OTHER THINGS TO DO

Besides hiking, there are also a lot of things you can do in the mountains. Imagination is your only limitation. Here are some well established activities you can do to make your mountaineering experience more exciting.

WARNING: Most activities listed here are extremely dangerous and requires advanced skills in mountaineering. Never do it without the presence of an experienced person and proper safety equipment.

ROCK CLIMBING

Rock climbing in the Philippines is a relatively young sport but one of the fastest growing in terms of participation. Nowadays, there are a lot of rock climbing destinations in the country though there are still many unclimbed areas. Best time to climb is between November and March. Here are some popular places for rock climbing :

• Montalban (Rodriguez Rizal)
• Antipolo Rizal
• Mt. Maculot
• Atimonan Quezon
• CampThree, Kenon Road
• Chapis
• Palawan

There are also a lot of Indoor climbing gyms that have opened throughout the country to accommodate enthusiast. There they can train safely under controlled conditions before hitting the outdoors or keep themselves busy during the rainy days or late evenings after school or work as a part of regular physical fitness regime. Here you can get information on places to go, buy climbing equipment and share techniques to sharpen your skills. (See lists of popular climbing gym at the appendix of this book). One useful resource on rock climbing in the Philippines is Simon Sandoval’s Rock Climbing Internet site at www.amanet.net/~simon/bato.html.

SPELUNKING

Spelunking is the technical term for caving. The Philippines is rich in limestone formations where caves abound. In fact there are a lot of foreign caving expeditions who have recognized the potential of Philippines as a top spelunking destination. Here are some list of popular caving destinations :

• Sagada, Mountain Province (Crystal caves, Big cave, Lokoong, Sumaging)
• Bulacan (Madlum Caves, Biak na Bato, Pinagrealan)
• Cagayan (Peñablanca Caves)
• Leyte (Sohotan)
• Montalban
• Palawan
• Cagayan de Oro
• Bohol
• Surigao
• Tanay

The recently formed Philippine Cave Guides Association offers competent and professional guide services to many cave systems around the country. You may contact their president Mark Dia at 125 (page ID Rock).

RIVER TREKKING

A special form of hiking where balance, agility and tolerance to the feeling of trekking while wet is a must. River trekking is a very exciting adventure to experience. There are a lot of exciting river trails here in the Philippines. From an experience of riding your backpack amidst the strong water current (back pack riding) to water fall climbing and rappelling as well as fast river trekking (river gliding). The experience will definitely re-live your youthful desire of playing under the rain. Here are some suggested river trekking destinations :

• Romelo (Famy Laguna)
• Daraitan, Tanay Rizal,
• Doña Remedios Trinidad, Angat Bulacan
• Wawa, Montalban Rizal
• Dulangan River, Mt. Halcon, Mindoro
• Matulid River System (Mt. Irid)

RAPPELLING

A simple sport with a near bungee-jumping experience though milder and tolerable. From the standard form to the more daring spider and Australian style, the adrenaline rush will surely help you remove the "fear of heights" in your system. Though you can do rappelling from any building, bridge and similar man-made structures, nothing compares to the experience of doing it in a natural environment, say near a waterfalls where you can be one with the water as it cascades down the lagoon. Some sites suggested for rappeling:

• Romelo (Famy Laguna)
• Buntot palos, Laguna
• Twin Falls, Cavinti Laguna
• Mt. Maculot, Cuenca Batangas
• Wawa, Montalban Rizal

CROSS COUNTRY CYCLING

Although cycling has long been a very popular sport here in the Philippines, multi-day cross country cycling has yet to be established as one outdoor alternative. It is basically a combination of backpacking and cycling. Here are some suggested adventure routes you can take in this new and exciting sport :

• Laguna Lake Circuit – a tour around Laguna Lake passing through the historic Laguna and Rizal towns. Campsites can be established in Mt. Makiling, UP Los Baños, Laguna.
• Taal Lake Circuit – a tour around the panoramic roads circling the Taal lake, passing through the towns of Batangas, Cavite and Laguna. Camps can be established in Tagaytay or in a beach front along the stretch of Nasugbu to Lemery.
• Rizal – Real Quezon Circuit – a backbreaking tour along the Rizal, Laguna and Quezon part of the Sierra Madre mountains. Campsite can be established in the beach along Real Quezon.
• Baguio Sagada Circuit – a popular route being taken by an annual Baguio –Sagada bikathon, cycle above the clouds!

WHITE RIVER RAFTING/ KAYAKING

Yes, there are places here in the Philippines where one can challenge the waves. Kayaking combines the physical challenges of a breath taking adventure while enjoying the natural splendor of the outlying environment. The Philippine Department of Tourism lists Tibiao River in Antique as the top White Water River. The Tibiao River is located near Boracay in Antique. Another place is the Bubunauan River south of Cagayan de Oro in Mindanao. Northern Palawan, Sohotan Caves, Bucas Grande and Surigao del Norte are other locations offering world class kayaking. Other recommended sites are Boracay, Cebu and Subic bay. For more information, you can contact Tribal Holdings Philippines Inc., as they organize kayaking programs. Kayaks are vailable for rent in Palawan, Leyte, Boracay, Cebu, Subic Bay and Puerto Azul in Cavite. The best time for river kayaking in Palawan and the Visayas is July to December while in Mindanao, it can be enjoyed all year round.

MOUNTAIN BIKING

There are very few real mountain biking routes established here in our country. Although the popularity of mountain biking has long been here, mountain biking here usually takes the same road routes of traditional cycling and no real mountain trails to make the sport a true "mountain" biking experience. In the United States, there are mountain trails created for mountain biking. The only problem is when the foot trail and bike trail share the same trail. Here ethics should be clearly observed. One popular mountain biking destination within the proximity of Metro Manila is the UPLB Mt. Makiling trail winding up three fourths to the mountain’s summit. There are also some short mountain trails in Antipolo Rizal.

BEACHINEERING

This term was coined by mountaineers to the activity of going to the beach and setting up camp there. Although beach is far from a mountaineering activity, here in our country, most mountains has its base along a beach front making the activity some sort of a reward after the strenuous hike up to the summit of a mountain. In beachineering comes other popular water sport such as snorkeling. Mountains which is usually tied-up to beachineering includes Mt. Talipanan – Puerto Galera, Mt. Maculot – Lemery, Pico de Loro – Nasugbu, Infanta National Park – Real Quezon and Mt. Guiting Guiting – Romblon.