The crystal cave in Sagada is officially closed to the general public and tourists due to vandalism and damage being done tot he cave. Some people found it necessary to snap off stalactites to take as souvenirs, thus ruining the very thing that they have gone there to enjoy. I find this a lot in my travels in the Philippines, beaches covered in trash, jungle and mountain trails covered in litter, it is quite unfortunate that the beautiful environment and natural wonder the country has been blessed with are destroyed by a few mindless people who have a complete disregard for nature and leaving the place in a condition that is also enjoyable for future visitors (OK rant over, on with the cave).

So like I said, it is officially closed, but it will be opened up for a select few who are experienced spelunkers and have been judged as not the type of people who are likely to damage the cave system. The entrance is now guarded by a metal cover that is padlocked, only the guides have a key for this. We used SAGGAS (Sagada Genuine Guides Association) to arrange the  visit for us. Mandatory was 2 guides and the cost was 3,000 peso for two people. Again I think this high price is to put those people off who are not really serious about doing it, and secondly the cave system is quite involved and the guides certainly earn their money down there on this one.

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The entrance is somewhat benign and not as grand as the Sumaging cave. It drops down steeply through some small holes and rappels into the first chamber. This is where the majority of the stalactites are to be found, hundreds of tiny stalactites decorate the roof of this chamber which is quite low and gives you good view. You can see where some have been snapped off and damaged, a testament to why the cave has had to be closed off. From here it snakes it way around a corner and down over large boulders to reach some pools and flow stone like formations that you see in Sumaging cave. Again you leave your shoes behind and climb up these to a large and deep pool where there is a wonderful large flowstone and rock formations. Back down to your shoes the cave continues to wind it’s way down deeper, until you reach some tunnels. These tunnels are knee to waste deep in water and thread their way throughs one impressive rock formations. You then come to a part where you must lay on your back and haul yourself through a small hole to get to the other sidle After this you begin to climb up, some vertical parts and a section where you have to climb up between two large flow stones.

After this it begins to get very very muddy, knee deep in places, and you have to crawl through holes so you have no chance of staying clean! Fortunately there are plenty of pools to wash the mud off along the way, but there really is no point as you will only get covered again! The end of the cave brings you out in the Sumaging cave connection just by the flow stones and pools. You finish off going out the same way as we you did on the cave connection.

It was well worth the experience, and great fun. The Sumaging cave connection is probably more accessible and fun, the crystal cave is more an achievement and challenge, made all the more of an achievement given there are few people allowed to experience it these days.

The main tourist attraction and thing to do at Sagada has to be the experience of caving, or spelunking as it’s also known. There are several options for this at Sagada, the most common being a visit to Sumaging cave, and for the ones not afraid of small spaces and cold water, the cave connection where you enter through the Suamging burial cave and come out the opposite side through another entrance is worth doing. If you are in any way claustrophobic it’s probably not for you, but if you like some adventure then go for it!

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The route starts in the grand entrance cave that is a large cavern winding it’s way down 160+ meters. This makes it the deepest cave in the Philippines. You have to make several rappels going hand over hand down ropes through small holes to reach the bottom of the cave. here you walk and hop along boulders into the large cavern that is home to many bats. You can’t see them but you can sure hear them! Then you go into the water system part of the cave. There are some fascinating rock formations, stalactites, and most pronounced are the flow stone formations. Some have amusing names and look like various body parts and animals. The guides have some funny jokes about them that brighten up the gloomy darkness of the cave.

From here you enter a hidden tunnel that is full of cold water and involves some more squeezing through small holes and wading through cold was it deep water. After this, you start the climb back up tot he exit of the cave which is just as spectacular as the entrance.

I hired a guide from the SAGGAS office found just down the road from the Yogurt house on the main street in Sagada town. The guide was excellent, his name is Jeffery and comes thoroughly recommended. He was also our guide the next day for the crystal caves.

 

 

Having read and seen and heard a lot about Sagada I had high hopes, so off I went there during the busy Chinese new year holiday. Lucky I found a place to stay as most places were booked out. I ended up staying at a quant place called Grandmas Yellow house, 700 peso for a twin room and shared bathroom per night. It’s very convenient and right across from the SAGGAS office and yogurt house. There is a 9pm curfew in the town although it seemed the holiday meant it was extended and being opposite the busiest restaurant in town meant it was a little noisy at night but it went quiet by 10pm.

