Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
packages for P1500 per person, for a minimum four people.
If you show up without a reservation, this is likely to be
your only option. Groups smaller than four people will have
to be paired with others.
Trekking Mt. Pinatubo
T
0919 608 4313,
W
trekking
pinatubo.com.
Popular tours from Manila, beginning with
a minibus ride to the Crow Valley (2hr 30min), where you
transfer to 4WD jeep. Guides are good, but this is a long
day-trip (depart 4.30am Mon-Fri, 3.30am Sat, 4am Sun),
and you won't get much time on the mountain. Trips from
P12,500 for one person down to just P2150 per person in a
group of ten or more.
2
Mount Arayat
Registration should be free, but foreigners are usually asked for P20
Mount Arayat
(1026m), a dormant volcano 42km east of Mount Pinatubo, rises from
the lowlands of Pampanga in solitary and dramatic fashion, the only mountain for
miles around. It is said to be inhabited by Mariang Sinukuan (Maria the Abandoned),
a
diwata
(fairy) of Tagalog folklore, and that when Mariang comes down from the
mountain and visits the lowlands, her presence can be felt because the air turns
fragrant. From the summit all of central Luzon is visible, from the snake-like Pampanga
River to the mountains of Zambales, Bataan and beyond.
The entrance to the climb is at
Barangay Ayala
. Here you need to register; you'll need
to register again at the small DNER post further up the trail, before trekking to what's
known as
North Peak
(via the “new trail”). You can continue on to the
South Peak
from
here (a tough hike along the ridgeline), then down to the village of Arayat, or simply
return to Ayala. It takes just three to four hours to climb Arayat and get back down,
depending on your fitness level; allow ten hours if you intend to complete the traverse
between the North and South peaks. Companies can arrange a guide and transport for
you, but it is possible to arrange the climb independently.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
MOUNT ARAYAT
By bus and jeepney
The fastest way to Mount Arayat
from Manila is to take any bus to San Fernando (2hr; buses
are usually bound for Olongapo), and alight at the SM
Pampanga mall. From here you'll need to take a jeepney to
Magalang (around P40; 30min), from where a tricycle will
whisk you to the entrance (P70).
By taxi
A taxi from Clark Airport will cost an exorbitant P2000,
but hotels should be able to arrange a driver for much less.
Bataan
With 85 percent of it covered in mountainous jungle, the
Bataan
peninsula is one of
the most rugged places in the country. The province, forming the western side of
Manila Bay, will always be associated with one of the bloodiest episodes of World
War II. For four months in 1942, 65,000 Filipinos and 15,000 Americans - “the
battling bastards of Bataan” - held out here against the superior arms and equipment of
the Japanese. After their surrender in April 1942, the Filipino and American soldiers,
weakened by months of deprivation, were forced to walk to detention camps in Tarlac
province. About 10,000 men died along the way.
Balanga
is the provincial capital, and
there are some picturesque
beaches
on Bataan's southwest coast between
Mariveles
,
some 50km south of Balanga, and
Bagac
.
Shrine of Valor
Daily 8am-5pm • P30, lift up crucifix P10 • Cabog-bound jeepneys from Balanga to Bagac stop at the Mount Samat/Diwa intersection (20min);
from here tricycles run to the top (30min; P100 one way) or it's a sweaty 7km hike; hiring a van from Balanga should cost around P1500
A poignant memorial to the American and Filipino soldiers that fought and died here in
World War II, the “Dambana ng Kagitingan” or
Shrine of Valor
occupies the summit of
Mount Samat
(564m), 16km inland from Balanga. The shrine has a chapel and a small
museum of weapons captured from the Japanese, but the centrepiece is a 92-metre
crucifix
with a lift inside (commissioned by Ferdinand Marcos in 1966), that takes you
to a gallery at the top with views across the peninsula and, on a clear day, to Manila.
