mountain Archives | Meghy Was Here

Mt. Gulugod Baboy And Anilao Beach Travel Guide 2021

Meghy — Thu, 08 Jul 2021 08:03:14 +0000

Aside from being famous as a diving hotspot of the south and an oasis of rich marine life, Anilao in Batangas is also known to its climbing spot, Mt. Gulugod Baboy. Just 2-3 hours away from Manila, Anilao is a perfect place if you want to experience and see lushes of the mountain and at the same time see more of our prolific aquatic existence.

Knowing Gulugod Baboy:

Mt. Gulugod Baboy which means “Pig Spine” in English was named because its peak resembles of a pig spine. The mountain is also known to the locals as Mt. Pinagbanderahan. As per locals there was a Japanese aircraft that crashed on the mountain long back. The Japanese aircrews survived and raised a flag on the mountain that’s why it was called “Pinagbanderahan”. Standing 525 MASL with a 2/9 difficulty level, it is a famous hiking spot for beginners. The trek may take around 2-3 hours depending on your pace and you will be rewarded by a scenic lush rolling hills on the top with a 360-degree view of blue waters surrounding Mabini and nearby islands of Sombrero and Tingloy.

How to go to Mt. Gulugod Baboy:

From Manila

Ride a bus (Buendia or Cubao) bound to Batangas Grand Terminal. Upon arrival, look and ride a jeepney bound to Mabini (fare is 70 Pesos each). From Mabini ride a tricycle to Anilao, tell the driver to drop you off on the registration area located after the Philpan Diving Resort sign.

From Laguna

Make your way to Turbina Bus Terminal and wait for buses bound to Batangas Grand Terminal (fare will be 92 Pesos). Upon reaching Batangas Grand Terminal, ride a jeepney bound to Mabini then from Mabini proper ride a tricycle that will take you to Anilao.

Mishap before our trek:

We initially decided to stay overnight on one of the resorts in Anilao so that we could start our trek early in the morning and have a chance of watching sunrise upon reaching the peak. Since we still have work the same day, we waited for our shift to end and left around 3 PM hoping that we can still catch public transpos going to Anilao. We ride a bus from Turbina at around 4:30 PM but due to heavy traffic we reached Batangas City at 7 PM and were not able to catch the last trip to Mabini which is 6 PM (last trip is now earlier due to pandemic).

We’re actually unsure of what we’ll do by that night. We’re thinking of just staying overnight on the terminal and just ride the first trip to Mabini by 4 AM, look for a nearby transient houses or rent a vehicle that would take us to Anilao. All these options went all down to buying the famous Batangas Lomi on one of the remaining open food stall in the terminal. Who can’t resist this delicious food especially when your tummy says it’s hungry? While eating, drivers and dispatchers gathered around us negotiating to take us to Anilao for around 1500 to 1800 Pesos which is too much for us. Good thing our tour guide from Anilao, arranged a jeepney ride for us for only 800 Pesos. It’s a pretty good deal because we decided to just start our trek that night and just sleep on our tents halfway of the trail so there’s no need to pay for an overnight stay on a resort. We’re luck enough that our tour guide made sure that we’ll be able to reach Anilao safe that night.

Start of journey to Mt. Gulugod Baboy:

We reached Anilao at almost 9 PM and were welcomed by our guide on the registration area. We paid 50 Pesos as registration and started our trek right away. First part of the trail is a very steep cemented road. Though the road is cemented and kinda easy to walk on your first few steps, it gets too exhausting because of the continuous ascend of the road.

After the cemented road, we set foot on the unpaved or dirt trail where our exhaustion slightly toned down. The trail was dark but thanks to our phone’s flashlights and few light posts along the way. You’ll also see few houses on the course. We finally reached our guide’s house at around 10:30 PM where we’ll be spending the night. We setup our tents inside their compound, freshen up and took a sleep so we could be ready for the next half of our trek by the next morning.

Journey by the next day:

We woke up at around 5 AM by the next day, geared up and ate some biscuits to have some energy before we start our ascent. The trail of Gulugod Baboy is pretty direct and uncomplicated. We saw few more settlers along the path and as per our guide, those settlers are also their relatives who are native of the place. Around 6 AM we didn’t witness any sunrise due to the rainy and cloudy weather the other night. The place was so gloomy, no clearing and what we can only see are mountain fogs all over the place. We decided to stay on a sari-sari store first to eat some decent breakfast before our final ascent on the top.

1.5 hours had passed, there’s still no signs of clearing and I was already losing hope. We decided to take on the last pace of the trek to the peak. Upon reaching the top, we can’t appreciate fully its beauty yet since no view can still be seen. We decided to take some photos first while hoping and praying for a clearing.