I hired a guide from the SAGGAS office. There are two offices in town, the guides from the municipal hall, and the SAGGAS or so called “Sagada Genuine Guides Association” there was some kind of dispute that ended in this splinter group being formed. As I tend to try and have as little to do as possible with any government officials in the Philippines I opted for SAGGAS.

I had an en excellent guide named Jeffery who took us in tot eh caves and hanging coffins. The hanging coffins themselves are nothing very spectacular, although interesting to see, they are not worth a journey in themselves. However if you are in Sagada or nearby Bontoc they are worth the visit. It’s a short and pleasant walk to echo valley to see the coffins and then back to the village. I paid 1,000 peso for the guide for two people to be guided through the cave connection and to the hanging coffins.

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After successfully negotiating the North and South peak independently the next logical thing was to traverse the mountain connecting the two summits.

There wasn’t much information to be found about this, but I figured it wouldn’t be too difficult to find our way across from the North to  the South peak. It involves negotiating a ridge that is around 1 kilometre in length. There is a very very steep slope leading down from the North peak towards the ridge, there is a defined path going down there, so just follow that and you can’t go far wrong. It’s thick jungle to either side os you are pretty much on it or off it. There is a tricky part to climb down some tree roots then it’s quite pleasant along a track across the top of the ridge for a few minutes. The path becomes a little less defined at this point and we took the left hand branch. This brought us to a steep / vertical rock face about 3 meters in height. Luckily I am not adverse to rock climbing, so it wasn’t too difficult to negotiate. However I later found there is an easier route to the right that circumvents this. A little bushwhacking soon saw us on the right track again.

Continuing along you get some great views across to the pinnacle peak, and up ahead to the rocky formation known as Haring Bato. When we got to this rocky outcrop and climb onto of it I was met with a snake. It wasn’t shy and sat there looking at us for quite some time before slithering away under the rocks. It was I believe not poisonous, but I wasn’t taking any chances! After these rocks it’s a tricky climb down and then the ridge becomes almost vertical again going back up towards the South summit. Here you have to climb up tree roots and steep muddy slopes for a hundred or so meters before popping out through some long grass onto the un suspecting South peak.

As this isn’t done often, there is not a lot of trash along the route, unlike the pathway up to the North peak. In an effort to keep it this way I do not want to give too many details regarding the traverse route. Those who are seriously interested for more information and the GPS tracks can contact me through this blog.

After living nearby this mountain for several years, seeing it daily from my office and driving past it, I finally got around to hiking to it’s North peak. Although it’s not really the “mountaineering adventure” I am used to climbing in Scottish winter conditions and rock climbing in North Wales, it provides a different type of challenge Not least the tropical heat and humidity, dehydration issues and various jungle nasties. The NPA, the maoist/communist “army” of the Philippines sometimes caused trouble in this area camping and hiding out in the heavily forested areas, there are now Police and military patrols in the national park so it’s quite safe these days.

As maps both road and wilderness, maps in the Philippines are pretty sketchy and inaccurate I rely very much on google earth and GPS tracks from others and my own gut instinct to find the way. On this occasion however I had a friend with me who had hiked the North Peak of Arayat many times before.

The route tot he highest peak, North Peak, starts on the Magallang not Arayat side of the mountain. the nearest god landmark I could mention is the agricultural college just outside of Magallang town. We parked close to the trail head where a newly concreted road leads up to a dead end where the jungle takes over and the hike for real starts.

There is a small sari sari store that sells some snacks and drinks known locally and to regular hikers on Arayat as “7-11″. We however were carrying enough water and food for our day hike so no need to fill up there. However if you want to save a few kilos on the first 30 minutes of the walk you can buy here.

