Tatlong Krus and Matabuncca Falls

Paete, Province of Laguna
30 October 2016

Few weeks since our Mt. Makiling climb, we were longing to set our feet on a new trail for another adventure once again.

We had been planning to see the "Tatlong Krus" (three crosses) atop a mountain called Mt. Humarap (a part of Sierra Madre mountain range) in a village called Paete in the province of Laguna. Though it remained a plan for quite sometime, finally it turned into reality on a long weekend.

We were five - Myra, Bags, Louise, Jeannie and myself. We left Paranaque at 0705H and headed on to South via SLEX. It was a gloomy morning but the surroundings were dry. 

Along the way, we were pranking not to have a breakfast at Delifrance Shell along SLEX to avoid "unwanted events" from happening along the trail, which we had experienced in our past escapades after having breakfast at the said eatery. To cut the long story short, we had our breakfast at Delifrance as our cravings could not resist the tasty menus.

The restaurant was full at that time. I was thinking that maybe most of the customers were travelers, who were escaping the bustling city for a holiday somewhere down south. After patiently waiting for almost 20 minutes, we finally had our breakfast at 0833H.

According to Google Maps, the town of Paete is approximately 111KM away from Paranaque City and a 3H drive on private vehicle.

After enjoying a sumptuous breakfast, we resumed our journey to our destination at 0854H. As expected, traffic along SLEX was quite heavy due to the high volume of vehicles moving to the south. We exited at Sto. Tomas and continued driving south passing through Los Banos, Victoria, Pila, Sta. Cruz, Pagsanjan and finally Paete.

The town of Paete, according to Wikipedia, is a fourth class municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 23,523 people. The town, is located at the north-eastern part of Laguna, along the shores of picturesque Laguna de Bay. It was founded in 1580 by Spanish friars Juan de Plasencia and Diego de Oropesa of the Franciscan Order. It is believed that the earliest inhabitants were of Malay lineage, coming all the way from Borneo in their swift and sturdy boats called "Balangay".

In addition, Paete is well know for wood carvings so much so that it was called the "Carving Capital" of the Philippines.

At the town proper, we were informed that there is a road for cars that leads to the Tatlong Krus, similar to the road that leads to the peak of Gulugud Baboy in Batangas. The entrance of the road is at Longos.

One thing that surprised me while moving around the town looking for a parking space was the compactness of the village. Commercial and residential buildings were already occupying the supposedly shoulder lane of the highway. Nevertheless, it made me feel cozy.

We parked at the town plaza opposite the old church and the town hall. While parking, we were approached by a man who offered to guide us for the trek to Tatlong Krus.

The Talong Krus can actually be seen from the town plaza. Before starting the trek, I had a chance to move around the church for a few snapshots.

It was a Sunday and a mass was about to start at that time. We were lucky to see the priest at the entrance of the church and asked for a blessing.

The Saint James the Apostle Parish Church also known as Santiago Apostol Parish Church, Saint James the Great Parish Church or commonly known as Paete Church is the only Roman Catholic church in town. Its patron saint is Saint James the Apostle and his feast is celebrated every 25 July.

The church is known for its huge and exqusite collection of images depicting the Passion of Christ, its century-old paintings and wooden images of saints (or poon). The current parish priest is Reverend Father Noel B. Conopio.

Construction of the present church building started in 1864, according to the church administrator.

We started our ascent to Tatlong Krus at 1210H. The jump-off point is actually at the center of the town. We snaked through narrow streets towards the trail that leads to the Tatlong Krus.

The trail is very well organized. In fact, it is actually a winding narrow concrete stairs in the middle of a lush-green and rocky mountain slopes.

From the start of the trail, I counted 298 steps to another trail that leads to the Matabuncca Falls. At the fork, there is a concrete shed and a cool potable water coming from the waterfalls stream.

We resumed trekking at 1256H. From the concrete shed, I counted another 712 steps to the Tatlong Krus. 

 

 

 

We were at the site at 1337H. The three crosses, which are made of concrete used to be wooden crosses, according to our guide. At the area, there are few settlements.

Standing infront of the crosses provides a stunning view of the Laguna de Bay and the town of Paete down below.

After enjoying the place, we started our descent at 1505H and headed on to Matabuncca Falls.

At 1540H, we reached the Matabuncca Falls and it started to rain. As a result, the water coming from the Waterfalls turned murky. The Waterfalls is around 22 meters high.

We were back at the plaza at 1625H and tidy up. There was a last anticipated mass for the day at 1800H which we decided to attend before driving back to Manila.

While waiting for the mass, we had a chance to move around the town to see some souvenirs and wooden sculptures.

We found a nice Coffee and Gallery shop while hopping from store to store. I was personally touched by the warm welcome of the shop owner. The place is nice and cozy.

