Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Taal Trek Experience (Tagytay/ Batangas)

Hello! If you haven't seen my first post about our Tagaytay Roadtrip, click HERE

So it's now our 2nd day in Tagaytay and we dedicated this day to our Taal trek.

First off, all Taal trek tours start in Talisay, Batangas.You can go there either coming from Picnic Grove area or in the Tagaytay-Batangas area.

We pre-paid our trek with the Taal Yacht Club at P1,900 for 5 persons. If you don't pay beforehand, they'll charge you P2,200. Also, companions not part of the trek will have to pay an entrance fee of P100 per head, but we were able to successfully haggle. And another good news, the trip was supposedly for 5pax only, but the caretaker allowed us to add another person because of the good weather.

Tours usually cost P1,500 but we happily agreed to pay the additional amount for the use of their amenities (shower room, clean comfort rooms, and nipa hut). Crazily, our group expected yachts to welcome us but apparently, yachts come and go from the place but park in other clubs. 























Upon reaching the island, a lot of locals will try to sell you bottled water (P30) and face mask (P15), or maybe have you rent a sombrero. They will also try to convince you to use a horse for the whole trek (P500). Apparently, there are a lot of horses in the community which they use for their chores/ livelihood. So watch your steps carefully, there are a lot of horse poop!
Warning: The ground is dusty/ sandy so you might want to use closed shoes/ rubber shoes.













































At first, you see a lot of grass and trees. but as you go to the top, it becomes hotter and more barren.
Check out the stations of the cross.
And steam coming out of the rocks!






















On top of the crater, there are souvenir items for sale. But BEWARE-- a small bottled water now costs P50, as well as halo-halo, buko, or a small soda bottle. We had to buy because we ran out of supplies, so better go up with lots and lots of hydration even if it's gonna be heavy.

The view on top of the crater was beautiful! Too bad they're charging additional P50 to see the red rocks formation. And I was hoping that I could swim in the crater but nobody told me that the trail we got (Regular Trail) is too far from the crater itself. I guess the more expensive tours go to the crater so better ask your guide for the trail that would suit your wants.






















After appreciating the view, we headed downhill and back to the Club. We were able to finish the whole trek from 7:00am to 11:00am. Just in time for lunch because we're hungry!

P.S. If you have extra money to spend, try the town's specialty fish Maliputo which lives only in the Taal Lake. If you buy it per kilo, it will cost you around P700. (Les Montilla, Cherry Tadeo, Editha Buendia, Jenina Pulumbarit, Chrissdale Gagan-Lipit)

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