We waited for about an hour before our prayers were finally answered! The sun shines so bright, mountain fogs were washed away and we were greeted by a beauty no one can’t deny. We’re stepping on a green rolling hills similar to Batanes and we’re surrounded by blue waters of Batangas Bay. Such a beauty we can’t resist and I thank God for letting us see the scenery He created.

Descent and visiting Anilao Beach:

Seeing the blue sea from the peak will make you want to splash on its waters upon descent. So, we decided to go down as fast as we can so we’ll have more time to swim our hearts on the beach. We haven’t been to the beach for a long time due to lockdowns so we were really excited. Our guide introduced us to a local resort. The resort doesn’t have any name but it’s definitely cheaper compare to other known resorts on the area. We bought foods to cook and let one of their local cook it for us for a very affordable price. She even let us borrow eating utensils since we really don’t have any at all. The place is an old resort but we really enjoyed it since we’re the only guests, no crowd and the beach water is as clear as like on the other expensive resorts. If you wish to go here, you can simply ask our guide Ate Rose Ann.

Recommended tour guide: Ate Rose Ann/Kuya Jaymar Ilao (you can contact them through their facebook page here)

Other things to know before going:

Tour guide fee is 500 Pesos for dayhike and 800 Pesos for overnight hike.
If you are not into hiking, there’s a road on the other side of the mountain where you can ride a vehicle. The road leads to the parking lot of the main campsite.
If you wish to stay overnight on the main campsite, please coordinate with the people from the registration first or with your tour guide.

The post Mt. Gulugod Baboy And Anilao Beach Travel Guide 2021 appeared first on Meghy Was Here.

Fresno Agro Forestry and Eco Tourist Campsite: Journey to Mt. Kulis and Noah’s Ark

Meghy — Tue, 26 Nov 2019 15:40:27 +0000

The municipality of Tanay is probably the must-go destination now in terms of mountain hiking due to its accessibility from our country’s center, Manila. And one of its newest attraction is Fresno Agro Forestry and Eco Tourist Campsite or also known as Mt. Kulis or “Bahay ni Cardo” that made fame from Coco Martin’s TV series “Ang Probinsyano”. The campsite is the perfect venue to catch a beautiful Sea of Clouds that won’t require a radical hiking to reach the top. Yes, you read it right. It was an easy hike (pabebe hike as they say) that you can only reach Mt. Kulis peak by around 15 minutes from the registration office.

Getting to Know Fresno Agro Forestry and Eco Tourist:

The campsite is located in Sitio Maysawa Brgy. Cuyambay/Laiban, Tanay, Rizal just few meters away from the entrance gate of Treasure Mountain. The difference is that, Fresno is on a higher location which means a better chance of getting a nicer view. The place is new as well so there are lesser crowd here for you to enjoy the sight. One of its major attraction is the house built for the TV show “Ang Probinsyano” starring Mr. Coco Martin, the place was made as a shooting area for few months before it finally opened to the public.

Mt. Kulis, Sambong Peak and Noah’s Ark:

When we contacted the campsite through their official facebook page, we were given options where to pitch our tent for our overnight stay. First option is on Mt. Kulis where “Bahay ni Kardo” is located and where most of the campers spend the night. Second option is in Sambong Peak which is the peak next to Mt. Kulis or third option is on Noah’s Ark which is our main purpose of visiting. We heard and read about that as early as 5am there are already a long line of people wishing to ride the arc and take pictures on it. So we decided to take the third option so we could be the first in line to ride the arc and as recommended, this vantage point has the higher chance of seeing the Sea of Clouds.

According to our tour guide, we were the first group of campers to pitch our tents beside this distinct vantage point of Noah’s Ark! Take note that there is no proper camping area beside Noah’s Ark. We only pitch our tents on the man-made bamboo bridge that they made where the long queue of people stand while waiting for their turn to ride the arc. As per our tour guide, Kuya Lolong, the camp area on Noah’s Ark can only accommodate up to five tents.

Our Overnight Journey:

We supposedly start our trek at around 4pm but due to the heavy traffic and the heavy rain upon reaching Tanay, we started our trek at around 5:40pm. We first settled our bills and entrance fees on the registration office before starting our ascend. It’s almost dark and we were wearing raincoats as it is still raining when we reached Mt. Kulis and picked up the tent we rented. It’s already dark when we head to Sambong peak where we met another set of campers who were already set for the night on Sambong.

