Pat, say "cheese!" haha
This is Mt. Daraitan at Tanay, Rizal. The mountain is famous for being one of the beginner-friendly ones on the internet which I totally disagree (lol). Well, I maybe wrong since we hiked here while it was a bit drizzling so I have yet to experience going up to the summit of this mountain dry. But as per our group's experience, this is one of the longest, tiring, and heavy hike yet that we did.
Our road experience going here was also memorable as we were all wide and awake during the whole trip doing crazy stuff like shutting ALL the lights off in the middle of the road with only trees around. The group was also sharing horrific stories that compliment the vibe of the routes we were going through like some narrow rough roads in the dark and creepy animals we were passing by.
Anyway, the place is waze-able so it'll not be that hard to go to but expect a number of steep rough roads you'll encounter on the way. It took us around an hour from Marikina until we arrived at the parking area of the mountain.
parking area beside Tinipak River
As usual, we arrived there early so we can catch the sunrise on the peak. We actually used a bamboo raft to cross the river (costs around P20 each) and go to the registration area (amounting to less than P100 each) which we, later on, discovered that there is a hanging bridge we can use not that far from where we rode the raft that is, of course, free to use. Well, well, well, how about that!
registration area
So, after being assigned with a tour guide and a few minutes of orientation, we started the trek. #Lezdodiz
we are still smiling! haha!
The trails were surprisingly diverse. They have some concrete and rocky roads beside the river, Tinipak, unusual cliffs in the middle of some paths and the ever-present flat and inclined terrains surrounded by different plants and trees.. The one that caught our attention though is this water spring that breathes out potable water along the way.
natural water spring
It's actually an opportunity to refill all those water bottles for the many challenges waiting ahead. Make sure that you are getting water from the clean parts of it because basically, the farther you go from the source, the dirtier it gets. I actually attempted scooping some in one of the areas but unfortunately, there were many tadpoles present on where I tried.. so it made me pass in doing so. Haha!
With this, ready your footwears to be soaked in water as you'll pass by a number of water trails ahead. Just as the guides' ultimate reminder: safety first, ALWAYS. It will get slippery I tell you. You will be stepping on wet, big & small, moving rocks with gushing water and cliffs & edges are just in sight so its better to go slow and safe than be sorry, really.
taking the 5s (breaks)
One of the cool things we always do when taking our first breaks during treks were switching off of all the lights, no one talks for a moment, and then we feel the breeze of the morning air with nature silence. Even though it only happens for like 2 secs. because there will always someone who will ruin the moment (lol!), its just always awesome and priceless every time we do it. You guys might want to try it in one of your hikes and I bet it will be one of the highlights of the whole experience. And, don't be shy to ask for those 5s. Usually or most likely, one of you guys silently needs it and will be thankful that you asked for it. Believe me on this. Haha!So after hiking, crawling, and squeezing our way through those slippery and muddy obstacles for about an hour and a half, we reached its summit. Yes! But with that early good news came the bad as well. The bad news? The crystal clearing we were anticipating for seems not that really clear that time. It looks like the clouds want to have a date with us at the peak.
rendezvous with the clouds at Mt. Daraitan's summit
Well, it seems like we do not have any other choice but to enjoy the current rain. But guess what, nature really has its own way of giving us the unique experience in its own timeline. As we experience the gush of the fog coming from different directions carrying some bits of water in it.. and as it travels across the cliffs and gets dissolved mid-air right in front of us (which is pure beauty).. we get to see the grand over-looking from time to time as the horizon clears and unclear alternately. Man, It's just an experience to treasure! The video below has more pictures to prove these claims so don't forget to watch it at the bottom.
Luis: Get me a picture before the clearing becomes unclear again! Haha!
The way that river crosses those hills and land formations is just a sight to see. It's 10x better in person!! No, I am not shouting! It is just that beautiful! More pictures in the video below.Once you have taken it all in here, now its time to go back down. Well, in most cases, going back down to the jump-off area is the most boring part where ALL of us (yes, ALL) want to teleport to. This has been by far one of the hardest hikes yet (emotionally chosen, lol) our group did. Well, not because of difficulty of the trail, really, but maybe in terms of the combination of factors like length of the trek, wet trails, and we were just super and dead tired that we were already saying random and crazy things on our way down. Haha!
This picture below might help you in getting the idea. LOL!
Van: fake smile* (even the dog is with us here)
Fortunately, the river we kept on talking about earlier and saw from the summit is Tinipak River. This river is actually making its own name on Instagram which I did not know until my cousin told me about it months after the hike.
Tinipak river rocks
It had giant white boulders, clean flowing water, it even had stone towers scattered all over the place.. It's just a perfect cooldown/relaxing spot after a draining hike (you can even rent a tricycle as an option in selected parts for convenience). The view from the river is just as spectacular as the views from the top as I can see how the fog covers the top portion of some of the mountains nearby. The "feels" is just like being in a set of the classic movie "Jurassic Park". We were actually waiting for a dinosaur to appear any minute at that time. Haha!
Tinipak river
The tour guide fee stays at P500 for 5 persons so it is sooo worth it compared to the views and the experiences you'll get on visiting the place. If you want to see more of our pictures especially the cool and funny jump shots we did here, simply watch the video below. Enjoy guys!
