Conquering mountains has been my escape from the zombie routine we all try to survive also known as adulthood.
I always find mountains therapeutic even if most of the time my laziness would get the better of me. Of course, there are days when you’d rather stay in bed with a cup of coffee in hand but then there are days when you look for adventure. These are one of the latter days.
We’ve been seeing photos of Tinipak river all over the internet and we thought, let’s conquer this mountain before it becomes too crowded. These days, mountains become as crowded as malls on weekends. So before a hiking destination becomes too popular, we decided to go for it already.
The Mountain.
“90% trek po ito ma’am”, our guide said. It was a humid day, and we arrived late. We wanted to cover everything on the itinerary- the summit, tinipak river and the cave. Perhaps the guide thought we weren’t capable of trekking this mountain as fast as we can.So we accepted the challenge and said “tara kuya.”
We tried to finish the hike at 1/2-2 hours despite the human traffic while trekking. We did finish fast and were able to reach the summit at around 11 am despite arriving late on the jump-off area. The good thing about this mountain is that, the trail has trees so the sun doesn’t hit you directly (unlike in Batulao and other open-trail mountains).
Mt. Daraitan is a gem located in Tanay Rizal. It offers a scenic view of the Sierra Mountain range. Difficulty level is 4/9. It is an easy trek and perfect for beginners. I think this was my 4th mountain, my 2nd one for the year.
SUMMIT
The summit was worth every ounce of energy while trekking. Pictured above is me, giddily smiling as if I wasn’t afraid of heights. We took quick photos though because the line for the summit was long and everyone wanted a photo on top. Of course we should, we worked hard for this.
It was breathtaking and I was mesmerized with the beauty of nature before me.
We traversed to Tinipak river and the trek down was twice longer and more difficult than the first. I think I tripped more than twice, almost broke my camera, almost lost my phone and embarrassed myself a lot more than I can imagine on this trail. I didn’t want to complain though, I was looking forward to seeing the river.
The river + the cave were my favorite parts of this trip. The cold water was refreshing and perfect after a long, tiring trek. The limestone water and the white rock boulders were definitely instagram-worthy!
The cave was a challenge though. Knowing how fast I slip and trip, I had to hold on for dear so I wouldn’t end up on the news the next day. But then again: IT. WAS. WORTH. IT.
Notes:
–Going there: a jeepney in Starmall, shaw boulevard on weekends are available and would drive you directly to the jump-off site of Mt. Daraitan. I think the fare was around 200 pesos.
-Wear comfy clothes and proper shoes: it’s a slippery trek, better be sure you’re comfortable.
– PACK LIGHT. As I said earlier, this mountain is 90% assault. You don’t wanna have a difficult time hiking with your heavy backpack.
–LEAVE NO TRACE. Always remember that everytime you hike.
Some photos were taken by DC suarez and Jubilee Almonte.
Enjoy! 🙂
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