Once a year, I remind myself that I want to be fit and so I allow my friends to convince me to go on a mountain hike with them (with the following caveat: it needs to be a BEGINNER’S HIKE). This year, the hike I ended up joining was Mt. Mapalad, found in Tanay, Rizal. With a 3/9 level in hiking difficulty (who grades these mountains anyway?!), it’s a great day hike suitable for beginners (like me!)

To date, this is probably my favorite hike of all time. Why? Because it was great value for effort! Round-trip hike (minus the time spent at the peak taking photos) was ~3 hours, which is really really short compared to my other hikes. The view at the top? Priceless! It was my first time to see such a thick sea of clouds amidst the sunrise. It made all the mud, sweat, and tears worth it <3 

For today, this blog post will focus on the following:

• What to expect from Mt. Mapalad?
• When’s the best time to go up Mt. Mapalad?
• What should you bring to Mt. Mapalad?
• Tour to join (if you don’t want to do DIY)

What to expect from Mt. Mapalad

Mt. Mapalad is a ~1.5-2 hours hike (one way) from the jump-off point to the summit, depending on how fast your pace is. I’m a super slowpoke, but I managed to reach the summit within 2 hours (mostly because I was too ashamed to ask for a break since the group I was with are BEASTS who just kept going Zzz). The first 30 minutes is pretty chill – you’ll pass by fairly flat terrain and some river streams. Since we started at 3AM, the difficult part is the nighttime darkness which makes it difficult for you to see the pathway in front of you. I know, it’s crazy early – but you have to start early in order for you to reach the summit in time for the sunrise!

Afterwards, the trail becomes CRAZY. Because we wanted to see the sea of clouds, we went during the rainy season (without rain, the clouds won’t form). The result? Crazy muddy trails that were very very slippery. I was wearing normal rubber shoes that didn’t have great grip, so I spent a lot of time sliding and acquainting myself with the mud on the ground. Yikes! Don’t worry though – as there are rope and bamboo railings throughout the trail. It does get a bit tricky sometimes since you’re holding on to a flashlight as you climb. Thank God our guide had a super strong flashlight – so he essentially lit up the way as I scrambled/slid/crawled my way up certain tricky areas

There are numerous stopovers along the way – but because we were rushing to get to the summit in time for the sunrise, we spent max ~5minutes per stopover. Enough time to gulp down my water, but no time to eat (my hands were soo dirty anyway)

Nevertheless, the climb was SUPER WORTH IT, because we were rewarded with an amazing view of the sunrise peaking over the Sierra Madre mountain range and offset by the thickest sea of clouds I’ve ever seen in my life. I’ll let the photos do the talking now

When’s the best time to go up Mt. Mapalad?

Time-wise: Definitely start your trek at 3AM (or even earlier!). This way, you can be sure to catch the sunrise as you reach the summit. If you leave later, you may miss the sunrise AND you’ll have the distinct displeasure of hiking with the hot sun at your back

Month-wise: I highly suggest you do this hike during the months of March to June. The more rains during that time, the higher the possibility of witnessing the sea of clouds. In our case, we went in the month of June. While the trails were crazy muddy, I think the photos speak for themselves – isn’t that just beautiful?

To be honest, deciding WHEN to go is a bit tricky because you don’t want to go in the middle of a monsoon (who wants to hike in the rain?), but you do want it to have rained recently so you can catch the sea of clouds. Anyway, if you’re joining a tour, I suggest you check with the tour operator as they’ll have a much better sense of whether that weekend is a good time or not

What should you bring to Mt. Mapalad?

• Attire: Hiking clothes + rubber shoes/ hiking shoes with good grip
• Flashlight (with a strong light!): Since you’ll be hiking in near darkness at 3AM, having a good flashlight makes a HUGE difference. Even better if your flashlight has a handle to make it easier for you to hold onto it
• Camera / Phone for you to take photos at the summit (duh!)
• Water: Bring around 1L. Since you’re hiking early (no sun!), you won’t sweat as much so I think 1L should suffice. I brought 2 Liters of water and I literally died under all that weight
• Pack Lunch and wet wipes: Preferably you should bring snacks that you can eat without touching the food, as your hands will be pretty dirty by the time you get to the summit. Otherwise, just bring wet wipes so you can clean up before eating
• Backpack to place all your things: Keep the things you bring to a minimum, and make sure you free up your hands as you’ll need it to hang onto the ropes and bamboo rails!
• Extra set of clothes and slippers: The trail can get really really muddy, so I highly suggest you bring a change of clothes to change into after the hike. There’s a bathroom at the jump-off point, where you can wash up (just pay ~PHP 20)

Tour to join (if you don’t want to do DIY)

Typically I prefer doing DIY tours, however for mountain hikes, I’d rather join a tour for a couple of reasons:

1. No way I want to drive at ungodly hours to the jump-off point. Likewise, no way I have the energy to drive back after a long strenuous hike. Same reasoning for commute. So, because of my laziness, I’d rather just pay up for a van w/ driver
2. I don’t want my car to get dirty. After a hike, my shoes and clothes are typically really muddy/dusty and everyone smells bad. Yuck! Let’s dirty up someone else’s car instead LOL – and not feel bad about it, because that’s literally what I’m paying for
3. Hassle-free experience – I don’t need to worry about hiring a reputable tour guide. I just need to show up and they take care of everything!

For Mt. Mapalad, we went with Carlo Tolentino (contact number: 09266930794), who was recommended to us by a friend

Tour cost: PHP 800 per person, inclusive of –

• Van transfer (meet up at Jollibee 13th Ave, Cubao)
• Local Registration
• Guide fee (excludes tips, which is up to your discretion)
• Coordinator

Overall, I highly recommend their group as they were really professional and we pushed through with the tour even if there were only less than 5 of us who signed up. In my experience, other tour groups typically cancel when they don’t meet their minimum quota (which really really sucks because they inform you super late aka the day before…)

And that’s a wrap! For other day trip hikes from Manila, check out the following blogs (don’t worry, they’re all for beginners):

Day trip from Manila: Mt. Pinatubo Tripinas Review

Day trip from Manila: Masungi Georeserve and Pililia Wind Farms