Last Holy Week (2014), we were in El Nido, Palawan and this May after several choices of destination (Anawangin, Baler, Matnog, Legazpi), we ended up in Panguil, Laguna. For a change, we tried camping.
Only Jen, MJ, Rico, Nikko, Glaiza, Vangie (not in the picture) and I joined this adventure. Lester just arrived from Malaysia that day. Jonas was busy in his business. Dave is in New Zealand. And the rest of the packers are just busy in their respective careers either as a mother or as a girlfriend).
Anyway, meeting place was in SM Calamba 7am. But Glaiza arrived 8:15.
How to get there
From Buendia, Manila or Cubao, board a bus (DLTB or Greenstar) going to Sta. Cruz, Laguna. Travel time from Manila to Sta. Cruz, Laguna is 2-3 hours depending on the traffic in Los Banos, Laguna. Fare is P140 from Buendia. From Calamba, fare is P61 only (in some buses P80) and travel time is only 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Reaching the capital of Laguna, board a jeep going to Siniloan. Fare is P35 only and travel time is 50 minutes. Then, once you have reached the town of Pangil, board a tricycle to Panguil River Eco-Park and the fare is only P10/pax. Travel time is less than 5 minutes from the town.
If you are from Rizal, you can go to Antipolo City and then board a jeep going to Siniloan and then, Siniloan to Pangil, Laguna.
It is better to buy the supplies in Sta. Cruz than in Pangil.
Once you are at the Eco-Park (0915-379-5866/0932-372-9861), you have to pay P75 for the entrance and P100 for overnight stay. But we paid P120 that day since we arrived 2 pm and will check out the following day at 12 pm. Overnight stay is 6 pm to 6 am only. Rental fee for the tent is P300. We rented 4 tents that day and much to our dismay, we waited for the availability of our reserved tents.
After fixing our respective tents, we started our Ambon-Ambon Falls trek. We paid another P75 for this adventure. We had to trek from the base camp up to the site of the falls.
We had to board the bamboo raft for three times before reaching the spot. But some of us decided to swim in the river.
After almost an hour, we reached Ambon-Ambon Falls.
And this is Ambon-Ambon Falls!!!!
It was F U N!
We stayed for more than an hour and took several souvenir pictures including this one!
Then, we decided to go back and relived our bamboo rafting adventure!
Another selfie onboard the boat won't hurt!
Reaching the camp, we cooked our dinner. Hotdogs and chicken adobo.
Dinner time, we ate and afterwards we enjoyed our drinking spree of 2 bottles of Alfonso Light. Then, exchanged jokes and played our syllable game. We missed Lester and Jonas playing this game, they are the experts on this game.
Day 2
I did not sleep much that night either because it was hot or because of the sound of videoke that night and I woke up 4 am. I prepared the hot water for the coffee and bulalo cup noodles for our breakfast.
Past 7 am, we started our trek to Hidden Falls or Buntot Palos Falls. We hired Mang Del (0910-500-1728) to be our guide for that day for P500.
Mang Del was my guide a few months ago when I visited the Eco-Park, He was also our guide at the Ambon-Ambon Falls. He is kind, accommodating and courteous.
Normally, the trek is good for 2 hours. And the ascending trek is good for 45 minutes and the rest is simple trekking.
Halfway through, we passed by a natural source of water and quenched our thirst.
And after almost 2 hours of walking, we reached our destination - Hidden Falls or Buntot Palos Falls!
We stayed at the base of the falls for 1.5 hours and enjoyed the water and the scenery!
Afterwards, Rico and I decided to go ahead and ended up on a different trail. We arrived instead at Barangay Niyogan and reached the camp ahead of time.
This tour is different from the other tours with the packers. MJ did not join us in Romblon, Calamba and in El Nido, Palawan. And I was so happy to see and be with her again. She was my former student and now, my mentor. She was the one who taught me how to blog. I OWE IT TO HER! Master!! =)
Worthy of mentioning are Jayson. Dave, Jonas, Lester and Peng! I miss you guys! Till our next adventure. My 40th birthday first in October then, Mt. Pulag on December.
Till our next travel guys!! =)
If you want to find a place to eat in Pangil, please do drop by at this eatery - Pangilenean. It is situated just beside the church of Pangil and the terminal of jeep and tricycle. You will love their halo-halo!
Youtube link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peyxRebBUY0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uGgujiPiqA
Related links:
Romblon - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2013/04/backpackers-adventure-in-tablas-romblon.html
El Nido - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2014/04/el-nido-island-hopping-tour-tour-and-b.html
El Nido - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2014/04/inland-tour-in-el-nido-palawan-biking.html
Puerto Princesa - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2014/04/sabang-beach-puerto-princesa-city.html
El Nido - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2014/04/corong-corong-beach-el-nido-palawan.html
Backpackers first trip - Puerto Galera -
Backpackers trip to Sagada -
Related youtube videos:
Falls, Tablas, Romblon - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voZ6YIbi944
Roadtrip in Tablas - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UxFiYsFXKY
Carabao Island - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHIShr2Frrs
Carabao Island Tours - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TP6oZNvEaE
