LAKBAY RIZAL : MT.BINACAYAN - A DIY TRAVEL GUIDE

Rasty Sanchez
Dec 1, 2016
3 min read

Every adventure to me is worthwhile. I believe that great adventures are the best way to discover the deeper side of yourself, widen your horizon and test your limitations. For me, climbing mountain is one of the best example of great adventures. Apart from getting a jaw-dropping view at the top, You could also meet a lot of great individuals along the trail.

After few months of having no climb and being stuck in the city because of work commitments, I decided to take a break and reward myself a great adventure. I hosted my first event with my officemates and we decided to go to Mt.Binacayan.

Getting there

Our day started at Cityland Buendia around 4 in the morning. It was an epic time because there was a Gatorade marathon and Gil Puyat Avenue were close to traffic. We opted riding jeepney going to Guadalupe and then a bus going to Farmers Cubao instead of taking bus directly to Cubao. We had taken the breakfast at Jollibee farmers. After that, we ride to a utility van going to Eastwood Montalban. We arrived at Eastwood around 6:00 a.m. From there, we ride a tricycle going to Brgy.Wawa where the DENR or the jump-off point was located. Then I registered my group and pay 50 pesos for registration fee. There, I met Leedyune our tour guide.

Journey to the summit of Mt. Binacayan

Before we start our trekking we drop by to the Brgy. Hall and give some donation. And around 7:00 a.m. we start trekking going up to Mt.Binacayan.

According to our guide, it was raining the day before our climb. He advised us to be more cautious on our steps. He was indeed right, the trail was really challenging. We had to be careful because the trail was a combination of muddy and rocky trail. But after 2 hours of trekking we finally witness its beauty. It was indeed true that the good view comes after the grueling trek step by step up to the summit.

The view from the summit was priceless. It was awe-inspiring. It took away all the negativity and hardships we had on the trail. It was just so wonderfully breathtaking. We waste no time but captures the moment, we took a group pics, selfies and embrace the astonishing view from the top. We stayed there for an hour before we decided to make our descent.

On our descending we got to passed by on this fruit stand selling Pomelo/Suha, Banana and Buko Juice (the best buko Juice I have tasted there).

Thanks to my hiking buddies for joining me on this climb. Without you guys I would think this wouldn't be possible. I hope to have many climbs more with you in the future. See you again in the office. este trail pala. Lol!

Our Itinerary

0400 Call time Cityland Buendia 0415 Ride jeep from Cityland to Guadalupe 0430 Ride bus from Guadalupe to Cubao 0500 Breakfast at Jollibee 0530 Ride utility van from Cubao to Eastwood Montalban 0615 Ride tricycle from Eastwood to Brgy.Wawa (DENR) 0700 Start trek up to Mt.Binacayan 0900 ETA Summit 1030 Start Decent (we had a super long break at the summit) 1230 Back at the jump-off point 1300 Lunch at karinderya 1400 wash up/pack up 1500 ETD Manila

budget breakdown

Buendia jeep to Guadalupe - Php 10 Guadalupe Bus jeep to Cubao - Php 16 Cubao utility van to Eastwood - 50 Tricycle to Brgy. Wawa jump off - Php 15 Registration Fee - Php 50 Guide fee - Php 100 (500/5 person.) Wawa tricycle to Eastwood - Php 15 Eastwood utility van to Cubao - Php 50