Province of Cavite
14 July 2012
It was a breather for me to go up the mountain again from the city. Hiking actually is physically stressful but it gives me a peace of mind in return being on a peaceful environment along the trail and atop the mountain.
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| Jump-off Point near the River |
Climbing Mt. Buntis in Maragondon was generally a nice day hike. What makes it different from my previous climbs was the historical significance of the mountain. According to Philippine history, Mt. Buntis was the site where Andres Bonifacio, leader of the Philippine revolutionary group "Katipunan" during the colonial period, was shot to death by the men of General Emilio Aguinaldo on May 10, 1897.
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| Crossing a Hanging Steel Bridge |
According to historians, Andres Bonifacio was burried somewhere near Mt. Buntis or Mt. Nagpatong. His grave was found on March 17, 1918 according to historians on the site. His bones were turned over to the National Museum but were lost during the battle of Manila in 1945.
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| Walking through Open Rice Fields |
Early morning July 14, 2012, we met at a usual meeting place at El Pueblo - MC Donald store. Call time was 3:45AM. There were about 14 of us. After having a very light breakfast, we boarded a van and left Manila at around 5AM.
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| Crossing a Water Stream |
We reached the Municipal hall of the town of Maragondon at around 7AM and waited for our local guide. We started our trek at a nearby river bank at around 7:30AM.
After few minutes of walking, we crossed a hanging bridge made of winse and wooden floor. It was a little shaky but it was fun.
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| Mt. Buntis Summit |
The trail is quiet muddy due to rain. Most of the trail is covered. Parts of it are exposed. We passed by rice fields and then crossed a river four times.The final ascend to Mt. Buntis is short but quiet steep.
We reached the summit at around 10:15AM. The view of nearby mountain range is awesome. We started our descent at around 10:45AM. We were back at the jump-off point at around 11:45AM.
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| Andres Bonifacio Ancestral House |
We had a sumptuous lunch at Lolo Claro's restaurant along Governor's drive. Fried chicken was tasty. It was my first time to taste a "sweet" Kare-Kare.
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| Andres Bonifacio Trial |
At 1:15PM, we passed by Maragondon church. The church is old. The door is made of wood with nice carvings. The interior is well maintained. We climbed up the bell tower and saw several bells still the original ones. The view of nearby mountain range including Mt. Pico de Loro and the town of Maragondon are nice from the bell tower. at 1:45PM we passed by Andres Bonifacio trial house. The house was colonial in design and old and well maintained. There were also few old houses nearby the trial house.
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| Maragondon Church |
At 2:15PM, we departed for Mt. Nagpatong. At 2:50PM, we were at the jump-off point.
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| Bonifacio Shrine at Mt. Nagpatong |
Andres Bonifacio shrine is about 2 kilometers away from the highway at Mt. Nagpatong. It took us an hour walk to reach the shrine. At the shrine, we took photos, tidy up and then walked back to the jump-off point.
