Globe-trotting Philippines: Great Camping Getaway Near Manila

Just about a month ago we (together with my best friend a.k.a. husband) get ourselves back to school. YES. A graduate school to be exact. It was more or less a decade when we had our last nose-bleeding, heart thumping, brain draining serious school activities and it's kinda nonchalant for us at first to accept the fact that we are like a real, real student! We were engineering students before (by the way in our country, a degree in engineering will get you to study for 5 or more years) and studying were the least on our priorities probably because of a hard involvement we experienced when we were undergrad students (eng'g students: here, here!). Lucky me that I had a year of studying foreign language thus it has helped me prepare for this ha!

Library scene  in just few days after
Freshman Integration Training

Anyhoo, pretty serious stuff were gettin' around the past weeks and when the school had its 5 days off, we grabbed the opportunity to enjoy and unwind in a place without worrying too much for our travel expenses. Good enough, a classmate who happens to be a hiking enthusiast (he's actually the president of a Christian mountaineering organization in the Philippines) proposed and lead the group for a life-changing experience to cap off our mini vacation before the term officially starts. Kudos to the people who made this hike/camp possible. Praise God for the weather favor and keeping us safe all through out, and allowing us to experience His wonderful creation.

Mt. Balagbag is one of the best impromptu hiking/camping destination because of its proximity to Manila, about 45-min drive via Quirino Highway. Being part of the Sierra Madre mountain ranges, it brags about its remarkable view: sierra madre mountain ranges during the day and a spectacular stretch of city lights of Metro Manila at night. 

Sierra Madre Mountain Ranges

View of  Manily City Lights from the Base Camp
Photo Credit:Ryan Carlos

Going to Mt. Balagbag can also be accessed through public transportation.. The place is actually a boundary of Rodriguez, Rizal and San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan.  From Quezon City you just need to ride a jeepney to Tungko and from there ride another jeepney to Licao-Licao. When you arrive at the place, people are warm enough and are willing to point you to the right place. It was not hard to find it though, there's only a single trail going up to Balagbag, you won't get lost.

Trail going up to Mt. Balagbag

Johanah and Rey on the tent set-up
Photo  Credit: Ryan Carlos

According to Trailadventours, "Mt. Balagbag doesn’t only boast its mountain range but also the infinity-like waterfalls and rivers that pave way for the possibility to traverse to San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan or other barangays of Rodriguez, Rizal." (see full article here) True enough, we experienced Balagbag's tiered falls with our classmates, international students, upper class men and newly found hike-enthusiast friends.

That day we set up our tent first at the base camp overlooking the city and chose to hike down and traversed through the river for our Balagbag Falls adventure.

(Note: Photos taken by Kuya Jun)

We capped off our night with a delicious dinner (Kuya Jun's chicken inasal was the best), more camp fire stories and laughter. It was awesome. Thank you Lord for this experience.

The next morning we grabbed the opportunity to take a look of 360-degree view of Manila, Rizal and Bulacan, stretching to the south. And of course, we took the chance to pose a shot to Balagbag's famous tub atop the hill.

Taking a bath: It's more fun in the Philippines

And now I would like you to meet the conquerors in their bragging pose:

L-R: Pastor Rey, Kuya Bernard, Ate Johanah (Fil), Grace (Indian),
Lawrice (Fil), Tuh (Vietnamese), May (Burmese),
Bina (Indian), Ate April (Fil), Kuya Jun,Kuya Yong (Fil) and Jep.
Photo Credit: Ryan Carlos

Awoo, awoo!