Mt. Romelo | Buruwisan Falls

"Somewhere between the bottom of the climb and the summit is the answer to the mystery why we climb." - Greg Child

I always know that mountain-climbing is really tough but I've never had an actual experience on how tough it is until I climbed my first mountain. I have tried trekking before in Baler, on our way to Ditumabo Falls which I haven't had the chance of seeing, thanks to the 'very good' weather back then, but climbing is a very different thing.

Javier (my officemate) invited me to his adventure to Mt Romelo last March 22-23. We went with his brother's friends and it was very fun. We assembled at Alabang (near Javier's house) and bought some other things we need. We carried a lot of foods so we have to divide the bags and everyone was given at least one bag of food to carry. We left the place at around 1am and waited for the bus which took almost 2 hours to arrive.

This is Javier. :)

After almost 4 hours, we finally arrived in Laguna, can't remember where exactly but from there we rode a jeepney going to Siniloan where the trek to Mt. Romelo begins.

We started to walk towards the registration center where we took a power rest and prayed for guidance and safety. We saw horses that are used to carry the bags of those who wanted to trek or climb without 'burdens', which I actually kind of condemn because I pity the horses and it defeats the purpose of actual 'mountain climbing'. But it's their lives so whatever. Haha.

This is one of the horses. Hello~

This is the mini falls we passed by on our way to the registration center. Cute.

The trail was muddy and has many horse poops. We can't even differentiate mud from poop but it's okay, it's part of the adventure and no one complained about the poops. Haha. The trail was slippery and made me slipped and fell to my butt three or more times, we actually had a good laugh whenever somebody slips or falls. We were enjoying everything that happens in the trail because, again, it's part of the adventure.

After hours of trekking and slipping, we've finally reached the camp site. We sat and rest for a few minutes then we built our tents.

This is where we stayed. Haha

Since the trail was slippery, I had to use stick to give support to my knees and arms. Fortunately, I made it alive to the camp site. More advanced climbers say that Mt. Romelo is just a basic hike so no worries at all. I, for myself, was a first-timer so I had to adjust my body (physically and mentally, lol) to climb and keep going. My body was nearly giving up but my alter-ego says that I can still go forward.

This was my feet after the trek. My gratitude to my tribu sandals for not giving up. You go, tribu! Haha.

We cleaned ourselves before we had our lunch then I went straight to my tent to sleep. I was really exhausted. I dont know how long I rested but when I woke up, Javier told me that we're going down to the Buruwisan Falls. Only this time, we had to use both our arms and legs to climb down the steep trail to Buruwisan falls. It was challenging because there are moss and the soil is still slippery, but it's still fun because it's part of the adventure. Haha. It would have been a lot easier and more fun if there are slides. Haha. Kidding.

Trekking down to the falls was really fun because we had to use our whole body, something we don't usually do everyday in the city (lol).

This was my face upon seeing the falls. I just love the view and can't believe that this kind of beauty exists. :)

So we reached the falls after the fun-trek and the scene there was really beautiful and amazing. The cave part really put an awe to the whole scenery of the falls. It's kinda mysterious and had me thinking how it was formed.

This is the very lovely Buruwisan Falls

Since I don't know how to swim, I enjoyed my time playing with the pebbles, throwing them into the waters, and having a picture taken with these awesome rocks. It sort of reminds everyone that everything, even the weirdest things, can be well balanced if the things we do and the things we have are perfectly put into their places.

After a few hours of wandering around the Buruwisan Falls, we went to another falls in Mt. Romelo, the Lanzones Falls. We passed by some huge boulders and shallow waters to get to that falls. It was really a pain in the feet because some rocks are pointy and slippery. But I enjoyed passing through those things because it's adventure. Haha.

This is the Lanzones Falls

It doesn't have a 'ground' or a place where it is flat. The whole area is full of boulders and the water there is much colder than Buruwisan Falls. We even saw some group of people having a drinking sesh who offered us some. Haha.

After playing with the waters of Lanzones Falls, we headed back to the camp site to have some snacks and booze. Haha

These are the guys~ Hello.

I went sleeping again after all the falls-trekking. It's really hard sleeping in a tent especially when the floor is rocky and you have no sleeping bag. The next time I go hiking, I will sure bring a sleeping bag and a pillow. Haha.

It rained during the night, it was very cold and I started to fix all my stuff because I felt like the water was getting inside our tent and I don't want my stuff all wet. So I and Mik, rented a nipa hut owned by the caretakers of the mountain. It is really convenient and helpful that they have nipa huts there. Climbers can pick their own choice of accomodation. Although, it sure is a really nice experience to sleep in tent, it would be better to sleep in a closed room when it's raining.

Before I sleep I realized I have never appreciated a flat floor before like I did that night. Haha. It was really comfortable compared to my tent with rocky floor.

Morning came and we all had our breakfast together. Everyone went to see another falls, Sampaloc Falls. I didn't go because I heard that the water there is deep and I can't swim so I stayed to clean myself up and fix all my stuff as we will be leaving in a few hours. When they got back from Sampaloc Falls they told me that the water is really deep but the locals have put a rope where you can grab on when crossing the waters so you wont drown. And how I wish I went with them.

Before we cleaned ourselves and started to pack our stuff, we went down to Buruwisan Falls to bid our goodbyes. Haha.

A photo with these awesome and meaningful rocks and three guys on the other side. Haha

We went up to clean the place and pack our stuff. My bags are already fixed so while they were fixing their stuff, I went near the top of the falls to see what's going on down there.

This is the the view from the top of Buruwisan Falls

This is us before we left the camp site

The trail going down felt much easier because you know, Gravity. Haha. Fortunately, the trail is not slippery and muddy which mde it easy for us. We even went running down the trail because we love gravity that much. Haha.

This is the trail. See? Not so muddy, yes?

We took some pictures when we reached our first stop. We had three stops when we climbed up and we only had one when we went down. Haha

We continued to trek and run down the trail until we reached the registration center. We cleaned up a little and rested for a while then we continued walking towards the 'entrance'. There was a house that offers 'comfort room' services. Haha. You can take a bath or poop or whatever for only P5-P15. Haha. We also had snacks and drinks there while waiting for our ride.

We took tricycles because our ride took too long to arrive and we can't wait for it and we might miss the bus ride going to Manila. We even had conflicts with the jeepney drivers there but never mind. Haha.

I've learned so many things in this adventure. I enjoyed all the things I have experienced here, yes, even the unfortunate ones. I just thought that going somewhere away from the city and stress, makes you appreciate life more and real happiness. Sure we can be happy in the city, but at least once in a while, we should try to climb mountains, or surf the oceans, and everything nature has to offer. Trust me, you will have a different perspective of life, you will feel closer to your home which is the Nature, and you will learn what happiness really means.

I just want to say something to my 'fellow' travelers and tourists. We enjoy the places we've been to, so the only thing we can do in return is to let others enjoy it the way we have or even better than what we did. Please, please, please be sure to clean up all your mess before leaving the beautiful places and start practicing this in the city. :)

"Leave no trace, just take pictures (or memories)"

#mtromelo #travel #philippines #mountaineering #buruwisanfalls #lanzonesfalls #laguna #daniellecuaresma #niellecuaresma