Summer 2012. (Updated April 2015) Ever since I was in high school, I had this
craving of going to Mt. Pinatubo. It all started with its eruption in 1991
which brought about massive ash fall in Metro Manila and the nearby provinces.
I was then a freshmen student in college and I still remember that it was a Sunday when
the ash fall hit the Airbase in Pasay where we were scheduled to have our
weekly drill for our cadet military training (CMT). The area was covered 2-3
inches of ash fall. Everything was covered with ash. I was amazed on the might
of the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. I wondered what it actually looked like…
It took me twenty-one years after to stop wondering when I
actually went to one of the premiere ecotourism spots in the Philippines last
summer 2012.
I planned on going to Mt. Pinatubo. No ifs, no buts. My mind
was all made up.
It was 4:00 am when I left Batangas and I arrived in Manila
just before 6:00 am. I boarded the LRT bound to Doroteo Jose. Thereafter, I
boarded the Genesis bus bound to Baguio. The route to Baguio passes Capas where
the trail to Mt. Pinatubo leads.
HOW TO GET THERE
Ride the bus going to Dagupan or Baguio. You can choose from the buses in Cubao namely: Victory Liner, Genesis or Dagupan Lines. Fare to Capas, Tarlc is P170.Travel time is 2 hours. Once you reach Capas, alight at Mc Donalds. The tricycle going to Sta. Juliana (jump-off point to Mt.Pinatubo) is situated therein. Trike rent is P300 for 3 pax or P100/pax in case you are 4 pax. Travel time is 40 - 50 minutes or 25 kilometers. Alight at the Tourism area in Sta.Juliana.
Contact Persons (TOURISM OFFICE)
Ms. Edwina Santos - 0999-365-5069
Mr.Redem Dizon - 0919-430-5997
Better coordinate with the Tourism Office before going to Capas, Tarlac. If there is a typhoon or heavy rains, there will be no trek. If there will be Balikatan or joint military exercises, there is a cut-off time. Again, coordinate.
Prior to this travel, I thought that the trail either starts
from Zambales or Pangasinan. I was wrong.
Anyway, on with the journey to Capas which took me several
hours that gave me enough respite to rejuvenate my energy. I reached Capas around
9:00 am. Not mindful of the time, I hired a tricycle ride to Barangay Sta.
Juliana, Capas, Tarlac. Along the way, we passed the Capas Shrine. This was not
part of the itinerary. But I decided to tour Capas Shrine. The tour which would
I regret later on.
After the tour, we proceeded to the site. I paid PhP300.00
for the tricycle ride and it took me almost an hour to reach the site. It was past ten in the morning. I inquired at
the administration office and to my surprise, they told me that the tour for
Mt. Pinatubo has a cut-off of 10:00 am and as a result, I did not make it on
time!! I tried my best to convince them to allow me to go on with the tour. But
it was a futile exercise. What made things worse is when they told me that I had
to pay Php4,500.00 for the tour to Mt. Pinatubo since I had nobody to share it
with.
Realizing that I am just making matters worse, I decided to
go back to the town. Good thing the tricycle driver waited for me (The driver
knew that I won’t make it on time!! He was in cahoots with them). So I paid
Php150.00 for the ride back to the town. Imagine, spending Php450.00 for
nothing! I realized that the Capas Shrine tour was a bit expensive!
So I spent the day in Capas, wandering around the town and I
even went to the other towns of Tarlac.
I also went to the Aquino Museum.
I stayed at Tres Marias Apartelle and paid PhP800.00.
Contact Nos. - (045)-491-3467 / (045)-615-0317
Deluxe - P1,650.00
Triple Sharing - P1,250.00
Twin Sharing P950.00 (All with free breakfast)
Deluxe - P1,650.00
Triple Sharing - P1,250.00
Twin Sharing P950.00 (All with free breakfast)
The following day, the same tricycle driver fetched me and
we went to site and arrived 7:00 am.
The tour package is now P1,500/person (or P1,650 with food) or
P4,500 which included 4x4 rent, conservation fees, and the service of a local
guide.
BEFORE there were allowed or available
like boating, massage, volcanic ash and mud pool which require separate
payment.
The contact numbers for the tour packages are the following:
Lydia – 09097591300; Ivy -09994539264; and Remy -09093695178.