THe trail continues through the heavily forested virgin jungle. There’s plenty of bird and animal sounds to listen to on the way. There are supposed to be monkeys living in the jungle here also although I never heard or saw signs of any. There’s a few places you could go wrong along the way, in general you should keep tot he right side paths. Another tip, if you don’t see any trash on the floor for a few minutes you are probably off route. Unfortunately there is a lot of trash littering the way such as empty chocolate wrappers etc. Around half way up there is a fresh spring with a plastic pipe from where you can refill with water if necessary.

From there the route gets a little steeper winding past some interesting looking trees. You will come to a small clearing and a fallen tree rather like a bench. Here you can turn off and make a 7 minute detour to white rock. I can recommend this, as it gives great views and a good place to stop and enjoy the atmosphere before the final steep part to the summit. There is also a statue of the Virgin Mary cemented into the rock here.

Back on the main trail things get much steeper. You may find it necessary to use your hands in places for balance as you climb up short sections of trees roots. It’s around 35-40 minutes of steep hiking to the North Peak. At the North peak there is a small radio mast and a building that houses some PNP (Philippine National Police) who patrol the area. Fill in their log book (no charge) to say you were there and that’s it. There is a cleared flat area that gives good views across tot he South Peak, the Pinnacle and the ridge joining them. This cleared area was a helicopter pad in days gone by. Now however the PNP staff told me that everything is hand carried up there.

I explored a little bit of the route going down to the ridge that joins the North and South Peaks. This is now on my list of things to do, the Arayat traverse from North to South.

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Over the past 3 years of my stay here in the Philippines I’ve traveled a little, although not as much as I would have liked due to work limitations. Angeles City being what it is, quite a small place with not a lot to do other than the infamous night life so called “entertainment district” I’ve made it my aim recently to get out of town at least 2 weekends every month.

It costs a bit, I could do it cheaper if I rode public transport etc, but I like the luxury and comfort as well as flexibility traveling by my car affords. As well, the safety as I don’t 100% trust the busses here for the way the drivers operate the vehicles and it’s not unheard of busses to be held up either.

One of my favourite places to get away to is Oriental Mindoro. It’s a 3 hour drive from Angeles City to Batangas port where there are several operators running banka boats out to various parts of Mindoro. Popular is Puerto Galera, although I would say there isnt much there in the town of puerto Galera itself. I now usually take a boat instead directly to Sabang. Sabang has many dive resorts, and a lot of Koreans going there nowadays as well as many other visitors from all over the world. Sabang itself isn’t that nice. The sea is a bit dirty there and the beach not the cleanest. However, 10 minutes walking along the coast into small la laguna and big la laguna you can find crystal clear waters, nice corals for snorkelling just meters away from the shore line and many dive resorts.

I’ve stayed twice in “Coco Beach” resort. This is quite “exclusive” one of the more expensive resorts along the Sabang/Puerto Galera coastal area. It will run you at 3,000 peso or more per night but includes breakfast. The rooms are delightful if you choose the hilltop suites. The views are great across the palm tree forest and down to the beach. being hilltop rooms does mean it’s a bit of an excercise to get up to your room, and some nights I wonder how I made it after a few too many cocktails by the pool! Also remember to take with you what you want when leaving your room as it’s a long walk back! It is very good though, excellent facilities, nice pool thats open 24 hours, good food, tennis courts. It’s quite a get away. Plus a private beach.

However, as it’s a bit pricey I save it for “special ocassions” when family visit for example and they want a bit of luxury. For my weekend jaunts where I’m staying over one or two nights only I opt to stay in small la laguna. It’s convenient being only 10 minutes walk from where the bankas drop you off in sabang. Operated by a firendly chap from the UK called Gary, and some friendly staff working in the bar and kitchens it’s quite a homey little place. Right on the sea front, only accessible by walking, free wifi and a choice of fan or aircon rooms. It’s basic, but sufficient with hot water and a generator for the brown outs which are all to frequent an occurance in the rural areas of the Philippines.

Every night there is a very excellent all you can eat BBQ buffet and on Saturday nights there is an all you can eat Indian buffet which I must say has some very good currys cooked by Garys partner. There is a dive shop attached tot he place as well so you can go out and experience scuba diving, and even do full PADI accredited courses there. I personally am not so much intot he diving, but I do not mind a bit of snorkelling. A few hundred peso can hire you a boat to visit the coral gardens where an hour can be spent swimming around admiring the corals and fishes that inhabbit these tropical waters.

