Assault to Mt. Binacayan

Mt. Binacayan is situated at Montalban, Rizal.  It's just 20 minutes away from Marikina (where our place is) with no traffic. My memories of Montalban take me to my childhood days. We used to visit our relatives there. I can still vividly remember how boring it was for me then because all I could see were trees and mountains. When I was a child, my appreciation to mother nature was totally oblivious.  Now that I am an adult, all I could think of is to conquer the 11 mountains of Montalban.

Mt. Binacayan is part of the famous Montalban trilogy hike. The other two are Mt. Pamitinan and Hapunang Banoy. Our initial plan was to go for a twin hike, but due to unexpected injury of a friend, we just decided to finish our Binacayan leg and spent the rest of the afternoon in Wawa River.

How to go to Mt. Binacayan 

Going to Montalban, Rizal is such a breeze for me and hubby since we are residing in Marikina, a neighboring town. We just need to commute via UV Express van /FX or public utility jeep biyaheng Cubao - Montalban/Rodriguez.

For the non-Marikina residents, the best way to go to Montalban, Rizal is from Cubao. There's a UV Express station in Farmer's market. Tell the driver to drop you off to San Rafael or Montalban Eastwood where the tricycle station heading to Wawa or Wawa Annex is at. Tricycles biyaheng Wawa are typically painted in green and have WOWTODA imprint. We found the tricycle queue along the road, at the right side.

By the way, the tricycles will bring you directly to the DENR registration area which the jump-off point to Binacayan, Pamitinan and Hapunang Banoy.

You can also bring a private car if you wish to. There's a parking lot at the jump-off point. My friend brought his car and just parked conveniently beside the barangay hall which is also located at the jump-off point/registration area.

jump off point/registration area 

We started the hike at 6:45 AM which was very late for sea of clouds. I really wanted to check that one out but I had to adjust with my friends' schedule. Lito, our tour guide decided to take us to Mt. Binacayan pending our decision for a twin hike. We eventually decided to just let go of Mt. Pamitinan.

Our first lolo and lola mode below. Ha ha. Lito, our tour guide told us to take a quick rest after the "devastating" ascent from the jump-off point.

This is what we subscribed to. Say hello to Mt. Binacayan limestones and impressive rock formations.

We're taking extra caution because of limestone's rough and sharp edges. Good thing it didn't rain. It would be harder for us to climb.

When I was a kid, I was fascinated by the story of Bernardo Carpio. My father said that Bernardo Carpio is trapped between the mountains of Montalban to prevent collision. He also said that he's "invisible" and demigod.

It was an awesome experience to pay a visit to the place that I was once fascinated about. I kept texting my father about this hike. I felt like a kid again. He-He.

 Lito, our tour guide said Mt. Binacayan has three (3)  peaks. So here's our Peak 1.

Cheers to Peak 2!

And the summit!

We finished the hike at 11:00AM with several stopovers and photo opportunities. It was definitely slow. Ha-Ha. We were all laughing at ourselves because we didn't expect that it would be that challenging 😜  It was memorable. It was crazy fun.

We had lunch at the jump-off point and decided to stayed for the rest of the day in Wawa River.

Mt. Binacayan hike tips:

• Pack light. But bring enough water. 1-1.5L will do. I consumed my 1L and was thirsting for more.

• Wear protective gears like gloves, leggings or pants if you want to enjoy Mt. Binacayan. There are sharp edge limestones everywhere. I did hurt my shin during our ascent.

• Bring trail food (nuts, jelly ace, etc.).

• There are stores at the jump-off point. Food, drinks and other hiking gears (gloves, protective sleeves, etc.) are available for consumption. Husband and I ate our breakfast there - goto with itlog, baby! 😋

• Shower rooms and toilets are accessible at the jump off point.

• I wore hiking shoes. And it served me well! 😍 Again, I was meaning to wear hiking sandals, but my decision to wear shoes was the best decision ever.

• Please don't do death defying photo or selfie shoot just to create impressive photos. Your safety is the most important thing of all.

• Registration fee is very minimal. You can give a donation too. On the other hand, we paid 50 pesos for the tricycle (for two).  For the karinderya food, hubby paid less 100 pesos for the two us. Two orders of ulam and three orders of rice. 

• I was told that the DENR registration opens at 4:30 AM. Perfect timing to check out the sea of clouds.

• Here's the contact number of our tour guide to Mt. Binacayan: Lito Merilu - 0912-9549662

Lito, our tour guide

Good luck! And remember, please. Help protect our environment. Do your share as a visiting hiker - do not litter or vandal. Bring a trash bag for your waste. We only have one earth 😊