Mt. Daraitan and Tinipak River
When we were in Manila with my friend Mari Tere we wanted to do something different, so our friend Cha, who is passionate for the mountains told us to go with her to hike Mt. Daraitan on June 1, 2014. Mt. Daraitan is located near the border of Tanay, Rizal and General Nakar, Quezon.
Cha came to pick us up from Mandaluyong at 4:00 am, and then we stared our adventure. We arrived at Daraitan River at 6:25 am. It was amazing because we saw the sunrise so the view was awesome.
Once you get to the River you need to cross the bridge and go to Barangay hall.
When we arrived at 6:45 am we register and our Kuya Edwin was waiting. It was 20 pesos for the registration and like 200 pesos for the guide per person. So before starting our adventure we bought some more water and some snacks because it was very hot and the trek was going to be long. You can do the hike in 2 days but we did it all in one day.
We start the trek at 7:00 am, the hike is a mostly straightforward 600-meter ascent that is steep, it was limestone's viewpoints and a much more challenging hike, but is worth it! There is a lot of team work involved! When we began, Cha almost fainted because she didn’t have her usual breakfast haha so we had to wait for her until she felt better.
I can´t deny it was hard and the weather was so hot, we sweat so much that seriously we drink like 5 litters or more of water and we didn’t use the bathroom haha. Finally at 9:15 am we reached the summit, and we took some pictures. Depending on the side you are you have different views!
From one part you can see Meandering Daraitan River, and from the other side you can see and take pictures with the Mt. limestone formations. You will be speechless, is one of the most beautiful adventures I have had. The best of the trip, was that our Kuya love to take pictures and he was very good at it, so we have all of our memories saved!
After we admire the view, we start descending to Tinipak River, you need to be careful because is very easy to fall. We where in the River that at 12:15pm and there we swim and play with the native kids, they were so nice and friendly.
He stay there for a while, taking pictures, playing in the springs along Tinipak River and then we had lunch in a small house, where this people use it as their home, they were so kind to allow us in.
Then at 2:15 pm we went walking towards the huge white rocks, it is kind of like a pool it is very peaceful.
There was like a small waterfall that we played around, it felt so nice since the water has fresh and the weather was so hot!
At 3:30 pm we went through a tiny cave entrance, it was kind of scary because it was very dark but he took our flashlights :). This was so cool because is like a Jacuzzi inside the rocks, its all fresh water and cold by the way. For me these rocks look like marble, they are so white and soft its incredible. You will reach the main point of the cave that is the underground river.
At 6:00 pm we started going back, but on our way we saw rainbow clouds, it was so weird but so nice, this trip was perfect.
We were so tired and hungry so in our way back we stop to eat at Paseo Rizal, the cool thing about this place is that there is a room with different art. The food was good enough, we arrived like at 12 to Manila. Even though is was tiring this hike is totally worth it!
Cha came to pick us up from Mandaluyong at 4:00 am, and then we stared our adventure. We arrived at Daraitan River at 6:25 am. It was amazing because we saw the sunrise so the view was awesome.
Once you get to the River you need to cross the bridge and go to Barangay hall.
When we arrived at 6:45 am we register and our Kuya Edwin was waiting. It was 20 pesos for the registration and like 200 pesos for the guide per person. So before starting our adventure we bought some more water and some snacks because it was very hot and the trek was going to be long. You can do the hike in 2 days but we did it all in one day.
We start the trek at 7:00 am, the hike is a mostly straightforward 600-meter ascent that is steep, it was limestone's viewpoints and a much more challenging hike, but is worth it! There is a lot of team work involved! When we began, Cha almost fainted because she didn’t have her usual breakfast haha so we had to wait for her until she felt better.
I can´t deny it was hard and the weather was so hot, we sweat so much that seriously we drink like 5 litters or more of water and we didn’t use the bathroom haha. Finally at 9:15 am we reached the summit, and we took some pictures. Depending on the side you are you have different views!
From one part you can see Meandering Daraitan River, and from the other side you can see and take pictures with the Mt. limestone formations. You will be speechless, is one of the most beautiful adventures I have had. The best of the trip, was that our Kuya love to take pictures and he was very good at it, so we have all of our memories saved!
Meandering Daraitan River
After we admire the view, we start descending to Tinipak River, you need to be careful because is very easy to fall. We where in the River that at 12:15pm and there we swim and play with the native kids, they were so nice and friendly.
He stay there for a while, taking pictures, playing in the springs along Tinipak River and then we had lunch in a small house, where this people use it as their home, they were so kind to allow us in.
Then at 2:15 pm we went walking towards the huge white rocks, it is kind of like a pool it is very peaceful.
There was like a small waterfall that we played around, it felt so nice since the water has fresh and the weather was so hot!
At 3:30 pm we went through a tiny cave entrance, it was kind of scary because it was very dark but he took our flashlights :). This was so cool because is like a Jacuzzi inside the rocks, its all fresh water and cold by the way. For me these rocks look like marble, they are so white and soft its incredible. You will reach the main point of the cave that is the underground river.
Our Kuya Edwin!
At 6:00 pm we started going back, but on our way we saw rainbow clouds, it was so weird but so nice, this trip was perfect.
We were so tired and hungry so in our way back we stop to eat at Paseo Rizal, the cool thing about this place is that there is a room with different art. The food was good enough, we arrived like at 12 to Manila. Even though is was tiring this hike is totally worth it!
Philpar