It is better to
make the necessary inquiry and/or reservation before going to the site. There
are reasons why they suspend or postponed the tour.
Anyway, I waited for half an hour and there were plenty of
trekkers that day going to Mt. Pinatubo. Feeling uneasy, I decided to pay the
entire PhP4,500.00 and decided to go on with the tour.
NOW - The amenities I mentioned are no longer available. The PDC is no longer existing (2015).
ATV ride is now available for P3,500.
Side trips - Go to Tarukan (made famous by the movie Crazy Beautiful You), Tambo Lake or Hotspring.
The 4x4 ride going to
the jump-off point took one hour.
Along the way, we passed the joint military exercise of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the US Marines. We passed miles and miles of barren lands covered with white sand. But the view was spectacular! The terrain was rugged, sandy and mountainous.
The driver of the 4x4 told me that the road we were
traversing was also the path of the lava flow when Mt. Pinatubo erupted.
The 4x4 ride was exciting even though it was my second time
to experience it (the first time was in Paoay, Ilocos Norte).
The terrain was
totally different from Paoay, a lot better from Paoay since you have to pass
boulders of rocks and several rivers just to reach the jump-off point.
After one hour of 4x4 ride, we reached the site and my guide
told me that the trek to Mt. Pinatubo was good for almost two hours for
amateurs.
We started the trek.
The sun was scorching hot that day. Good thing I was prepared for the trek.
We reached the resting area and rested for fifteen minutes.
Then, the ascent started. It took us 18 minutes before reaching the top. It was
very slippery since you have to pass a long and winding river.
And we continued our trek...
Finally, we reached the crater!
There were several tourists swimming on the lake (now, NOT ALLOWED) and enjoying their time. I took pictures of the area and wandered around.
After one hour, we decided to descent. It was past 11:00 am.
Going back was faster than I thought. We boarded the 4x4 and
went back to the registration area.
It was past one pm when we reached the registration area.
There was plenty of food (since it was good for 4 persons).
I decided to drop by in the Tourism office and then,I went home to Batangas.
Adventure
Skywalk/Edge Coaster - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/11/adventures-in-cebu-city.html
Top Ten adventures - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/11/12-of-my-best-adventures-in-philippines.html
Beach
Others –
Top Ten Places - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/11/top-ten-places-in-philippines-i-visited.html
32 Ecotourism spots - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/11/32-ecotourism-spots-in-philippines.html
Top 10 summer pics 2011 - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/11/top-10-of-my-pictures-for-summer-2011.html
Yap, nice place. Maybe because I grew up in one of the barrio of Capas near in camp o'donelle in 16 yrs. I left Capas when I was 17yo. So how google listed your blog in my search result, because I key in to google search about Life In Capas Tarlac. . . I grew up thre and why I still looking about life in capas. . Yap, maybe I still miss that place or maybe not but carefully examining myself the reason why I still searching life still exist in that place hehehehe. Well, definitely not the best place to live in the Phils, I just simply grew up there lah. Batangas maybe much better than Capas, you know. Anyway, as you mentioned, barren land. In my own opinion,school life is somewhat barren too. Growing up in Capas and exiting from high school life to college life then entering to working class then escaping from the Phils, took me a lot of life excursion abd hardwork. My analysis, bec I studied in one of the futile and poorly planned outlined academics which is in Dominican school of capas takla. From that school going to Manila school, surely you might experience and question yourself as I did on "why I didnt know that" question, why my college classmates have statitics subject, complete algebra/chemistry course and some calculus or etc when they were in high school. Why we were not taught of that and that and that, when I was in that high school. A lot of fucking academic gaps made by dominican sisters if compared to other schools. maybe because that high school is being managed by dominican nazi sisters. Hah thats why religion/ethics subject is paramount over the important ones. I dont regret having a life experience in capas, but definitely I should rather studied outside capas e.g. Angeles city.. Anyway, I think we are the same age, since I was also in 1st yr college when mount pinatubo devasted life in Luzon. Anyway, I now permanently live Auckland city working as Engineer and taking up masters degree. just reminiscing life Ive been thru back home beginning from my failures in capas which is partly or mostly influenced by poor performance of dominincan school. . Trekking in NZ is better than in Capas. Wriiten 5am 26th sept 2015
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