Mt. Maculot and The Rockies (Independence Day Hike)

View from one of the resting station

Last June 12, 2016, CJ, Santy, and I had our independence day climb at Mt. Maculot, located in Cuenca, Batangas.  This mountain is said to be an ideal training ground for beginners.  Some of the main attractions of the place are the "Rockies", the main site where hikers can witness stunning rock formation; a scenic view of Taal Lake; forested trails with rope segments; a grotto which can be seen if one opted to do the traverse hike (which we did); and more.

We left Manila at 3:15 am going to Cuenca.  Santy has a car so we did not have a transportation issue.  He is guided by a GPS in all of our climbs.   We arrived at the Brgy. hall at 5:15.  Securing a guide is mandatory at a ratio of 5:1.  There is also a registration fee of 20 pesos per person.  We commenced our hike at 5:45 am.

Santy, CJ, and I before the climb.  Outside the Brgy. hall

The path towards the mountain

The trail has several assaults and can be slippery when becoming wet.  Most of the time, there are stations after each assault where one can take some rest.

A guide dog?

We met this dog from the start of the trail and followed us up in one of the stations where he joined another group of hikers after we had a quick rest.  We encountered him once again in the Rockies.

At one of the station

The Rockies at the other side

Group picture before the assault

Santy..... doing a victory pose???

It was s steep assault.  There are some sharp and unstable rocks existing along the trail.  Most parts of the Rockies are in open field, making it more exhausting during sunny days.

Some Photo Ops

At a famous photo site

CJ what are you doing?

Having a dare-devil pose

We had our descent at 9:30 am, after staying for 1.5 hours in the Rockies.  It is estimated that the summit is still 1 hour away from the Rockies.

A view of taal lake

According to our tour guide, they are calling this fruit as "Tibig".  He said that the fruit is not edible, but, when I searched it on the internet, I learned that the fruit is edible when ripe.  It is also known as "Ficus Nota".  The fruit and the tree have many uses.

We encountered this worm-like creature along the way.

At the Summit

There was no clearing when we reached the summit.  It was a sea of fogs due to an upcoming rain.

The Descent

The part of the descent that I found very thrilling was the rappelling.  Since it already rained before we reached this point, the rocks became slippery that made it more difficult.

Grotto

The last part of the traverse is the grotto, a pilgrimage site.  There, can be seen a mini statue of Mary, 2 white crosses, and fiesta with the landscape of the mountain in the background.

View from the grotto

Panoramic View

There are available tricycles at the end of the trail.  Since another rain was approaching that time, we decided to take the ride going to Brgy. hall.  We had our wash up at 1:40 and left at 2:00 pm

Side Trips 

Since there was still time and we have a car, we visited some of the landmarks in Batangas.

Basilica of St. Martin of Tours

This is the Minor Basilica of St. Martin of Tour located in Lipa, Batangas named after the patron saint of Taal.

The inside of the church

Apacible's Museum

We visited the ancestral house of Galiciano Apacible, one of the co-founders of La Solidaridad during the Spaniard Era.

Around the museum

The living room

Some of their Kitchenware 

We left Batangas at 5:00 pm and arrived in Manila at 7:30 pm.  Happy Independence!!!

Photo Credit: Santiago Cabangon

Actual Itinerary

Guide Rate as of June 12, 2016

The safe budget for a group of 3: 800 to 1000 pesos

For a commute trip, take a bus located in Buendia or Cubao bound to Lemery, drop off point is at Cuenca Batangas.  There is available tricycle which can take you to the jump off.  

End

- JSC