Malarayat Ranges : Mount Susong Dalaga, Mount Malipunyo (1,005 MASL), Mount Biak-na-Bundok
Entry point: Brgy. Talisay, Lipa
Exit point: Brgy. Sta. Cruz, Sto. Tomas, Batangas
Elevation: 1005 MASL
Days required / Hours to summit: 1 day / 3-5 hours
Specs: Minor climb, Difficulty 3/9, Trail class 2-3
http://www.pinoymountaineer.com/2007/10/mtmalipunyomalarayat.html
Exit point: Brgy. Sta. Cruz, Sto. Tomas, Batangas
Elevation: 1005 MASL
Days required / Hours to summit: 1 day / 3-5 hours
Specs: Minor climb, Difficulty 3/9, Trail class 2-3
http://www.pinoymountaineer.com/2007/10/mtmalipunyomalarayat.html
Mount Malepunyo (also known as Mount Malipunyo or Malarayat Range is an extinct volcano located on Luzon Island in the Philippines. The mountain is located between the provinces of Batangas, Laguna and Quezon.
It is popular among mountaineers, and has three interconnected
destinations: Mt. Malepunyo, the highest; Mount Susong-Dalaga (also
known as Mt. Susong-Cambing); and Manabu Peak.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Malepunyo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Malepunyo
Last year we were able to hike Mt. Makiling Traverse on
December 29-30, 2013. For me that was my most
difficult hike until this climb happened.
When no one else wants to join us, we still pursue with
our plans what mountains to hike and when that will happen. It was just the four of us, my hubby and our
two kids.
After Christmas day, we always go home at my hubby’s
hometown in Amadeo, Cavite. I love
spending our vacation here because there are
lot of mountains to hike at Southern Luzon especially in Batangas and
Cavite areas.
We made our way going to Lipa, Batangas and when in
Cavite the terminal station going to Batangas areas is in Pala Pala,
Dasmarinas, Cavite. There are 18-seater
vans here going to Batangas. But if you
will be coming from Manila, the terminal stations going to Batangas are in
Coastal Mall, Paranaque, Buendia and Cubao. Fare ranges from Php180-200. Fare from Pala-Pala, Dasmarinas, Cavite to
Lipa is Php125.
From Fiesta Mall in Marawoy, Lipa, Batangas, flag a trike
going to Jubelan Subd., Brgy. Talisay, Lipa, Batangas. Trike fare is Php150/trip but can be
negotiated up to Php100/trip. If you
already contacted Kuya Mario, the expert guide, he will fetch you at the
jump-off and walk going to their home. You can contact Kuya Mario through his celfone number 0998-409-4899.
You have the option not to include Mt. Susong Dalaga in
your climb. The seven peaks starting
from Mt. Malipunyo has the same jump-off with Mt. Susong Dalaga. Guide fee for the seven peaks hike is
Php1,500 and Mt. Susong Dalaga is not yet included with that fee.
Mt. Susong Dalaga hike can be done within 4 ½ hours. The descent will eat more time. This my most difficult descent. The trail is
unclear, rocky and steeper. There are a
lot of plants with spikes (tingloy) that will stick to your clothes.
There are few mountaineers hiking Mt. Susong Dalaga,their priority is the Malarayat mountains so that will explain why the trail is
unclear. Climbing this will consume a
lot of energy so when you’re about to start the seven peaks you were extremely
tired already. But if you really want to
include this hike, make sure to be at the jump-off really early. Starting at 5 to 6am will help so before
lunch you will be starting already with the seven peaks.
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| Mt. Susong Dalaga |
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| trails where you have to crawl |
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| kaong (end product -nata de coco) is abundant in this mountain |
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| Lamesang Bato - one of the landmarks of Mt. Susong Dalaga... only 40 minutes away from the summit |
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| view from the summit of Mt. Susong Dalaga... that is Biak-na-Bundok (the 5th peak of Mt. Malarayat) where we ended our hike |
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| summit of Mt. Susong Dalaga (only two hours to climb) |
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| going down (Mt. Maculot in the background) |
What is tiring about hiking Mt. Susong Dalaga and then
continuing with the seven peaks is that you have to do the ascent up to summit, climb down the very steep mountain and then start all over
again with the seven peaks. The mountain
is not along the way, unlike the seven peaks, the hike is continuous.