Anyone interested to stay there, the resort is Sunsplash in small la laguna. Gary can be contacted on garynorthrop@gmail.com and their website is www.blueribbondivers.com. If you can’t find the place give Gary a call on 0915 700 9193. I can thoroughly recommend a stay there at Sunsplash!

So what else is there to do in Mindoro? Well I like to rent a motorcycle and drive up to Tamaraw falls. I don’t bother with the touts that try to rip you off. It’s easy to find the falls as they are right by the road, you can’t really miss them. It’s only 20 peso entrance fee and the cool refreshing mountain water is very nice to swim in on a hot day. You can climb up and sit beneath the falls as well for a “water massage” which is very invigorating.

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This was not my first trip to Banaue to view the rice terraces. My first visit was December 2009 when I just had my new car. I drove via the Cagayan Valley from Angeles, stayed overnight and saw the terraces from the viewpoint and drove back. A very long drive for such little time there. Also, the terraces were not green at that time of year as the rice is dead.

This visit, July1st 2011 gave much better views and I spent the time to take a hike through the terraces. The trip started as a spur of the moment idea. Jumped in the car, grabbed my camera from home and sped off at 1am. I hadn’t slept, but the excitement of the spontaneity of it plus the winding road that requires full concentration kept me going.

So at 1am I left Angeles. I had a new toy, a Garmin Etrex GPS that I used to document the route.

Angeles – Banue
Distance – 309km
Avg speed 56.8 KPH
Moving – 5hrs 25mins
Stopped – 40 mins
Total ascent – 2,907m
Max height – 1,299m

Route and elevation profile Angeles-Banaue

So arrived after around 6 hours on the road and no sleep just after sunrise. Some great views along the way. Although I missed the views of the Cagayan valley, I had seen them before. It was the best time to make the journey I think, as the first time I had heavy traffic in daytime around Cabantuan. Much better driving overnight if you have the energy! So, we checked into the Banau Hotel, “the most expensive hotel in town”. It’s also the first hotel you will see when entering the town of Banaue. I paid 3,000php for a deluxe room with balcony overlooking the terraces. There are cheaper hostel dormitory rooms available also. The price included breakfast. ( click here for hotel website )

After 2 hours sleeping I hired a guide for a tour around. We stopped first at an Ifugao village nearby the hotel. This was not really worth the money for the guide, you can walk down there easily yourself. The guide then took us to the Banaue museum, again you could do this yourself, it’s open to the public and cost is 50 peso entrance fee. However, the guide is somewhat useful for answering questions about some of the items in the museum. They have lots of items related to the tribal days of the native Ifugao Indians and their headhunting practices, including some gruesome pictures!

Trekking in Banaue rice terraces

From there we drive up the road stopping at several viewpoints along the way. At the final viewpoint we parked the car and started a 3 hour walk through the terraces. It’s a nice walk, with some steep inclines, but not very long. Anyone of average fitness will be fine. You need a bit of a head for heights as there are some steep drops and you balance along the edges of the terraces, but they are short lived and the guide can assist you. All in all it’s quite a nice walk and gets you up close tot he terraces which is like walking through a big machine. You see the rice being planted, the irrigation systems etc. The walk finished in the village on a hanging bridge that has seen better days. A 100 peso tricycle ride took us back to the car.

The view on the new 20peso 2011 bill

The hiking in the terraces reminded me very much of trekking in the Nepali Himalayan lowlands. The alpine meadows and terraced hillsides. Very enjoyable and a great break from Angeles and Manila’s smog and noise.

A nice, but little overpriced, meal was taken at the Banaue hotel. Although the beef was the most tender I have had in the Philippines. A thunderstorm moved which cleared the humidity from the air. Although the temperatures were quite nice, at 22 degrees around 10 degrees cooler than being in Angeles and the lowland areas.

