to drive us back to Licao-Licao. The tricycle driver, who's a good friend of our guide, lead us to their house where we freshened up. The owner of the house are very hospitable. They even gave us some jack fruits to be carried back home!

   We missed the last jeepney trip going back to Tungko. Good thing a driver agreed to drive us along with the other stranded people back to Tungko.

   Our whole Mt. Balagbag and Maranat Falls adventure ended up with all of us having tired muscles and smiling faces. Maybe next time, we'll go back there and try climbing up Mt. Maranat.

   Because Mt. Maranat and Maranat Falls are situated inside Ipo Watershed which is a protected area, one should secure a written permit from DENR - PENRO located at 3rd Floor Lysa Queen Blg. Brgy. San Pablo, City of Malolos, Bulacan before going. A letter of intent with the names of the group members is also needed. You may contact them at (044) 794-7090. You can get the permits for free.

Killed Bills

This budget breakdown covered our whole Balagbag-Maranat trip.

40.00 - Ordinary Bus fare from Ortigas to Tungko
28.00 - Jeepney fare from Tungko to Licao-Licao
10.00 - Registration Fee at Sitio Balagbag
30.00 - Registration Fee at the summit (Red Gate)
170.00 - Local Guide Fee (500 is the minimum but we gave our guide 1000 for our extra trip to Maranat Falls and for extra effort!)
250.00 - Food Budget (Dinner-Breakfast-Lunch)
40.00 - Tricycle from Balagbag to Licao-Licao
28.00 - Jeepney fare from Licao-Licao to Tungko
60.00 - Bus fare from Tungko to Ortigas

TOTAL - 656.00 Php

Shout out to Ding Aberca, Mackoy Soliman and Jeff Jamandra for the photos!