The trail after Sambong peak became a bit complicated as the trail is pitch black and we only have one headlight with us and the rest used their cellphones to see through the dark. And since there was a heavy rain on the afternoon, the trail is too muddy that you can’t even step your feet properly due to the heavy mud that piled up on our shoes and sandals. A lot of sliding into the muds happened that made our clothes and bags full of dirt.

After more than an hour, we reached the Noah’s Ark. No more rain, we assembled our camping tents and washed ourselves to had a dinner. After an hour or two, the Sea of Clouds started to show from our camping area and it’s one of the most beautiful overnight scene I’ve ever witnessed. Though it’s night, you can still see the Sea of Clouds as the moon shines so bright from above. I keep on getting out of our tent from time to time and we had the Sea of Clouds view all by ourselves on the middle of nowhere. I can’t still believe with the beauty that stays right in front of my eyes.

We slept for few hours and manage to wake up at 3am. As early as 4am we already saw a group of trekkers from afar making their way on the Noah’s Ark so we started to fix our tents and things so we could start the line and wait for the sunrise. In order to take a photo within the arc you needed someone to climb a rock formation in front of it. Good thing, we had Kuya Lolong to take a photo of us and he was a good photographer.

As we ride the arc, we saw from above the long queue of people waiting for their turn and its kinda awkward to pose with all eyes on you (lol). I can’t imagine ourselves waiting on that long line and it’s really such a good decision to spend the night in Noah. We started our trek down to take photos on both Sambong Peak and Mt. Kulis as we didn’t get a chance to get good photos the other night.

Upon reaching back Mt. Kulis and “Bahay ni Cardo”, there is a small store that offers “silog” dishes for P100/meal only. We tried their tapsilog and tocilog. Other attractions of the site that you can visit are the Lion Falls House, the Hanging Bridge and the newly open Spider web.

Rates and Charges:

Day trip– P150/pax (4:00am-3:00pm)

Overnight– P200/pax (4:00pm-1:00pm)

Tent Rental– P500 (Good for 2 persons)

P800 (Good for 4 persons)

P200/tent pitching (Bring your own tent)

Guide Fee– P500/5 pax (Day tour)

P1250/5 pax (Overnight)

Note: Mandatory guide if you go on Noah’s Ark and Lion Falls House

How to get there?

Via Cogeo

Ride a jeepney or van to Cogeo Gate 2. Jeepney fare is about P25 and van fare would be P35 each. Walk towards the end of the City Market to reach the jeepney terminal bound to Sampaloc. Tell the driver to drop you off in Maysawa Circuit and fare will be P48 each. Upon reaching Sitio Maysawa ride a tricycle that will take you to Fresno Agro Forestry and Eco Tourist. One tricycle ride would cost you P150 good for 4 pax.

Via Tanay

Ride a jeepney or van going to Tanay town proper. From Tanay Public Market, ride a jeepney that will take you directly to Sitio Maysawa. Upon reaching Maysawa charter a tricycle that will take you to Fresno.

Additional information:

Address: Sitio Maysawa Brgy. Cuyambay/Laiban, Tanay, Rizal

Contact number: 09465523659

Official website: Fresno Agro Forestry and Eco Tourist

Official Facebook page: Fresno Agro Forestry and Eco Tourist

I Was Here Baybayin Travel T-Shirts

The post Fresno Agro Forestry and Eco Tourist Campsite: Journey to Mt. Kulis and Noah’s Ark appeared first on Meghy Was Here.

Jomax Peak Travel Guide: A Sanctuary Found In Don Salvador Benedicto

Meghy — Sun, 13 Oct 2019 16:30:18 +0000

For this year’s celebration of my birthday, it took me a while to decide where I would be spending my few days of vacation leaves to set as my celebration of being a year older. I wanted to be in Sagada, visit my relatives in Albay or experience Bohol on my own but all those choices were all went down with the decision of booking for a plane ticket back home in Iloilo and just spend a 2-day trip in Bacolod. It was actually a good decision as I can see my family back on my hometown which is Iloilo and still visit new places in Negros Island to still keep up on my yearly tradition.

I lived in Iloilo for seven straight years but I haven’t stepped my feet on the island of Negros which is just more than an hour away from Iloilo City. So to start my series of blogs for this Bacolod/Negros trip, here’s a travel guide that you can check when visiting Jomax Peak.

Knowing Jomax Peak:

For the past few years, I’ve been seeing photos of Jomax Peak online and since then it started to get my attention. Jomax Peak is a picnic and camping ground located in the highlands of Don Salvador Benedicto, Negros Occidental. It is a perfect spot to encounter ‘sea of clouds’ during habagat or monsoon season. Imagine yourself sitting on its veranda with a mountain view and sea of clouds right in front of you. It will be definitely a must view to see. I am sure you can truly enjoy the place especially Jomax Peak doesn’t have the crowd. They limit their guests and doesn’t accept walk-ins. Everyone who wished to visit the place needs to have a reservation through their website.