A little trivia :
At least three mountains are called 'Susong-Dalaga'; Jose Rizal called Mt. Tagapo in Talim Island as such; and another similarly-named mountain is found in Rizal. However, the shape of the Susong-Dalaga of Mt. Malipunyo is, in the author's opinion, truer to its name.
http://www.pinoymountaineer.com/2007/10/mtmalipunyomalarayat.html
A little trivia :
At least three mountains are called 'Susong-Dalaga'; Jose Rizal called Mt. Tagapo in Talim Island as such; and another similarly-named mountain is found in Rizal. However, the shape of the Susong-Dalaga of Mt. Malipunyo is, in the author's opinion, truer to its name.
http://www.pinoymountaineer.com/2007/10/mtmalipunyomalarayat.html
After hiking Mt. Susong Dalaga, we rest for a while at
Kuya Mario’s home and prepared our things. The tingloys that sticked to our
clothes were happily removed by kids. It is still Christmas season and there
are a lot of kids beside our guide’s home.
My hubby gave each kid Php20 that made them smile even for that small amount.
We started our seven-peaks hike at 2:30pm already. This is already too late to start the
seven-peaks hike. Honestly, I am already
tired.
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| start of the 7-peaks hike |
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| Nanay Benie's horse |
Nanay Benie, Kuya Mario’s mother, has a tree house 40
minutes shorter hike from Kuya Mario’s home.
Kuya Mario said the two kids can already go along with his parents
directly to the tree house and they just have to wait for us the next day or if
we can finish hiking Mt. Malipunyo, we can spend the night at Nay Benie’s
house. Going around the mountain, Mt.
Malipunyo, to the tree house will take
around 8 ½ hours to hike, but going the shorter route from our guide’s home to
the tree house is only 40 minutes. The
two kids did not come with Nay Benie’s.
Arriving at the river at around 3:30pm.
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| the trail after the river... we have Itim, kuya Mario's dog, who's with us throughout the climb |
From the river to waterfalls took us another hour. The falls has a magnificent view. The water is freezing cold. We take trail water here. It is also where we brushed our teeth and did
some cleaning. It is also where I
slipped with that very big rock that almost took my life. Hayyyyyy!!! I have this thing about very big
rocks because when I was 4 years old, I fell from the two-storey house of my
lola and my head fell to a big rock that’s why I have stitches on my head. Thank You Lord I’m still alive!!!
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| Nampucha Trail |
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| at Peak 1 of Mt. Malipunyo |
The trail is already slippery and the teka teka plants
are making this hike so difficult. A
sharp wood that almost entered my skin made my legs hurt more. There are a lot of bruises on my hands, arms
and face. The teka teka plants will
always surprise you that most of the time it is already in front of you. My hubby’s shoes and my trekking pants were
slashed by these plants. If Mt. Makiling is the limatik kingdom then this
mountain is the teka teka kingdom. Teka teka plants are everywhere. Most of the time you have to hold on to
branches or roots and sometimes teka teka plants will confuse you.
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| teka teka plant |
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| another kind of teka teka |
Technical notes.
Noxious plants, including the pruritogenic (itch-causing) lipa trees (for which the city was named) are present in this mountain; it is best to take this in consideration in clothing selection. Trails are interconnected and quite confusing so be vigilant.
http://www.pinoymountaineer.com/2007/10/mtmalipunyomalarayat.html
What’s good about Mt. Makiling is that there are a lot of ropes for the almost 90 degrees trails. But here in Mt. Malipunyo you have to trust the branches, roots and rocks to hold on to. There are also trails that is just enough for a foot to walk and then on the side of it is already a cliff. When you’re extremely tired, what you will just say is that “ Ano ba tong nakahiligan ko! Buwis buhay na, nakakapagod pa!” Hahaha =)
Noxious plants, including the pruritogenic (itch-causing) lipa trees (for which the city was named) are present in this mountain; it is best to take this in consideration in clothing selection. Trails are interconnected and quite confusing so be vigilant.
