WHEN IN TANAY RIZAL || PINAYAVENTURES

Hello pinoy and pinay adventurers! This blog is long overdue as I have been in Tanay a month ago after my sisters from TRES MARIAS encouraged me to discover the outdoors and climb....yes climb!

Tres Marias first hike together

We invited a few of our other friends to join us but during the actual climb most of them could not make it. We still went for it as it is our first time to climb together. Cat and Jo have been climbing mountains for months now and are even organizing climbs for beginners and so I thought why not join them. Since I am a newbie in climbing I brought my husband "Lloyd" with me.(damay damay na kumbaga hehe)

According to Cath and Jo this bridge was not even constructed when they visited November of last year and so they had to ride a boat to cross(that would have also been a good experience)

May 8, 2017 was the day we decided to visit Tinipak River , Tinipak Cave and climb Mount Mamara as my friends Jo and Cath already conquered the other mountain in this location called Mount Daraitan and they said that Mount Mamara would be easier for me to climb.

I forgot the name of our guide but at the barangay hall you will be assigned a guide to help you and orient you on a first come first serve basis

Here's our itinerary:

4:00 AM - Meet up at Starmall Shaw Boulevard
5:00 AM - Took Van to Tanay
6:30 AM - Arrived in Tanay Rizal Market
6:35 AM - Rode tricycle to Brgy Daraitan
8:00 AM - Arrived at Brgy Hall to orient with the guide and pay for fees
8:45 AM - Start of the Hike
9:30 AM - Arrived at Tinipak Camp Site to reserve food
10:00 AM - Arrived at Tinipak Cave Entrance which is also near the trail head to Mt. Mamara
11:00 AM - They arrived at the Summit
11:30 AM - Start of their descent
12:15 PM- They arrived at the Cave for us to explore and swim at the natural pool
1:30 PM -  We hiked back to the Campsite to eat Lunch
2:30 PM - We had a quick "siesta" or nap
3:00 PM - We explored Tinipak River and had a lot of fun swimming
5:00 PM - We got ourselves ready and changed to go home
5:30 PM - We hiked to the tricycle terminal and had some refreshments(buko juice) at. nearby store
6:00 PM - Tricycle ride going to TANAY MARKET
7:30 PM - Arrived at Tanay Market and waited for a Van going home
8:30 PM - We got off at Rosario Pasig near the Church and booked a Grab car to take us home to Makati
9:00 PM - HOME SWEET HOME


EXPENSES

Van fare to and from     TANAY(70php/person/way).                      140   Tricycle (500php/trip/
way for 5 persons).                                      200
Guide Fee (500php/climb for up
 to 10 person but we were only 5).           100
Registration Fee at the Bridge going to
 the barangay hall(20php/vehicle)               4
Registration Fee at BRGY DARAITAN
 (as of May 8 2017)                                       100
Wooden Bridge Fee.                                         5
Food, drinks, merienda for us and
the guide  and use of bathroom/
toilet.(750/5 person )                                   150
TOTAL EXPENSES/person*.                        699

Things to bring:
Trail food
Water
Extra Clothes
Towels
Light for exploring the cave or you may rent a headlight for 35php at the barangay hall
Cameras(DSLR, GO PRO, DRONE or your phone) for taking pictures
lots and lots of strength, patience and determination.

This was our guide and yes we passed by a cemetery on our way to Tinipak River

This is the youngest horse rider I have ever seen

According to our guide this is one of the cleanest water source and guests can even drink from this part of the river

This is the entrance to the camping site

We passed by the camping site 

You may also stay in tese cottages rangibg from 500-1500php

This is where we ordered our food when we passed by. The person in charge said that they do not have ready made viands but the have one whole chicken and so we had half of the chicken for tinola and the other half for chicken curry

This is my husband's picture inside the cave enjoying the natural pool

sorry for the blurred picture inside the cave as it was super dark

Tres Marias enjoying the 20pesos buko juice

Our ride going to Tanay Market

The more the merrier is the motto whenever you want to save and still experience the beauty of Tanay as you can split uo the cost of the entire Hike. The guide fee of 500pesos is good for 10 person as they have a ration of 1 guide: 10 hikers. Food is really cheap in the campsite so instead of bringing your own just ask them what they have and you can have them cook a viand of your choice plus you get yo help a family or two make a living that day.

The experience was great but for beginners you really have to prepare a week or two ahead. Jog, exercise or walk atleast an hour or two a day as it would not be a walk in the park.

So, did I make it to the peak?

Sorry to disappoint but I was not able to as me and my husband just stayed at the entrance of Tinipak Cave. I attempted to but the trail was continuously hard that I needed to decide to either be a burden or just wait for them to get back.

I still enjoyed nonetheless even if I did not get to climb Mt. Mamara. Exploring the Tinipak Cave and swimming the natural pool is definitely a must-try. The stalactites and stalagmites reminds me of Palawan's underground river but better since we explore it via foot. Swimming in Tinipak river is also one of the things we enjoyed doing as the water was so clear and it was not crowded(atleast when we went there, kami lang ang naliligo doon). We also enjoyed buying fresh fruits at a very affordable price.

I am definitely coming back to this place and maybe next time I will have enough strength to make it to the peak.

How about you? What have you been up to?What mountain/mountains have you conquered?
                     
                                                          xoxo,
                                                             APRYL