How to get to Jomax Peak?

From Iloilo

Take a ferry or fast craft from Iloilo City that will take you to Bacolod. Fast craft fare will be around P275 for economy while it may cost you around P325 for tourist (aircon). Travel time may take around 1.5 hours. Upon arriving in Bacolod port, ride a tricycle going to South Terminal and fare will be P40 each. On South Terminal ride a bus bound to San Carlos via Don Salvador Benedicto. Just tell the driver that you are heading to Jomax Peak and drop you off on Brgy. Kumaliskis. Fare will be P85 and travel time is around 1.5 hours.

From Bacolod

If you will be coming from Bacolod just follow the same instruction once arrived in South Terminal.

Rates and Accommodation:

Since Jomax Peak doesn’t cater walk-in guests, all visitors must book a reservation through their official website. Here’s the website link. Check the availability of your preferred date and once booked, payment details will be provided. Payment can only be done through Palawan Express. A reservation code will be given for payment validation once payment has been done.

Here’s the rate as of October 2019:

Tuesday to Friday

Day Tour (9am-4pm)

Sun Shade- P750 (5 guests)

Veranda Shade- P1500 (10 guests)

Pavilion- P2,250 (15 guests)

Wholeday exclusive use- P8000 (guests)

Overnight camp (4pm-8am)

Overnight camp outside structures- P1000 (5 guests)

Overnight camp with exclusive camping grounds- P3,500 (15 guests)

Overnight camp exclusive use of all structure- P7000 (15 guests)

Saturday- Sunday

Day Tour (9am-4pm)

Sun Shade- P1000 (5 guests)

Veranda Shade- P1750 (10 guests)

Pavilion- P2500 (15 guests)

Whole day exclusive use- P12000 (35 guests)

Overnight camp (4pm-8am)

Overnight camp outside structures- P1000 (5 guests)

Overnight camp with exclusive camping grounds- P3,500 (15 guests)

Overnight camp exclusive use of all structure- P8000 (15 guests)

*In addition for inclusive number of guests, a fee of P150/head for day tour and P200/head for overnight camp will be required.

*Half day exclusive photo or video shoot rate is P3000 inclusive of 15 guests. (Mondays only)

Getting around Jomax Peak:

What I love about Jomax Peak is its serenity and exclusiveness. There’s no crowd that can limit you in enjoying and appreciating the beauty of the place. It’s main attraction would probably its public veranda where you can sit right across a mountain range while taking a sip of their unli native coffee. From there, you can hear the birds chirping, the heavy flow of a waterfall nearby and just reconnects you with the nature. Every side of the public veranda is effortless beautiful perfect for a travel photo. You can play around every side of the deck for a photo spot. I even sit on the railings which I don’t recommend as it can be dangerous.

When we arrived on the place, the other groups were almost leaving so we were left and had the place all by ourselves together with their few staffs. So aside from the shade we rented, we are free to go around the other shades such as the pavilion and veranda shade. We had the chance to roam around the area and took photos on our own pace.

The entrance fee that we paid for is already inclusive of unli drink of their in house native coffee and free use of their small swimming pool. Aside from being a picnic and camping ground, Jomax Peak is a flower sanctuary as well so the place is full of blooming flowers.

The place is clean and well-maintained complete with amenities. They also offer food choices that they can cook upon request for P70-P150.

Jomax Peak is located as well few meters or kilometers away from other tourist attractions such as Malantan-og falls and viewing deck, Stonepeak café and Café La Guada.

The post Jomax Peak Travel Guide: A Sanctuary Found In Don Salvador Benedicto appeared first on Meghy Was Here.

Mt. Talamitam: Day Hike On Its New Trail

Meghy — Tue, 12 Mar 2019 10:32:11 +0000

Most people probably heard and experienced the beauty ranges of Mt. Batulao but most people do not know as well the charm of its “younger sister”, Mt. Talamitam, has to offer. Mt. Talamitam is located on the other side of Mt. Batulao in Nasugbu, Batangas. The mountain got its name from the “Talamitam trees” that used to grow on its slopes but sad to say the tree no longer exists on the highland.

Though Mt. Talamitam does not have the mountain range landscapes as grand as those found in Mt. Batulao, it has a huge grassland next to the summit that will makes you feel stepping on the rolling hills of Batanes or New Zealand!