http://www.pinoymountaineer.com/2007/10/mtmalipunyomalarayat.html
What’s good about Mt. Makiling is that there are a lot of ropes for the almost 90 degrees trails. But here in Mt. Malipunyo you have to trust the branches, roots and rocks to hold on to. There are also trails that is just enough for a foot to walk and then on the side of it is already a cliff. When you’re extremely tired, what you will just say is that “ Ano ba tong nakahiligan ko! Buwis buhay na, nakakapagod pa!” Hahaha =)
From Peak 1 to Peak 2 will take you an hour, Peak 2 to
Peak 3 is another 30 minutes. After Peak
3 you have to go back to Peak 2 to reach Balete Peak. The three peaks have a very good and comfortable
camping site. Our guide asked us if we
were already about to camp but I asked him what’s the next campsite and how
long will it take us. He said it is the
Balete Peak and will take us around 1 ½ to 2 hours from Peak 3 to reach the
area. I told him kaya pa namin!
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| proof that we have reached Peak 3 of Mt. Malipunyo |
It is already 7:30pm when we reached Peak 3. We have to go back to Peak 2 to reach Balete
Peak, We reached Peak 2(again) at around
8pm. We continued hiking for 1 ½ hour
and reached Balete Peak at around 9:30pm.
We were the only mountaineers hiking the place during this time. Everyone is busy preparing for the New Year
and yet my family is here doing a major hike (for me it is a major hike!).
My kids are already tired but if it was just the two of us, my hubby and
me, we will pursue hiking the Tree House because I guess we will be more
comfortable sleeping there. We pitched
our tent at Balete Peak. We wanted to
sleep already and I already cleaned my kids and have their clothes
changed. My hubby cooked rice and we had
a light dinner before finally went to sleep.
I encouraged my kids to brush their teeth even with a small amount of
water though they are extremely sleepy and tired.
We slept at around 10pm.
Me and my husband were awaken by heavy winds and rain at
around 3 am. It really won’t stop that’s
why we can’t sleep properly. Because of
this we just wanted to go down to the tree house and go home. Our plan to break camp at 5am did not push
through because of heavy rains.
We really wanted to finish the seven peaks but because of
the rain we just wanted to be home for my kids’ safety. The rain almost stopped at around 6:30am.
When I opened the window of the tent, the view was so amusing! It feels so magical ! We arrived here during
the night and had no idea what it looked like. The place looks like what I see
in the fairy tale movies. The Balete
tree looks so enchanted and I want to thank the tree for keeping us safe through
the night.
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| Balete Peak |
I told them to hurry up packing our things so we can
already go down. The trail is so
slippery and I slipped a lot of times and when I hold on to trees, it’s the
teka teka plant that I am holding, hahaha =)
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| trail going down to the tree-house |
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| the two tired kids |
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| Nay Benie's tree-house |
We finally reached Nanay Benie’s tree house pass
9am. All throughout the trail, we were
with “Itim”, kuya Mario’s dog. We feel
safer because there are boars, monkeys through the trail.
Hmmmmm three (3) house pala at di raw tree-house. Because Nanay’s Benie’s house has
three-storeys, hahaha =). Nanay prepared
sinabawang gulay na kalabasa and rice for us.
We were extremely hungry, we rushed going down because we thought it
might rain again. We added pancit canton
and our leche flan na baon for that very delightful breakfast. That kapeng barako made my day adding that
magnificent view of Mt. Susong Dalaga in front of the house.
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| my weakness ... coffee... barako pa! |
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| with kuya Mario and Nay Benie |
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| free lunch and coffee |
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| view from Nay Benie's house |
We leave Nanay’s Benie’s house at 11 am and proceeded
hiking going to Biak-na-Bundok. There
are lot of coffee trees along the way and we found a lot of droppings taken out
by musang (Alamid). Kuya Mario is
patiently picking up these droppings because Alamid coffee is being bought
to him at Php1000/kilo.
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| time to go ... |
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| trail going to Biak-na-Bundok |
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| Alamid's droppings... it costs Php1000/kilo |
We reached the Snake Trail where Kuya Mario was bitten by a snake one time that is why he is already using boots during his trail. Talahibs are about neck-long before reaching Biak-na-Bundok.
