Climbing Mt. Batulao

From a random suggestion, me and 4 of my colleagues decided to climb Mt. Batulao. We’re not exactly hikers or trained climbers. We just wanted the outdoors. So off we resolved to climb. Searching through the net gave us an idea on what to expect during the trip – long walk/climb. Who wouldn’t be enticed to climb/walk just to see these?

  

Unlike my previous adventures, this time, I took note of the timeline. We had to be at the Bus Station going to Nasugbu, Batangas at 5 am. Some of us, including me, just came from a 1PM to 10PM shift the night before so imagine how much we lacked sleep then. But I guess the excitement gave us energy the whole day. We arrived at Evercrest at around 7:30am and took a tricycle going to the base trail. There’s an abundance of tricycle and guides when you get off the bus. We had a hard time deciding which guide to take as there were several kids wanting to be our guide. It’s an extra income for them. We took 2 guides and 2 tricycles.  The tricycle driver gave us his number so we could text him after the climb and transport us back to where we got off the bus.

It took us 2 hours to reach the registration area. We actually thought that was the climb already but it was only part of the climb. We were thirsty upon reaching the registration area. In fact, on our way to the registration area, we already took some rest and drank buko juice and water.

  

    

    

As you can see from the pictures, it was quite a challenge. And to think that Mt. Batulao is for beginning climbers! Or maybe we were just not in shape. ^_^

We reached the summit at around 11AM. I don’t know if we were just too tired to eat or the water and chocolate bars were enough to sustain us throughout the climb. After some more sightseeing, we headed down the trail and back to the base where the tricycle drivers await us.

    

  

It was quite an adventure. We were all perspiring and tired. We all wanted a bath. Good thing that some houses at the drop-off area allow tourists to take a bath in their place for a minimal fee (so minimal I forgot how much!). After we freshened up, we had a feast at Leslie’s in Tagaytay. We were all famished!

  

  

How much did we spend for this unforgettable adventure? Here’s a breakdown per person:

Bus from Pasay Terminal to Nasugbu – Php 106

Tricycle – Php 40 (to and from the base trail)

Registration – Php 20

Jeepney fare to Leslie’s – Php 15 (estimate)

Bus from Olivares(Tagaytay) to Pasay – Php 78

TOTAL of Php 259 excluding the feast we had at Leslie’s. ^_^

 

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