How to get there?

Manila to Mt. Talamitam

From Manila ride a Nasugbu bound bus (DLTB or BSC) and asked the driver to drop you off in Mt. Talamitam drop off point (that is before Sitio Bayabasan Basketball court). Then you have to charter a tricycle that will take you to the registration point in Brgy. Kayrilaw.

Laguna to Mt. Talamitam

If you will be coming from Laguna, you can ride a Nasugbu bound van from Balibago Complex (Fare is P150) and asked the driver to drop you off in Mt. Talamitam drop off point (that is before Sitio Bayabasan Basketball court). Then you have to charter a tricycle that will take you to the registration point in Brgy. Kayrilaw.

The Climb

Mt. Talamitam has now a new trail that passes through Brgy. Kayrilaw. After the bus drop off in Nasugbu hiway, you actually need to ride a tricycle going to the registration point in Brgy. Kayrilaw but we didn’t take the drivers advice. We decided to start our trek from the hiway and it took as an hour to reach the registration area. We already got tired of the 3 km walk before starting the real trek (haha!).

The old trail actually passes through Sitio Bayabasan in Brgy. Aga. According to the person in charge in registration point, one part of the old trail passes through a private property and the owner no longer allows any hiker to pass through the property. The registration is P50/person and tour guide is required to reach the summit. Tour guide fee is P500/group. We were 14 in the group and they required us to have 2 tour guides for this journey.

According to the locals, the new trail is actually longer but easier compared to the old trail. At first, you will pass through the forest like trail, the way is manageable until you reach the first jump off point where series of stores are situated selling variant of foods like hotdogs, barbeque, fishballs and even banana cake! As per the locals, horses are the their means of transporting goods to the mountain top. Imagine how strong their horses are?

After taking a rest on the first drop off, we walked through the woodland again. By this time the way is becoming steeper and challenging. There are moderate slopes and many trail disparities until you reach the wide grassland where the Talamitam peak lies. The scene is picturesque that it takes us time to capture its beauty. This part will give you a “Batanes feels” so you can get as many worthy pictures as you want. This part of the trail is an open green field without any trees or shade so the trek can be very exhausting due to the direct heat of the sun. There is another store on this point where you can quench your thirst with their cold drinks and where you can rest for a while before you can start your trek again on the last assault before reaching the summit. I already felt the exhaustion at this point of the trek that takes me time in reaching the peak. Since the last assault is really steep, I literally took a rest every minute before finally reaching its mesmeric summit.

At the peak, you can reward yourself with a Halo-Halo being sold by the only store on the peak. The view from the summit is mesmerizing making your trek a worthy one. The view is so dreamy and makes you feel happy and fulfilled that you did something you never thought you could. The green plateau and the summit for me is the most scenic view I had on the whole trail. We rest for a while and when we got enough photos and rest, we decided to start our descend at 4PM.

How long did it take?

As per the locals, the trek should only take 2 hours per way or a total of 4 hours but on our case it took us almost 8 hours to finish the whole trail. The trek time is acceptable since the walking from the hiway that started about 10:30 AM already consumed our time and energy which can be saved if we ride a tricycle. Since we are 14 in the group with few first timers, we took a lot of rest time and talk with the locals on both ascend and descend. We reached the registration point of Brgy, Kayrilaw at 6:30 PM and ate Batangas Lomi and Arrozcaldo near the Baranggay outpost.

What Realizations I Got?

I am not used to physical activities that requires strength and stamina or for short, I am not your sporty gal. When I am in grade school, my teacher would always let me stay beside or sit during our PE class since I have this allergy that comes out every time I sweat or stay under the heat of the sun (I already overcome that allergy now!). So each time I decided to go up to the mountains, I always tell myself that “I won’t be doing it again!”. I can easily judge myself based on my known capabilities without knowing that there’s still more of myself that I can give. But after all the struggles that I have every hike and telling myself that this won’t happen again, I always eat my words and do it again next time. Maybe it’s the irony of life like how we still decided to love even how many times we got hurt or how we still decided to forgive someone regardless how painful the mistakes they given us. Because at the end of the day, we need to focus on the beauty that we can get from love and forgiveness that we decided to give like how we focus on the beauty that awaits us in the mountain summit. I think we just need not to let our pain and struggles hinder us from getting the greatness we deserve and always remember that somewhere between the lowest ground and the mountain top is the journey that makes you believe that you CAN.

Have you ever been to Mt. Talamitam before? Share your experience below.

The post Mt. Talamitam: Day Hike On Its New Trail appeared first on Meghy Was Here.