Mountain | Mt Manabu Travel Guide

MOUNTAIN |  Mt Manabu Travel Guide
Overnight Camp

 

Like a monarch standing proudly, Mt Manabu is part of the Malipunyo Mountain Range as one of its three major peaks. The trails are well established, easy and marked by up to 9 stations circling the mountain. Charming and friendly locals that helps keep climbers hydrated by their offerings of Buko juice along the way, even get a sample taste of kape Lowak or Alamid Coffee brewed by Mang Pirying and his brother Mang Pino while they offer a bargain of their own local coffee produce.

Background

Soaring at 760 Meters Above Sea Level (MASL), Mt Manabu is a minor climb with difficulty of 2/9 and trail class 1-2. Perfect for day hikes or camping overnight. Intending to enjoy the climb, two trails are available to reach the summit, the grotto trail where you can pass a station with the make shift hut and Marian statue of the Immaculate Conception is placed alongside the water source, this trail is longer but fairly easy making the ascent more enjoyable as mostly covered by thick foliage of trees. The other trail is the lubid trail, opposite that of the grotto, marked my ropes placed on steep banks, halfway on this trail is the home of Mang Pirying and his brother Tata Tino who gladly shares Alamid Coffee while selling small packs to be brought home. Mt Manabu is derived from the term “Mataas na bundok”, flanked by the Mountains of Susong Dalaga and Malipunyo, peaks of Malepunyo mountain range.

 

What To Expect? 

Although Mt Manabu is to be part of Santo Tomas, you are coming in straight from the Lipa City. The locals are very friendly starting from the outpost of Brgy Santa Cruz where registration is done before entering the peripherals of the mountain at Php 20.00 per pax, get ready with the distinctly heavy Batangueno accent and maybe if you get the chance to talk to some locals you’ll learn words unique for the local dialect. You can hire guides from the outpost, who can also serve as porter if you find your packs too heavy while on the trail. Guide fee is at Php 500.00 per guide hike up and vise versa. Hiring a guide is not necessary if you have someone in the team who had been here before, the trail is pretty straight forward but can be daunting if done at night, hence a guide is helpful at night to avoid getting lost in the heavy thickets of trees especially in the grotto trail. There are also trails that lead to traversing the mountain range itself, so it would be better to ask for instructions in the outpost or a few of the locals housed along the trails. You’ll know you have reached the summit of Mt Manabu once you get to the life sized white stone cross, and just a few meters below it is a campsite that looks like a glen of open gardens with scattered bushes.

How To Get There?

Take a road trip with your buddies down south of Manila to Lipa City, Batangas, turning left from The Floral Garden Cemetery passing through Fiesta World Mall (this mall looks more like a warehouse) going straight until you reach the bridge, beyond it on an elevated road turn left after the rotunda until you reach the crossing with a marker at the center that say Welcome To Brgy Sta Cruz, Sto Tomas, on the right side if the road if the Brgy Outpost where you can register. From there, if you intend to hire a guide, they can join you until you reach the jump off site in Sulok where your vehicle can be parked. It is marked by NPC’s banner of Mak-Ban Watershed welcoming mountaineers and hikers.

Planning on commuting is fairly easy, take a Lipa bound bus from bus terminals along LRT Buendia. Remember that Fiesta World Mall can be your marker. Once in Lipa, tricycles abound, take one to bring you to Fiesta Mall or you can take a walk of 5-10 minutes until you reached the mall. You can buy some much needed things for the climb in the mall. You can hire a tricycle to bring you to Sulok, Brgy Sta Cruz with instructions for a stop at the Brgy Sta Cruz outpost for registration, tricycle drivers would normally charge up to Php 120.00 depending on the agreed fees so you better bring much of your haggling skills.

Sykes Outdoor's Suggested Mt Manabu Itinerary

Day 1 - April 20, 2013
13:00 – Meet up in One San Miguel
13:30 – ETD One San Miguel
15:30 – ETA Lipa, Batangas (5-10 min walk to Fiesta Mall)
16:30 – ETD Fiesta Mall going to Brgy. Hall
16:45 – ETA Brgy. Hall (Register here)
17:30 – Start trek
18:00 – Grotto (Rest/Picture)
18:45 – Manabu Camp Site. Pitch tent.
19:30 - Prepare Dinner
20:30 - Dinner
23:00 - Lights out

Day 2 - April 21, 2013

05:00 - Wake up. Coffee.
05:30 - Sunrise at Summit
06:00 - Prepare breakfast
07:00 - Breakfast
08:00 - Break Camp
09:00 – Start descend
09:30 – ETA Mang Pino’s place (Station 5, Rest)
10:30 – Back at jump off (Rest/Wash up)
11:30 – ETD Brgy. Hall to Hi Way
11:45 – ETA Hi Way
12:00 – ETD Lipa, Batangas
14:30 – ETA OSM

Francis Balgos is a Call Center Agent, Weekend Travel Warrior, Amateur Spelunker, Sometime Surfer, Newbie Mountain Climber, Photography Enthusiast, Certified Beach Bum, A first born son, Faithful lover, True Explorer...

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