An early start at 7am the next day after the breakfast saw us hit the road heading towards Angeles again. I decided to take an alternative but longer route back via Bontoc and Baguio. I had been informed the road is now concrete the whole way in this direction. It is, but there are landslides and some rough sections to cross. My low Genesis Coupe sports car was not ideal for those parts, but it made it across with no fewer scrapes to the underside than I get going over speed bumps in the cities. On the curving, windy mountain roads however it was a fantastic ride! Along the way to Bontoc there are some breathtaking views, and a view of a quant little town with stonewalled rice terraces.

Stone walled terraces en route to Bontoc

Bontoc itself passed by quickly, although I made a mental note where the museum is ready for my next visit. We then sped on along the Helsemay highway that connects Bontoc and Baguio. This road was truly fantastic and thrilling to drive along, the winding turns and the steep drop offs the side, dodging the landslides and eventually reaching the highest point in Philippine Highway System at 7,400ft.

Highest point on Philippine Highway 7,400ft

Upon arriving in Baguio I instantly wished I was back in the mountain provinces. I had heard lots of nice things about Abguio from Filipinos, but I honestly can’t say I see what the fuss is about. It was like Manila with mountains, and worse traffic. The road layout is terrible even my GPS road maps got confused. I eventually found a way out, more by goodluck and instinct than anything else, and was soon speeding off down the Marcos Highway. This road is fantastic, the best road in the Philippine I would say! Wide open concrete roads, hairpin mountain bends, no landslides. Say what you like about the Marcos regime, the guy got things done and it was done right! The current govenment could take some lessons from that! The genesis Coupe ate up the bends and was always asking for more, unfortunately after about 20-30 minutes of descent it was over and it was back to the Mc Arthur Highway. A long straight 100km stretch of road leading right back to Angeles. Through towns, stuck behind jepepneys, buses, tricycles. The worst part of the drive for sure!

Here’s the stats for the return drive :-

Banaue-Bontoc-Baguio-Angeles
Distance – 375Km
Avg speed – 43.9 KPH
Moving – 8hrs 32min
Stopped – 1hrs 8mins
Total Ascent – 4,656m
Max Height – 2,344m

Track and elevation profile from Banaue-Bontoc-Baguio-Angeles

A bit of a whirlwind 48 hours trip, but worth it none the less. I would definitely do it again. Next time I plan to spend 1 day in banaue at the Batad rice terraces trek, then the next day drive to Bontoc, leave the Genesis Coupe there and ride a jeep to Sagada. Visit the hanging coffins at echo valley, do some caving and then drive back, probably via Banaue again as I will do anything to avoid Baguio! It’s only around 1 hour or 1.5 hours from Bontoc to Banaue.

Red route going, blue route return

Tonight was MMA Wars in Olongapo. Well actually it was inside Subic base (SBMA) at a basketball arena close to Remy Field running track. I went along to support some local Angeles City guys who are fighting for a local MMA team in Angeles, “Team Rivera”.  I trained with some of these guys at the local Brazilian Jiu Jitsu academy in Angeles led by Janz Rivera as their trainer a Chute Boxe fighter Filipino American.

This was the guys from Angeles debut fight, having never competed in an mixed martial arts (MMA) bout before.

The fights started around 2 hours later than published (Filipino time!) and went on until almost 1am! It was tiring, and unfortunately by the time the main fight came on I was already feeling pretty tired. But it was still a great night, with ringside seats costing only 100 peso! And that included a free beer.

There were a few fighters from Olongapo, Manila and then the Angeles guys. The fights were pretty evenly matched, and although they fought well the guys from Angeles failed to come out ontop of any fights. The best result was a loss by split decision. But, considering it was their first time fighting in a real MMA bout they did themselves proud. Any guy who steps into the ring has my utmost respect.

The Angeles guys I beleive could have got some better results had they relied on their Jiu Jitsu techniques. Most of the guys they were up against were punchers and kickers, muay thai kickboxers, karate and taekwondo. If they had stuck tot he rules of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, avoided the punches, closed the distance and taken them down I believe they would have had better results. Most seemed to stand toe to toe with them afraid to go to the ground.

The next MMA Wars is scheduled to be in Angeles, let’s hope we can do better next time!

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After my first visit to a freinds resort he is building in Pundaquit, San Antonia, Zamablas I fell in love with the place. It’s peacefulness, and relatively easy access from Angeles City made it ideal for weekend beach get aways. It’s getting busier and more popular now with bus loads of people from Manila arriving. However, it’s possible as I found to still have quite a peaceful get away here.

