For Mother’s Day, my family wanted to go somewhere “new” and really enjoy nature. I had heard of Treasure Mountain from friends, and it seemed like a good experience and memory to share as a family.

Overall, I am super glad we went. It’s not far from Manila – roughly a 2 hour car ride from my house (in Quezon City) and the roads going there were all highways and very smooth, except for the last stretch once you start going uphill to the actual camping site (roughly 10 minutes).

All in all, it was an enjoyable activity for the whole family. I would say it’s quite pet-friendly and parents-friendly. Of course, I think it’s a more a “barkada” type of place, but I think it’s also nice to do with family as it deviates from the norm. Plus, being surrounded by the lush greenery and beauty of the mountains and the sunrise, coupled with the chilly fresh mountain air, is what I’d say the perfect remedy to these COVID blues.

 

How to make a reservation at Treasure Mountain

You can do a day trip to Treasure Mountain, but we weren’t keen on traveling 4 hours (around ~2hrs each way) just to spend a couple of hours up here. That seemed very tiring.

So instead, we opted to take the overnight package instead. We were a group of 7 – 4 girls and 3 boys, so we got two Package for 4 (tent). There was actually a room option, but I thought it would be nice to sleep under the stars. In retrospect, if I come back here again, I’ll take the room option instead – having your own private toilet and shower makes a WORLD of difference. Although, I’m also happy we went with the tent option because it was my first time camping and it was definitely an experience!

Rule of thumb: If you opt for the tent option, I would say the Package for 4 is actually OK for 3 people, but maybe better for 2 so it isn’t as cramped. It is definitely way too cramped for 4 – literally could not move the whole night because we were all packed together like a can of sardines. Phew.

The Package for 4 also came with 2 singles bedroll and 2 pillows. We decided to bring additional sleeping bags to use as added bedding (because wow, the ground is HARD and I could feel rocks digging into my back), as well as additional pillows and kumot (if you decide to keep the tent semi-open, the night air is refreshingly cool!).

Ok, so once you’ve decided which package is appropriate for you, just message them on Messenger and they’ll send you the payment details. They require a 50% down payment to confirm your reservation, while the remaining 50% could be paid once you arrived at the site.

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/TreasureMountainTanay

 

Activities Available at Treasure Mountain

Trekking to and Swimming at Bosay Falls

• Price: PHP 100.00 per head. Minimum of 5 pax.
• Timing: 30-45 minutes

 

High Ropes Obstacle Course (Saturday to Monday only)

• Whole Course (includes Giant Swing and Spider Web): PHP 250 per head
• Giant Swing: PHP 50
• Spider Web: PHP 150 per head

 

What to bring to Treasure Mountain

1. Toiletries, pajamas, change of clothes for next day
2. Sleeping bags, pillows, kumot
3. Flashlight / emergency light (2 per tent for light)
4. Lightweight jacket since night air can be chilly
5. Powerbank and charger – nowhere to charge your phones otherwise!
6. Cards and games to do at night
7. Vaccination card, Face mask, Valid ID
8. Alcohol, wet wipes, tissue

 

Itinerary to maximize time at Treasure Mountain

2:00 PM Left Manila

4:15 PM Arrived at Treasure Mountain

Check in officially starts at 4PM, so I thought we had made pretty good time. There’s an expansive area for car parking, then you head to the registration office to get your breakfast stub (the package comes inclusive with breakfast), as well as a wrist band to indicate you’ve paid.

From there, we started “hiking” up the trail to get to the campsite. Hiking is a bit too strong a word, it was more like walking uphill I suppose. This walk lasted for ~10 minutes, and voila – the campsite opened up to us.

I had thought 4:15PM was a respectable time which would allow us to choose a tent with a magnificent view, or barring that, a tent near the bathroom… Alas, apparently EVERYONE was early that day so there really weren’t much options to choose from. I was still pretty pleased with our tents though as we had a stunning view of the obstacle course, and a ~5 minute walk from the bathroom (could be nearer, as I always go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, but beggars can’t be choosers).

I think the perk of going Treasure Mountain camping is really the full “camping” experience but without the hassle of setting up the tent yourself (I have no idea how haha) and with bathroom and shower facilities.

 

5:00 PM

Afterwards, we went around and snapped these beautiful photos of the rock formations! It’s really a stunning place. I felt very at one with nature – colorful flowers peeked out, rock formations with character abounded, and I felt that our fellow tourists were really all very conscientious – no garbage could be seen lying about, no noisy campers to ruin the peaceful atmosphere of the camp – it was all very idyllic.

