Mt. Daraitan and Tinipak River and Cave

Itching to escape from the city after those long tiring days, sleepless nights and stressful hours from work but you don't have enough budget to book a flight to a touristy spot? Try this off-the-beaten path weekend getaway we did.

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The cold fresh air while enjoying the magnificent view when you reach the highest point of Mt. Daraitan, the emerald green waters of Tinipak River with its white marble rock formation, deep crevices with extraordinary natural sculptures inside the Tinipak Cave are one of the best nature therapies in Tanay, Rizal that will give you the feeling of breathing again – helping you to revitalize yourself.

So, let me wake up my inner Lola Basyang by sharing our hike to Mt. Daraitan Traverse to Tinipak River and Cave escapade (LOL), but kidding aside, at 4 in the morning while others are still sleeping, our group is already at our drop off place in West Avenue, Quezon City. We rode our rented Van and travel for 2 hours to reach the Southern part of Luzon. We had our 1st stop over somewhere in Rizal for our Breakfast and tried their version of Batangas Lomi. Most of us were distaste the super thick sauce that devours the egg noodles but it is what it is, the best part of it was experience.

We arrived in Tanay, Rizal around 7-8AM, had to cross the hanging bridge and decided to walk up to Barangay Hall of Daraitan instead of riding a tricycle – it took us 15-25min to reach the place. Had a quick introduction and briefing about the place from our generous tour guide. For security purposes, we have to register before we proceed to our adventure. Since we are like a battalion; 20 members of hikers, the tour operator decided to divide us in four groups with a corresponding tour guide on each group.

After 20 minutes of trekking, we finally arrived at the Camp Site then some start to pitch their own tent while others help us, girls, to prepare for our lunch. We used portable stove and butane to cook.

After lunch, everyone put their headlamps on to continue our adventure – time for spelunking. The trail going to Tinipak Cave was not that easy because you have to cross from one rock to another and take note; you have to be careful to avoid slipping because the river flows won’t keep you alive. We just had to explore the cave and take a quick dip to its own natural swimming pool since the fresh water is cold and we have to go back to the campsite while it’s not dark yet for our own safety. I’m so amazed how the water drops inside the cave was formed into an awesome rock structures. By the way, from campsite it will just take 20-30min to reach the Cave.

Day 2, time to conquer the Mt. Daraitan. We are supposed to start the hike at 3 AM but since we enjoyed our 1st night on the campsite we weren’t able to wake up early – too bad because we missed the sea of clouds. After our breakfast around 6-7am, we start walking to reach the summit. Since Mt. Daraitan is a forest-type mountain, you’ll be protected from the sunlight plus you have something to hold onto if you slipped on the trail. After 4 hours of walking and conquering the muddy and slippery trail with 90% climbing, everything’s worth it when you finally reach the summit. I was stoked on the magnificent view at the top of the mountain. It was indeed a perfect spot to unwind.

Check out some photos we took on our trip:

Impossible blue river

Check some tips of our Hike: