The Province of Laguna possesses a myriad of historical structures as well as fantastic views of nature. The town of Calamba has the Rizal Shrine, the famous Seven Lakes can be seen in San Pablo, and the Underground Cemetery is the pride of Nagcarlan are just some samples of how wonderful would it be to travel in Laguna.
Lo and behold, I learned that there was an underrated town lurking just between San Pablo and Nagcarlan, and this was the town of Rizal, the place where you could find Mount Cristobal and Tayak Hill.
Since I could only trek the easy ones, obviously I chose Tayak Hill, and my quest to the summit was done last January 11, 2014, together with three friends.
Departing from the JAM Liner terminal, near the LRT Gil Puyat station, via a Lucena-bound bus at 7:00 AM, we alighted in front of the Jollibee branch in San Pablo at 9:00 AM. Bus fare was Php 102.00 per head.
Riding a tricycle towards the jeepney terminals situated near the San Pablo Cathedral, we rode a jeepney, passing by Schetelig Avenue, Concepcion Road, and the Nagcarlan-Rizal Road, then touched base at the jump-off point of the trek, the Rizal Elementary School, located in Barangay Tala, Rizal, Laguna.
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| Rizal Elementary School |
Actually, we started trekking the concrete pavements of Opulencia Street, which was right across the school.
Along the way, we saw some spectacular views of nature, which definitely did not escape my camera.
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| Nature at the Background |
At around 10:15 AM, we passed by a place called the Terraza Verde Resort & Restaurant, a simple nice place to stay at affordable rates.
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| Terraza Verde Resort & Restaurant |
As the clock struck 12:00 NN, while still trudging well-paved concrete, we decided to take a lunch break while sitting on the road, just eating crackers to satisfy our hunger.
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| The Cemented Trail |
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| Lunch on the Road |
At 12:20 PM, we reached the end of the cemented road and started trekking the rough road portion of the trail, and after several minutes, we stopped by a sari-sari store to buy refreshments and consume some junk food. Actually, during treks in faraway places, you could really discover “new forms” of junk food, which you barely see in the usual grocery stores…argh I just forgot the brand I ate hahaha.
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| Start of the Rough Road trail |
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| A Sari-Sari Store Timeout |
We arrived at a place called Sitio Sto. Niño at 12:50 PM in order to rest in preparation for the final assault to the summit. Turning right at the fork, we came across a statue of the Virgin Mary situated on another fork. The long path is on the left, while the shorter path is on the right side. Obviously, we chose the shorter path, which prompted us to immediately trudge uphill along a rough road with some loose rocks along the way. After just a few minutes uphill, you would now be walking on a long stretch of concrete steps, with engraved names of their sponsors, towards the summit.
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| Summit of Tayak Hill w/ Mount Cristobal at the back |
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| 655 Metres Above Sea Level |
On the left side was a mountain bike, marking the hill as a “Biker Haven.” Tayak had become a tourist destination. This bike monument was dedicated to the biker who succumbed to a heart attack after climbing the hill.
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| Mountain Bike |
On the right side was a Marker of the Madonna del Ghisallo, the patroness of cyclists, riders, bikers, and travelers whose original shrine of Madonna del Ghisallo is in Ghisallo, Italy. One notes that this is the first marker in the Philippines devoted to the patroness.
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| Marker of the Madonna del Ghisallo |
The centerpiece of the summit was marked by 2 crosses (a wooden and a concrete with white paint).
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| Crosses of Tayak Hill |
On April 17, 2011, a 30-foot concrete cross was erected on this plateau. It was unveiled on a Palm Sunday in observance of the Lenten Season. It is a practice among Catholics to trek this plateau to relive Christ's sacrifices for Salvation.
Start of our descent going back to the jump-off point was 1:30 PM.
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| Start of Descent |
Arriving at our origin, since we still had lots of time, we decided to visit the fabulous Lake Pandin in San Pablo, Laguna. We rode a San Pablo-bound jeepney and were dropped off at a certain point in the highway. After a short hike, you would then see how marvelous this hidden natural spectacle is in the outskirts of San Pablo.
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| Lake Pandin |
After several minutes of the breathtaking view of Lake Pandin, we rode a San Pablo-bound jeepney anew, which took us near the San Pablo Cathedral.
We then sped off on tricycles toward the Sulyap Gallery Café & Restaurant, located in the Cocoland Compound, Barangay Del Remedio, still in San Pablo, for our super late lunch (parang dinner na rin).
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| Entering the Sulyap Compound |
The Sulyap compound was composed of three ancestral houses. The “Sulyap Casa De Obando” and the
“Sulyap Casa De Alitagtag” Bed & Breakfast Boutique Hotels, while the third one, the “Sulyap Casa De Cabay”, is a restaurant and gallery cafe that features a theme of the Spanish colonial era in the Philippines. The restaurant offers a variety of traditional Filipino dishes and a gallery filled with a large collection of antiques that date back to 1800s. It is owned by businessman Roy Empalmado who used to work for a wine and liquor trading company.
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| Sulyap Casa De Obando |
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| Sulyap Casa De Alitagtag |
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| Sulyap Casa De Cabay |
We ordered the (1) “Kulawong Puso ng Saging”, an original recipe of San Pablo City, served with Banana heart in smoked flavor coconut milk, cooked in fire brick stove. Topped with grilled pork, (2) Ginataang Pusit, a traditionally cooked squid in seasoned coconut milk, and (3) Ensaladang Pako, Fiddlehead Fern Salad in vinaigrette salad dressing. What a hearty dinner that was!
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| Kulawong Puso ng Saging |
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| Ginataang Pusit |
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| Ensaladang Pako |
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| Old Filipino Dining Ambience! |
I highly recommend this site for people who would want to first experience how it is to be on top of a summit because if you were bringing a vehicle, you could easily cruise up to Sitio Sto. Niño, park there, and just trek towards the summit for only 15-20 minutes.
Trekking Tayak Hill was such an experience. It was the first time I trudged towards my destination mostly on well-paved concrete, ate sitting on the road, and felt the strongest gusts of wind on top of a mountain.
Yes…experience is really the best teacher!
Explore Pinas!
Good stuff mate!
ReplyDeletethanks :)
DeleteVery informativd. Thanks Sir Gerbs for the tips!
ReplyDeleteVery nice
ReplyDelete