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| Snake Trail with Mt. Susong Dalaga as a view |
From the tree house we reached Biak-na-Bundok at pass
1pm. We really wanted to continue
finishing the two peaks because it is only 4 hours trekking from
Biak-na-Bundok. After 30 minutes of
staying at Biak-na-Bundok, we finally went down going to kuya Mario’s home. It took us an hour from Biak-na-Bundok climbing down.
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| kubo at the summit of Mt. Biak-na-Bundok |
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| mountains around me =) |
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| few bruises after the hike |
Malarayat’s Seven Peaks plus Mt. Susong Dalaga
The Seven Peaks composed of the 3 peaks of Mt. Malipunyo,
Balete Peak, Biak-na-Bundok, Mt. Minaraduhan and Mt. Manabu
Itinerary:
Day 1
6am to 8am Coastal Mall, Pasay to Fiesta Mall, Marawoy, Lipa, Batangas
6am to 8am Coastal Mall, Pasay to Fiesta Mall, Marawoy, Lipa, Batangas
8am to 8:30am Fiesta Mall to Jublan Subd (jump-off
point), Brgy. Talisay, Lipa, Batangas
Trike fare –
Php150/trip
Registration
Fee at the Brgy – Php20/person
8:30am to 8:50 am –walk from Jubelan Subd (jump-off point) to Kuya Mario’s home
8:50am to 9:00 am – leave the bags at Kuya Mario’s home,
just bring enough food
and trail
water for four and a half hours trek to Mt. Susong Dalaga
9:00am to 11am - ascent to Mt. Susong Dalaga
11am to 11:10am – photo ops at summit (360 degree view of
the 7 peaks, Mt. Maculot,
Mt.
Makiling , Mt. Banahaw and Mt. Cristobal
11:10am to 11:40am – Peak to Lamesang Bato
11:40am to 12:00nn – lunch at Lamesang Bato
12nn - 1:40pm – my
most difficult descent
1:40 pm to 2:30 –rest at kuya Mario’s home and prepare
our things for the 7 peaks hike
2:30 pm to 3:30 pm
– Kuya Mario’s home to river
3:30 pm to 4:30 pm – river to waterfalls
4:30 pm to 5:00 pm – waterfalls to Nampucha trail
5:00 pm to 5:30 pm – Nampucha trail to Peak 1 of Mt.
Malipunyo
5:30 pm to 6:00 pm – rest and early dinner
6:00 pm to 7:00 pm – Peak 1 to Peak 2
7:00 pm to 7:30 pm -
Peak 2 to Peak 3
7:30 pm to 8:00 pm -
Peak 3 to Peak 2 (again)
8:00 pm to 9:30 pm – Peak 2 to Balete Peak
9:30 pm - light dinner and rest
10pm – Lights off!
Day 2
Because of heavy rains we were able to break camp at 8am
8:00 am to 9:30 am - Balete Peak to Tree House (Nanay Benie’s
House)
9:30 am to 11:00 am – at the Tree House
Had
coffee, breakfast, toothbrush and did some self cleaning
11:00 am to 12:30 pm – Tree House to Biak-na-Bundok
12:30 pm to 1:00 pm – stayed at Biak-na-Bundok
Note : We were not able to finish the 7-peaks but if you
will continue, hiking hours from Biak-na-Bundok to Mt. Minaraduhan to Mt. Manabu is only 4 hours
and the descent from Mt. Manabu is only 40 minutes.
1:00 pm to 2:00 – Biak-na-Bundok to Kuya Mario’s Home
2:00 pm to 2:30 pm – tambay at kuya Mario’s
2:30 pm to 2:50 pm – walk from kuya Mario’s to kanto (may
siomai-yan dito 3pcs for Php10 – sobrang sarap)
2:50 pm to 3:15 pm Jubelan Subd to Robinson’s Lipa
3:15 pm to 5:15 pm Lipa to Manila
Kami Lipa
to Pala-Pala, Dasmarinas, Cavite
5:15 pm to 6pm – Pala-pala, Dasmarinas to Amadeo, Cavite
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ReplyDeleteVery Inspiring.. I Want to try that soon
ReplyDelete