Conquering Mt. Batulao

When 2016 started, hiking had become one of the most famous outdoor activities for Manileños; most especially for the Millennials. I don't know how this begun but ever since my office mates from my previous company started inviting me to hike mountains near Manila, I was enticed and wanted to try it myself.

Even though I have already conquered Taal Volcano, I wanted to try hiking somewhere that's not really that commercialized.

Mount Batulao located in Nasugbu, Batangas

When one of my very close college friends, Hazel (see previous post about Puerto Galera), expressed her enthusiasm on hiking, I knew immediately who will be my hiking buddy. Always remember, when going hiking, always have a hiking buddy. This is not just to make the adventure fun but also for safety purposes.

We researched which mountain can we climb depending on its difficulty and length of hours to reach its peak. Along with those factors, we also considered its distance from Manila and how easy will it be go there by commuting.

Finally agreeing on which mountain to climb, we set the date. On the day of our departure, we met at Jam Liner Bus Station on EDSA-Kamias and rode a bus bound to Batangas. Unfortunately for us, the bus that was supposed to take us directly from the start point of Mt. Batulao left 5 minutes before we arrived. We had to take the long way and transfer from jeepney to tricycle when we were already on Batangas.

Drop off point to Mt. Batulao

Before starting the climb, you have to register at their barangay. Along with that, their is an affordable environmental fee. On the registration area, they offer guides for beginners that are inexperienced with hiking. We decided to DIY this climb since (1) we don't have the money (2) it's worth the adventure and (3) it's a pretty easy climb according to reviews.

There are a total of 12 peaks on Mt. Batulao and they're all placed near each other. It's advisable to climb this mountain during cloudy days, or even on rainy days if you're up for it, since there's roughly about 10% of shade all throughout your climb so yep.

That scenery!

Bushes, bushes everywhere!

After the first leg of climbing

Almost there!!!

Photo-op!

 

Hazel, conquering her fear of heights!

After hours and hours of climbing, whining, and getting tanned, we finally reached the peak!!!

- - - - - -

If you're worried about not bringing enough water, worry no more since there are plenty of stores all around the mountain. They were set up specifically for hungry and thirsty climbers. They offer water, food, and even soft and energy drinks, although they are being sold in a higher price.

If you want, you can also set camp and spend the night among the bushes and few trees of Mt. Batulao.

Also, there are 2 trails that you can follow so you can definitely try climbing this mountain 2 times. For us, we followed the 'new trail' which is relatively easy. There were few spots where you'll be needing to crouch down or even climb a not-so-steep wall with the help of a rope. Meanwhile 'old trail', which we're planning on taking on our next trip, is said to be much harder since you'll be required to rappel up (and down) to reach the peak of the mountain.

It took us about 2-3 hours to complete the climb and it was totally worth getting tanned and injuring my right ankle :))

One more scratch off of the bucket list!

• Climb at least one mountain!