Mt. Mapalad | What happened to our hike

Hiking during this pandemic season is really a gamble. There is so much to think of like checkpoints, additional trekking requirements, of course, more safety precautions especially at the jump-off station, and more.. But thank God we still managed to pull this one off smoothly. Just like our Mt. Maynuba climb, Mt. Mapalad also stretches along the area of Tanay, Rizal.

foot of Mt. Mapalad

I was the one who initiated the trip because it has been quite a while now since my last hiking trip. The pandemic is still going and nearing its 2nd anniversary so at least you have an idea of how long it's been present and at the same time how long people are most probably still boxed to their own spaces. Thank you, Lord, for having friends and relatives that are up to this kind of activity that we made the plan a reality. A special shoutout to Akyateros! Wuhooo! Haha!

We started the adventure by meeting up along Marcos Highway (in front of Filinvest) to meet with the group and have a little personal orientation and "get to know" time too as some of us will be hiking with each other for the first time. We wazed San Andres parking lot as it is the nearest spot waze-able before doing a single left turn from there and reach the jump-off station. Waze told us that the travel time should have been around 2 hours but we did it in less. Other than having no traffic at all, we were actually surprised that it did not feel that long (Patamaan kasi sa loob ng sasakyan? Haha!) By the way, we started the trip around 4:00 AM in the morning.

* There is no signal there so I recommend you guys do a convoy (if applicable) from the San Andres parking spot to the jump-off stations there as we encountered some miscommunications here especially if it is your first time.

registration

We were a group of 9 so we needed to have 2 guides and paid P100 each for the registration fee. And not that long, we started the climb with 2 of us making this their mother mountain (first hike ever).

The 9

It drizzled a bit the day before so the trail is partly wet. We were already enjoying the cold temperature there as we were literally inside the sea of clouds even before we started going uphill. Some of the views I appreciate in this area are the following:

green foggy sceneries

water crossing(s)

As we go higher, we encountered 2 ascends (steep climbs) including some more water crossings and even a waterfall along the way which you will see in the video below. Unfortunately, there was little to no water flowing as to its not its season BUT the fresh drinkable nature water there was something to appreciate so don't miss out watching the video at the bottom.

There were many resting spots there including the pre ascends and some more designated areas which one includes a sari-sari store where you can buy food and drinks.

Continuing the trail and as we got higher and higher, rolling hills and valley-like terrains are now visible. You are sure to check one out as one of the resting spots is just perfect for this experience, this photo below will give you the idea.

resting spot with a view

P.S. The views look 10x better first hand so go and schedule a trip if you can, while you can. It's worth it.

When you reach this point, it'll be not that long before making it to the summit so make sure to take in all those fresh air and appreciate the whole experience because we always take for granted the process while we are in it but later on discover that those were as precious as reaching the top. #naks #maypagnun

And so after a couple of trekking hours, we reached the summit with no casualties, lol! Congrats guys! Wohoo! I was actually surprised by how wide and commercialized the summit is. Commercialized in terms of there were many man-made features there already which consists of the following:

palad 1

palad 2

Yes, they have 2 versions of palads here but both can be seen in one sight view meaning they are not that far from each other. Remember, all of these "attractions" are in the summit area so all of these including the ones below are near to each other.

long swing

the "not so little" bonsai

And of course, the "Mt. Mapalad sign" can also be found here and a heart photo op that looks like an apple (lol) for couples, I guess, lol.

mt. mapalad sign

heart photo op

This is actually something new for me as we almost stayed here for more or less than an hour. That is a record-breaking time for me on staying in a summit that long. Haha! Anyway, it's reasonable as we can be considered a big group, there were many spots to check out, some of us even took their early lunch here, and shot some drone videos.. so yeah, it's reasonable, indeed.

summit view

bonsai x long swing

It's quite relaxing up there with the fresh breeze of the wind and all but this improvised hammock that can be found there will prove it all. Enjoy ka dyan Bona? Hehe.

hammock on the summit

Here is the video of our trip including the drone footage on the summit. Enjoy!

(If you cannot see the video above, click HERE for it)

We descended through the same trail we used to go up and it was a good time for us to appreciate some spots that we have missed seeing. And just like our other Montalban hikes, you can do it too at minimal costs.

Sample computation for a group of 4: (multiply everything by 4)

P125 - Private car (sharing varies)
P75 - Gasoline (price varies)
PXX - Toll (depends on your route)
P100 - Registration
P125 - Tour guide (minimum)
PXX - Food
___________________________
P 425 - TOTAL (+/-)

groupie with the gang

Related climbs in Tanay:

1. Mt. Daraitan

2. Mt. Maynuba