 

6:00 PM

After the sunset, we decided it was time for dinner. Treasure Mountain has its own restaurant (where breakfast is also served the next day). I’d suggest going for dinner around this time to get ahead of the dinner crowd. All their dishes are actually pretty good – prices are akin to Manila but great quality. We got the grilled liempo, sizzling sisig, sizzling pusit, and sizzling tofu. They say each dish is good for 3-4 people, but I would argue it’s actually for less than that. So for our group of 7, I think we should’ve ordered 6 dishes and a platter of rice to share.

The serving time could definitely be improved though. So apparently, the sizzling dishes are super quick to prepare, but the grilled liempo took FOREVER. So word of advice, if you’re hungry like me, just go for the sizzling dishes so you can dig in with a gusto ASAP.

 

8:00 PM

After dinner, we washed up in the bathroom (the bathroom facilities of the restaurant are MUCH nicer – the toilets have a working flush, and have bidets!). We then grabbed our stuff from the car to set up our tents for the night. We honestly brought a bit too much stuff haha – we even had a 5 gallon water container with us, so we were really feeling a bit squished inside the tent.

The camp itself isn’t well-lit, so we also set up emergency lights and flashlights in our tent. If you want to brush your teeth and shower, I’d advise doing it early before everyone else, as otherwise a long queue forms. The toilet and shower facilities are one and the same (essentially because the shower is essentially a tabo), so it’s quite frustrating because even if all you want to do is pee, you end up having to wait for everyone to finish showering. The shower itself only has 1 hook and nowhere to place your clothes so bring only the bare essentials you’d require.

Afterwards, we head to the Main Pavilion (where the bathrooms are, and also where the bonfire is). We grabbed a bench and just star gazed – so beautiful. You don’t see this many stars in the city, but here they were twinkling away and right beside each other too. It really reminds me of the vastness of this universe, and how amazing is it that the God who created all this, created us too and chose us above them all.

 

10:00 PM

Time to head back to the tent. We played a bit of cards, then we bunked down for the night.

 

Next day

4:15 AM

The next morning, we woke up at 4:15AM (sunrise at 5:15AM) in order to brush our teeth and use the bathroom. And voila, we were greeted with this majestic sight. What a sight for these sore city eyes

 

5:30 – 6:00 AM

At around this time, I’d suggest going down to the obstacle course and registering your group if you want to do the course. Note, it takes each group roughly 45-60 minutes to finish the whole thing so it’s best to get your group registered early. The course itself opens at 6:30AM, so while waiting for your turn, you can opt to grab breakfast first (or if it’s almost your turn, just wait it out).

Anyway, we decided to go breakfast first while waiting. Lots of silog selections, and to be fair, it was all very tasty! I thought the tocilog and longsilog were the best.

From there, we went back to the obstacle course. We ended up waiting for another hour because our number had already been called and we missed it. Sigh. Oh well. Honestly, I’d advise you do the obstacle course first if possible as otherwise you’ll be doing it under the glaring heat of the sun. I think I’m a little bit sunburnt from the course actually.

 

9:00 AM

Finally it was our turn.

Super interesting because a lot of the employees are actually Ilonggo. I’m learning Ilonggo too so it was great fun to listen to them! For our group of 7, we had 2 guides – we gave each guide a phone so they could take photos of us as we went through the course

The obstacle course itself isn’t difficult, and the guides made it very fun because of all the jokes and all the photos they were taking. At the end of the obstacle course is the Spider Web (akin to the one found in Masungi) where you can take a nice group photo. Afterwards, you can then scream your worries away on the Giant Spring. The obstacle course end-to-end cost PHP 250, which I think is a decent price to pay, especially because the equipment they use (harness, etc) are all of good quality and well-maintained.

 

10:30 AM

Finally done with the obstacle course! You can opt to also trek down to Bosay Falls where you can swim a bit. We were too lazy though – also the sun was really hot, and I didn’t fancy showering in the public facilities. So instead, we went around some more, got some buko fruit salad ice cream (sold at PHP 25, and very jampacked with toppings yum!), changed clothes, and it was time to head off!

 

11:30 AM Left Treasure Mountain

Amazing vacation – so happy we went! Happy Mother’s Day everyone!