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Travel Guide to Mt. Daraitan Traverse

TinipakRiver
Posted on April 6, 2015 by Kenneth

Rizal, with its refreshingly cool atmosphere and perfect mix of

rural and metro-ish ambiance is part of the list of my favorite
provinces in the Philippines. Being able to visit it again, this time
to climb Mt. Daraitan, validated my fondness to this province. I
was planning for my first climb for 2015 and it was my want to
visit the picturesque Tinipak River that madeMt. Daraitan my
buena mano mountain for this year (as both attractions can be
found in the same area). That time I dragged with me my fellow
weekend warriors: Jommel, Corz, Nobs and his friends Jeck and
Pio. Armed with information from other blogs, we went. Aside
from that, we were honestly clueless of what we need to go
through for us toget there.

MR. BRATPACKER

Kenneth
An amateur in the
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traveling. At 21, he
already mastered
whining at a Telecom
Company. This blog is a
compilation of his
adventures and
misadventures.

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Mt. Daraitan as seen at the drop off point before the river
crossing

Archive
We traveled for 1 hour and 45 minutes to Tanay and another two
hours to Brgy.Daraitan. The six of uswere squeezed inside one
tricycle and it was veryuncomfortable. It wasnt a smooth ride as
well as the road going to Brgy. Daraitan was not yet paved. It

Select Month

was bumpy and butt-numbing and there were times wherein we

need to go down of the tricycle and walk just for usto get
through steep parts of the road.We havent reach the jump-off
yet and we already felt the challenge.

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A short 2 min boat ride

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The weather Gods? They were not on our side as it started to

drizzle halfway through our journey. I should have known better
as we were already approaching parts of the Sierra Madre
region where the weather is a bit unpredictable but poor us, we
were not prepared. The moment we reachedour destination for
the river crossing, I hurriedly went outside and it was like I was
freed from being caged. We took a banca for us to get to the
other side and it was just a fast 2-3 minute ride. After paying, we
rode another tricycle to bring us to the Barangay Hall. Mt.
Daraitan, mother of assault First of all, kudos to the officials of
Brgy. Daraitan for being organized.

All fees that you will have to settle first

After payingall necessary fees and securing a guide, off we

went. As we were walking towards the foot of the mountain, we
came across a group of ladies who abandoned their plan of
reaching the summit. They told us that the trail was very muddy
and that they will just go directly to Tinipak River.

Before

We were curious with what made those girls retreat that

wedecided to push through with ours. During the first few
minutes, I already found myself panting. I thoughtthat was
already it but no. I was sweating bullets and man, the assault
was not a joke. To add to the challenge, we have had to reach
the summit, traverse to Tinipak and get back to the jump-off
point before six in the evening as one of our colleague still
needs to report to work.

along the trail

During our ascent, I was silently cursing inside as the trail was
steep and straightforward. There were times where I slid and felt
out of balance since I couldnt use my right hand to hold on to
vines and trees as it was operated just months ago before our
hike (Yes, Im that hard-headed).

at the summit of Mt. Daraitan

with the Power Rangers (c) Jommel&Corz

After about two hours and endless climb, we reached the

summit. A river forming a heart shape welcomed us and before
we jump to the photo taking session, we had our lunch first. The
view at the top was nothing short of spectacular. Being
surrounded bythe whole Sierra Madre region gave us a natural
high. Truly, this mountain wont be classified as 4/9 for nothing
and so far, I must say that it is the second to the hardest
mountain Ive climbed next to the traverse that we did at Mt.
Arayat. Thanks to the bad weather, a super muddy trail and the
never-ending assault thus giving birth to me naming it as the
mother of assault.

with Kuya Allan at the summit

Thanks to Kuya Allan, our guide for bringing us to the summit, to

the river and way back to the barangay hall as safe as possible. It

was hard but we couldnt imagine how much harder it was for
him to climb without any shoes on. I was able to talk to
himduring thetraverse and I was able to havethe chance to ask
him some questions. The why on why hes not using
anyshoesand if hes comfortable trekking with his barefootto
whichI got, Masakit pero mas okay na din kasi madulas pag
naka tsinelas, as his response. Tinipak River, a pot of gold in
the end of a rainbow The perfect exampleof working your ass
off to get to somewhere beautiful or delaying gratification. It
never dawned on us what we need to go through in order to
reach this river. If we only opted to visit the Tinipak river alone,
and not do the traverse then I guess it will all be easy cheese.
But in the name of adventure and pride, we took the challenge
of conquering Mt. Daraitan traverse to Tinipak River and man,
the experience did not disappoint.When we got there, it was like
a pot of gold in the end of a rainbow.

what welcomed us

Power Rangers at Tinipak River (c)Jommel&Corz

isnt she beautiful?

It took us three hours from the summit and a coupleof slides

and fall. But all was eased when we got to see the beauty of the
river. I was lost for words. There is something about Tinipak river
that is magical. It was truly enchanting that I could not resist
having to try swimming in its waters.

After

It was dark and we didnt have any light with us when we

traveled back to the barangay hall. I honestly find it somewhat
scary, given the rural ambiance and having to pass by the side of
the river, someone or somethingcould be lurking in the dark. At
the end of it all, I gave my trekking shoes to Kuya Allan as a sign
of gratitude. I want him to take care of his safety as well before
hedo it for others.And after settling everything, we went as fast
as possible to get back to the Metro. It was another experience
added to my treasure chest of memories and this one was made
for the books.

2nd campsite at Tinipak River

For those who have plans of going to Mt. Daraitan or Tinipak

River, you may follow our sample itinerary below: 0600 ETD
from EDSA-Shaw (Parklea) to Tanay, Rizal 0745 ETA Tanay, Rizal
0800 Take tricycle to Brgy. Daraitan 1000 Arrival at Daraitan
River (river-crossing and trike to barangay hall) 1010 ETA
Barangay Hall 1030 Start trek up Mt. Daraitan 1330 ETA summit /
Lunch 1430 Start descent to Tinipak River 1700 Arrival at Tinipak
River 1830 Back to Brgy. Daritan via riverside trail 1900 ETD to
Tanay, Rizal via tricycle 2030 ETA Tanay, Rizal For the budget:
Jeep from Shaw to Tanay: 58 php Trike to Tanay to Daraitan: 120
php / head (should be 600/group) River crossing: 5 php x 2
Trike to barangay hall: 10 php x 2 Registration / Environmental
fee: 20 php Guide: 500php / group of 10 Trike back to Tanay:
100 php / head FX to Starmall Shaw: 78 php