My plan was to hike to the summit of Pundaquit mountain, and then traverse the mountain ridge and come down into the valley and pine forests that line the rear of the beach leading to Anawangin cove, a popular camping spot. I was advised to take a guide as the terrain can be difficult to navigate. However, armed with my GPS, and many years of mountaineering experience I felt capable to take this hike on without the need for a guide. Besides part of the fun for me is the navigation, finding your way, and getting into sticky situations and having to get out of them! I would NOT advise this approach for everyone unless you have wilderness and outdoor experience. Take a guide, they aren’t that expensive, then you can enjoy the hiking and scenery. However, for those with the necessary experience, it’s not that difficult. A certain elvel of fitness is required however as the start is steep and hard going in full sun with no tree cover.

My friend from work, Daniel, had asked to come along. His wife and friend would take the boat to Anawangin with the camping kit so all we needed was our day sacks. Sounded like a good plan. However, after 45 minutes into the hike on the steepest part of the trail, it soon became apparent that Daniel was not really cut out for this type of adventure. What he thought would be a straightforward hike was turning into a pretty tough ordeal for him. The blazing sun, dehydration and tiredness soon set in. He wisely decided to turn back and join his wife in the boat, leaving me to continue on my own.

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I had programmed the coordinates of Pundaquit summit into my GPS, as well as the coordinates for Anawanging beach. The latitude and longitude of each was identified using google earth, a pretty useful application in a country such as the Philippines. Not like hiking back in the UK where we have the luxury of highly detailed and accurate ordnance survey maps at varying scales. Of course this only meant the GPS could give me a straight line as the crow flies path, which meant I was in for some tough cross country walking.

The first 2 hours is steep to gain the ridge line high up. You could probably take an easier option than I did, and start where the ridge almost meets the sea, this would give an easier route I believe. The terrain is rough, short bamboo and not easy to get a rhythm going. There are rocks held into the earth that have a habbit of collapsing out from under you. The ridge gets quite narrow in places and you would not want to fall off.

The view from the summit is really quite something, down over Zambalas coastline, the Capones islands infront of you and higher mountains rearing up behind. From the summit a ridge line is followed across several slightly smaller “peaks” or rises in the ridge. It was at the last of these peaks I made a minor navigational error. Instead of traversing the ridge on my left down towards a col and into the valley and the pine forest, I took the right hand ridge, the most direct line towards the beach. It was very steep and soon I was forced off the ridge onto the slopes to the left (as you look out towards the sea) These slopes were heavily vegittated with razor sharp grasses and sharp pointy bamboo.

The slope is extremely steep in places, but the heavy undergrowth hides this fact and so often misteps are taken and you end up sliding down on your backside. I was more worried however about what snakes might be lurking in those grasses than anything else. It was impossible to go straight down due to the angle of slops, so a lot of zigzagging was needed. I eventually spotted the rocky line of a gully. This looked to be a waterfall in riany season, but was dried up at this time of year. It also gave some shade from the sun as the bamboo had grown high over the top of it. It was very steep, vertical in places, but being a rock climber by trade it was much better than trying to get through the foliage which was cutting and scratching my bare legs and arms. I also moved down faster as there was no more zigzagging involved.

Approximately 1 hour or so of descending this gully found me back at the foot of the mountain and in the beginnings of the pine forest and dried up riverbed. There are a lot of tracks around here and wild Caribou about. It would be easy to get confused and follow the wrong one. If you have a guide follow him, if you have a GPS follow that towards the Anawangin waypoint, if you have a compass follow approximately W/NW towards the beach. If you have none of the above, simply follow the dried up riverbed downstream. If there’s no water in it, remember water flows downhill not uphill. So follow the river bed downhill and you will get tot he sea eventually. It’s around 1.5km from teh foot of the gully I descended to the beach. The last part there is a freshwater swamp that you need to cross. It was around knee deep with fresh still water, I just waded through it as you are only a few meters from the campsite so the soaking clothes and feet was no big deal.