The architecture of the place resembled a colonial house mostly seen in the Ilocos provinces with sliding windows made of polished capiz shells and colored glass providing a relaxed and yet warm ambiance of the place.

We left Paete at 1928H and while on our way back to Manila, decided to satisfy our cravings and rewarded ourselves with crispy bagnet.

-o0o-

Trekking Mt. Batolusong

San Andres, Tanay, Rizal Province

07 August 2016

Mt. Batolusong is one of the newest hiking destinations near the capital city. According to google maps, it is located at the border of Brgy. Cutambay and Brgy. San Andres in Tanay, Rizal Province.

This increasingly popular new hiking destination is still part of the southern range of the longest mountain terrain in the Philippines, Sierra Madre.

From the the business capital Makati city, Mt. Batolusong is approximately 60 kilometers away and almost 2H drive on private vehicle.

I was at our favorite meeting place in Makati - McDonald Valero at 0200H. We have agreed to start hiking before 0700H this time. 

Hiking buddies Myra and team and Janice were with me. We were five. We left McDonald at 0333H and we took Marikina-Infanta Hwy/Marilaque Hwy/R-6.

There was a downpour at Makati and according to the news and accuweather forecast, Tanay in Rizal will be cloudy with scattered thunderstorms and rain showers for the rest of the day. 

Given the weather condition, we were contemplating whether to proceed with the climb or postpone it. After a while, we have all decided to drive to Tanay and then see the actual weather condition in the area.

By the time we reached Tanay, it was foggy, so thick that we could hardly see what's ahead of us. It was cold too. There was a light rain. It was too dark.

We reached the municipality of Sampaloc at 0526H and decided to ask the jeep driver waiting inside his vehicle parked in front of the municipal hall for the direction going to Brgy. San Andres, the jump-off point to Mt. Batolusong.

By the time we reached Brgy. San Andres, we were surprised by the the 2KM (approx) long queue of vehicles parked at the right side of the road. We were lately told by the authorities that there was an organized trail run that already started at 0400H on that day.

At the registration area, we learned that there were seven hundred (700) combined participants for the 12k, 25k and 50k trail run. By learning this information, we had immediately thought that the trail condition going up the summit would not be in good shape.

After a while of discussing, we decided to proceed with the adventure. While we were at the Brgy. hall, it started to rain again and so we had to wear our rain coats. After paying all required fees for the climb and securing a guide, we commenced hiking.

We officially started at 0620H.

We had also decided to complete the trek on the summit of Mt. Batolusong and differed our hike to the nearby higher peak Susong Dalaga because the of the rain and the trail condition.

We had several river stream crossings. We crossed the first stream near the jump-off point at 0635H. 

Moving on, we passed through a residential community.

At 0641H, we had another stream crossing. Our guide told us that with a continuous downpour, the streams usually swell making the trail not passable to hikers. We were lucky at that time that though it was raining, the water on the streams remain at a manageable level.

At 0659H, we had a nice group photo shoot with a tiny waterfalls of crystal clear waters.

We stopped and regroup at a nearby water source along the trail. I could tell that there were nearby a hundred hikers at that time looking at the volume of hikers that we met along the trail.

As we moved higher, the trail condition gets worst as a result of the trail run and the rain. The trail turned into a mire. It was thick and sticky and some parts slippery.

There were rock formations along the trail. Just before reaching the Duhatan Ridge, we had to queue on a line of hikers to pose atop a rock formation for a picture with the lush green Mt. Batolusong as background.

At the other side of the trail is where the popular "Sea of Clouds" usually appeared on a sunny day. There was no clearing at the time and so there was no "Sea of Clouds".

At 0859H, we reached the camp site at Mapatag Plateu and then decided to exit via the trail leading to Kay-Ibon falls.

We started our descent at 0905H.

The trail from the camp site leading to the waterfalls is an open trail with lush green cogon grass covering both sides. Many hikers call this trail the grassland. 

As expected, the trail was not in good condition at that time. We had to stop to clear our shoes of mud as as it always gets heavy and slippery.

 

We enjoyed a nice view of the surrounding mountain peaks and slopes. We had fun taking photos while descending. 

 

We reached the waterfalls at 0951H. It was noted that because of the rain, the water turned murky. 

Myra's team had a nice cool dip while Janice and I decided to relax on the rocks while watching the trail runners as they crossed the river.

We left the waterfalls at 1023H towards the exit point at Kay-Ibon where we passed through a road turned into a mire for nearly a kilometer stretch. 

We reached the highway at exactly 1100H where the tricycles going back to the registration area were waiting. We took two tricycles and headed back to the Brgy. Hall.

We reached the Brgy. Hall at 1120H, had a nice lunch, tidy up and left Brgy. San Andres at 1246H back to the city.

--o0o--