The recent 4 day weekend spelled another outdoor trip. Since it rainy season this time of the year, I decided to stay away from the beach and instead head up to my favorite hideaway in Mt. Romelo in Siniloan, Laguna (together with friends). Mt. Romelo (about 300 meters above sea) is popular for its beautiful falls, all accessible with a short hike (and climb) from the campsite. The campsite itself is on top of one of the largest falls there (Buruwisan Falls).
(Trivia: Mt. Romelo is often (mis)referred to as Mt. Famy because the town of Famy is where folks usually get off the bus from Manila. Mt. Romelo is not even in Famy, it is already part of the adjacent town called Siniloan).
We always prefer to do a midnight trek whenever we go there but horrendous traffic jam in Manila made us miss our 12:00 midnight jump off. We arrived at the trail head at around 2:30AM. Surprisingly, its a clear night there while there is a heavy downpour in Manila.
After 4 hours of mud, leeches, more mud, and mosquito bites we arrived at the campsite. The normally jampacked campsite (during the summer) is virtually empty save for us and two other campers.
After setting up camp and getting a quick shut eye, I decided to hiked down to Buruwisan falls. Its a short climb down from the campsite, but the slope is more than 70 degrees in some sections and you only have tree roots and wet rocks for holding.
Buruwisan Falls is a popular location for rappelling because of its almost vertical wall. Its a great swimming area too with its emerald green waters, if you can take the cold.
Downstream from Buruwisan Falls are nice "tubs" or "pools" with crystal clear waters. There also are two more falls within a few hundred meters from Buruwisan. There is a fork just about 100 meters downstream from Buruwisan. The right path goes upstream to Lansones Falls while the left path goes downstream to the top of Old Buruwisan. There is no trail going down to Old Buruwisan (also known as Binaytuan Falls) but you can enjoy the vertigo inducing view (down) from its drop.
Check out other posts and photos of the beautiful waterfalls of Mt. Romelo here.
20 comments:
nice shots bai! would've loved to join you weren't it for the fact that naka-standby din kami and in fact, pinapasok kami ng sat-sun. looking forward for more of your posts on this place
ayos na naman ang lagalag. never been to that part of luzon. in fact mabibilang lang napunthan ko sa south luzon kaya i really appreciate your posts there 'coz medyo nafafamiliarize na ko sa place. thanks and be safe.
@bai oggie! next time bai. sorry to hear about the flooding in your place. tsk tsk, the perils of living in the city...the price we pay for progress... kaya minsan sarap mag stay na lang sa bundok :)
@bai oman! sama ka rin next time. its just a fun climb/hike, nothing technical and definitely manageable but the beauty that awaits you on top is worth all the leeches :D
I've heard about this place a lot. Medyo popular din on those just starting to climb. Very nice shots allan. I love the greenery and the flow of water.
@bai ferdz - easy hike/climb but the trail is quite muddy when it rains, its the only thing that can slow down the hike. we were lucky there are a few campers there at time time. thanks for the visit bai!
i agree with ferdz, its a popular place for climbs and treks. however, i've read a blog somewhere detailing an unsavory incident in this area.
@estan - i've been to mt. Romelo countless times already, and we always do a night trek. there was even a time when I went there on two successive weekends. Fortunately I've never come across "bad elements". The locals there are quite friendly too. I guess Buruwisan/Mt. Romelo has its share of urban legends.
If there are folks giving Mt. Romelo a bad reputation, its more the undisciplined, rowdy, drunk, garbage dumping weekenders than the locals. Mt. Romelo's beauty and accessibility are also its curse.
thanks for the visit bro!
WhOOAaaaaaa...cool pictures-with this i missed to travel again. And hardly longing having a cool camera to shot every corner and every moment of my days.Kudos to your Blog! sobrang heartwarming.
@damndanzoy - thanks for the visit! drop by again sometime...
hi..just grab some fotos here of Mt.Romelo for my post..you've got a very nice and detailed shots...hope you don't mind..thanks
@kha, I do mind. Care to tell me which photos first?
Thank you then, I do apologize I am having an error with my computer and I am not even finished my blog post..ok igf that's what you want I will..hang on for a second, I am fixing my computer. Thanks.
@kha, thank you. If you had asked first before actually using them, i would have let you use my images. next time, ask permission first.
Heard a lot about Buruwisan Falls and nice camp site but also heard some accidents on this place. Would like to visit this place cause there are other waterfalls around Buruwisan..
my cottages ba dun n pwd tulugan?
i love the place much eventhough its so hard the way to go there...but when u saw the place u will say "wow" and all ur tiredness will gone......
@anonymous my kubo dun na pwede tulugan,kaso nirerentahan. kung gusto mo makadiscount sabihin mo friend ka ni rhon or ni Tepoy from siniloan. kilala ko kasi at barkada ko yung may ari nung isang kubo na tinutuloyan dun, Ayan yung name nung tinutokoy kong may ari ng bahay/kubo. kapag sya ang bantay makakadiscount kayo.
Lantaw made me go to Mt. Romelo! Nice shots of yours. Too bad I wasn't able to see the waterfalls. :( But indeed the climb was fun!
meron na pong cottage sa buruwisan...and yes, may iba pa pong falls bukod doon gaya ng batya-batya falls and lanzones falls...
ganda tlaga jan sa mt romelo. sarap balik balikan :))
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