My Love Affair to the Mountains ; Mt. Daraitan

Daraitan is a trekking destination nestled within the Sierra Madre mountain range in Tanay Rizal.

Mt. daraitan is my 5^th summit and the second most challenging so far next to my Mt. Makiling climb. It was supposed to be a river trekking and spelunking as what Brgy. Daraitan is known for but we eventually decided to go for the summit though it is not unanimous because we have two first timers in the group.

Getting there:

It was the last week of May. Our meeting place was at Teletech Roxas at 4:30am but of course we left the office at past 5:am. It was approximately a 2hrs drive from pasay to Brgy. Baras Tanay Rizal where we had our car parked at the house of Jeruel’s friend who had been very kind to us. She volunteered to drive us to Tanay market where we rode a jeepney going to Brgy. Daraitan. It was past 8am and the next jeep bound to Brgy Daraitan was  leaving at 9 am so we needed to consider several options. We then rode a jeepney going to Brgy. Sampaloc, fare is 26 pesos which lasted for 30-45 minutes ride. From there, we rode a tricycle for a price of 50 pesos per person. We initially thought that it was expensive but latter on the ride we realize that 50 pesos seems underrated because of the never-ending rough road. After an hour we reach Brgy. Daraitan, the jump off point, we had our registration at the Brgy. Hall for 20 pesos each and we had a guide for 500 pesos. Our plan would be to climb the summit then afterwards trek down to the famous Tinipak cave.

Sierra Made Mountain Range

Getting started:

We started our climb at approximately 10:30 AM. I would say it is not a frequent destination for mountaineers because the trail is not yet established. There were no ribbons showing directions, if we climbed by ourselves then we had a fat chance of getting lost. The trail was rigid and mostly ascending, abby and beth who are both first timers were verbalizing their dismay and were even saying that it would be their first and their last climb. I admire their courage though; they carried on til we reached the summit at about 2:15 pm. The view from the summit is not very rewarding, I wouldn’t recommend it for first time climbers. The view from the top doesn’t requite the hardships in climbing. However, it was very beautiful in my eyes; the mountains, trees, everything bring peace to my heart. There’s a familiar bliss I couldn’t explain every time I reach the summit, even just the thought of climbing brings a strange excitement to me. Of course it wouldn’t be complete if we don’t have our pictures taken. After a quick rest and picture-taking, we decided to trek our way down.

Traversing down:

We traversed to the other side of the mountain, it was pretty easier going down and our pace was faster. We ran out of water so we were dreaming of drinking cold sodas and a litre of ice cold water along the way.  After 2 hrs of trekking down, it rained and we were soaking wet, good thing we were approaching our destination. We caught a glimpse of hope when we saw nipa houses on the way. We were literally running down and at last we stopped at a sari-sari store where we had our sodas and we ate our leftover from our packed lunch.  The sweetest mountain dew I would sayJ. We rested for a while before we finally went to the Brgy hall to log out and proceeded to lovenel’s house in Angono to wash up.

Dinner at Ang New No.

And yes it was a reward after the long hours of hiking, we had a dinner at Ang New No,a new restaurant in Angono Rizal. It was a birthday treat of lovenel and we had plans of celebrating it here beforehand.  The meal was delightful; they served a good food with a cheap price. I would recommend this restaurant for certified foodies out there.

What to Expect ; Travel costs

Pasay to Angono vice versa = P100 per person for the gas

Tanay Market to Brgy sampaloc vice versa = P26 p x 2 =  52 pesos

Tricycle going to Brgy Daraitan vice versa = P50 x 2 = 100

Registration fee = P20

Guide fee = P500 / 6pax =  P83

Overall travel expenses =  P355 , packed lunch not included.