We spent one night camping at Anawangin cove before taking the boat with camping kit back to Pundaquit. I parked my car at a small carrinderia (restaurant) in the town that is owned by my friend.

Cost for the boat for my friend and his wife was 750 peso one way from Pundaquit to Anawangin

Cost for boat for 4 of us returning plus our kit was 1,200 peso one way back to Pundaquit

Cost for camping was 100 peso per person per night

The campsite is basic. It has a freshwater well with hand pumps for washing yourself or collecting drinking water. I’m not sure how drinkable it is, so take Iodine tablets or boil it well or both. I personally just sent a 5 gallon of purified water on the boat with our camping kit and then just used their water for washing the saltwater and sand off my body. There is no electric, so there is no KTV, although that doesn’t mean it was quite. There were some rather rowdy families there with a fondness for redhorse and talking loudly at the night time. I stayed on a Friday night and elft Saturday. I wouldn’t want to stay there Friday night peak season it gets very busy. There is a small shop, you can buy charcoal, and ice cold drinks for a premium price of course.

I’ve been told the next cove along is much more peaceful for camping, although with less amenities. But, I would be fine with that. You can send almost anything you need around on a boat anyway. If you don’t want to make the hike then it’s only a 30 minute boat ride with all your camping equipment to Anawangin cove.

Keep checking back on this blog for more information as I will be surely making another trip. There’s more mountains to hike and explore in that area, and I haven’t yet visited Capones islands either.

Well while my mum was visiting we decided to make a hike up Mount Pinatubo. It was her third visit to Angeles and she still hadn’t really done much (Angeles not being much a town for a women to visit!). The previous year we had a failed attempt at flying over the crater but had to turn back due to low clouds.

The jump off point for the trips up Pinatubo is a Korean owned health spa at the base of the mountain. It’s about 1 hour drive from Angeles. The health spa pretty much controls/has monopoly on the trips going up Pinatubo it seems. it’s pretty straightforward, simply register there, pay your money and off you go.

The first 45 minutes is spent on a 4×4 toyota land cruiser. The drive takes you up one of the lahar/ash flows that came out during the last eruption. It’s a bumpy ride, and dusty as well. Some people were in open top jeeps and needed dust masks. Ours was enclosed but still as a fun ride. The route involves some steep inclines down and out through rivers flowing down through the lahar. After around 45 minutes of some specatcular scenery you are dropped off at the last point the jeeps can reach. The start of a deep lahar canyon that you hike along.

They advise the hike is 3 hours up, and 3 hours back down. But in reality it’s not, depending on how fit you are. We were setting a moderate pace as my mother is not an outdoors type person, but made good time around 2 hours 30 minutes. I think on my own I could make it in 2 hours or less. It’s relatively flat terrain following the lahar canyon. it’s only the last 15/20 minutes that it gets step as you come up to the crater.

You have a guide who can assist you in crossing some of the stepping stones on the river. You can’t really get lost and the guide is not necessary in my opinion, but it’s a requirement, and employment generation I suppose.

It’s quite a nice hike anyways, through a moon like landscape. It only becomes green and jungle/forested on the last section to the crater.

Once at the crater it’s been quite developed there is a pathed way, some nippa huts been constructed on the side of the lake etc. It’s quite nice, but definitely a tourist attraction rather than a wilderness experience. You can swim in the crater lake, the water was very cold at the point where I entered but quite refreshing after the hike.

We then took a rowing boat that takes you to another area of the crater. Here there is a lot of geothermal energy coming up tot he surface. The water is hot in some palces boiling. There is steam and sulphuric gases coming out of small vents you can see bubbling in the water and sulphur deposits in the mud around there.

Just as we set off back down the rain started. The lahar canyon is not a place to be caught out in the rain. people have been killed there during rainstorms. The sides of the canyon are unstable and heavy rains will wash large amounts of lahar and boulders down into the canyon, mudflows are common. Luckily the rain was only around the crater area and once we descended around 15 minutes we were out of the rain.

Back at the Korean spa there is a late lunch provided, quite large portions of food with a choice of Filipino or Korean dishes. You can relax after your hike with a massage and mud spa and hot ash treatment if you wish at additional cost.

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