#mountbalagbag

A DAY-HIKE TO MT. BALAGBAG

Last Tuesday, my friends and I decided to climb Mt. Balagbag in Rizal for a cup of new experience and a little pinch of self-renewal. We were four in the group and it was everybody’s first time to hike so we have decided to try Mt. Balagbag since it is on a beginner’s level of difficulty (3/9) plus, it’s near Manila so it’ll be convenient.

As agreed, we all met at McDo near Fairview Center Mall by 8 a.m. (supposedly 6:30 but you know how it is with people and punctuality *chuckles*) then we rode a jeepney to Tungko. Upon reaching Tungko, you have to walk a short distance to reach the jeepney terminal going to Licao Licao. It’s quite a long ride and you’ll know you are in Licao Licao when the jeepney has made it’s final stop. You will see a tricycle terminal upon arrival which you can ride going to the barangay (or you can walk if you’re used to really long walks before starting the actual hike). When we have reached the barangay, the officials welcomed us and introduced us to our tour guide (we decided to get a tour guide since it was our first time and the officials highly recommend to have a tour guide even if you are experienced enough so that in case of accidents, someone can immediately report to them and send medical assistance). You have to pay P10 as entrance fee and P300 to the tour guide but can increase up to P500 if you will traverse to Mt. Maranat. We decided to hike only Mt. Balagbag since we were only beginners. We felt like giving up in the first five minutes of our hike (seriously). This was because the beginning trail is so steep we can hardly catch our breaths, different from the easy to difficult pattern we have expected. We had to stop several times to rest but fortunately, as we go uphill further, the slope begins to flatten. The upper part of the mountain up to the summit was said to be private so we have to pay an additional amount of P20 if we want to continue the hike and so we did. After 15 minutes, we have finally reached to summit where there are cottages for people to stay at. We stayed there for about two hours eating our packed lunch and taking plenty of photos before going back.

Here is a list of my expenses for the whole trip (coming from UST):

UV from UST to FCM - P35 FCM to Tungko - P18 Tungko to Licao Licao - P26 Tricycle to Barangay - P30 Entrance Fee - P10 Tour guide - P400 (we added P100 as tip to make our share P100 each since we’re four) Additional Fee to the summit - P20 Tricycle back to Terminal - P30 Jeep to Tungko - P26 Tungko back to FCM - P18 FCM back to UST - P35

Total of P348

There you go. I hope this helps for those who wish to visit Mt. Balagbag for the first time. :)

Additional tips:

• wear light and comfortable clothes

• bring only the things you need

• keep your backpacks as light as possible

• you’ll survive with only a bottle of water (you can refill it in between your walks to the summit FOR FREE) though it’s still safe to bring atleast two :)

and lastly, HAVE FUN! *cheers for you, brave heart*