Bulacan - Mt. Manalmon Climb - San Miguel Bulacan

Mt. Manalmon

Mt. Manalmon is located in the town of San Miguel, province of Bulacan. Not only it is known for its historical background as part of the Biak-na-Bato National Park, it has always been a favorite destination of outdoor enthusiasts seeking for a thrilling experience.

As part of the Sierra Madre Mountain Range, this hidden paradise offers a variety of outdoor activities such as swimming at the Madlum River, crossing the Monkey Bridge, river rafting, spelunking, diving, rappelling, rock climbing, and more! This place is a haven for “Adventuristas” like us.

Prayer before we start to hike

We arrived at Sitio Madlum, Brgy. Sibul community where we had our group registered and availed a guide. We rested for a while and started to trek after settling all the necessary registration and guide fees.

@ Sitio Madlum Community

Start of the trek

We first pass through the Madlum cave (also called Manalmon cave), our guide told us that scenes from GMA 7's Mulawin show was shot here. Wow! showbiz si kuya… Hehehe!!! From here you will need to go down on massive rock formations then to an area that resembles a beach - with a river bank, sand and rocks. What an awesome sight! Then the rest of the trail would require crossing or passing through the Madlum River and hiking some slopes.

inside Madlum Cave

"The Beach"

River crossing

The trek going up took us a little less than 2 hours. It is quite long considering the trail is only 2 kilometers. Hahaha!!! The picture taking along the way took a toll on our time as we want to savor the beautiful environs that this mountain offers.

The Sosyal Klaymers

The campsite is spacious enough to accommodate big groups. Trees are also abundant so it’s not a problem whether you arrive any time of the day. There is also a perfect spot for you to set up a hammock for chillin’ or relaxing while enjoying the cool breeze of the air.

Upon reaching the campsite, we set aside our backpacks and climbed further to the summit. A spectacular view on the summit includes the startling Mt. Arayat on one side which offers a dramatic scene brought about by the sunset coupled with great cloud formations. Madlum river is also visible and the nearby Mt. Gola on another side.

@ the summit

Mt. Arayat sunset

Group pic at the summit

Mt. Gola

Socials is my favorite part of any climb. It’s where everyone loosens up and mingles with each other. We drank, played games, talked about life experiences and shared a little something about ourselves. Every climb is different from the other, but the enjoyment and blissful experiences of mountaineering are priceless, these are the things we could never get anywhere else.

At past 12 midnight we called it a night and proceeded to our respective tents.

@ Socials

Jose Cuervo!

drunk? hmmm... not yet...

On the next day, we prepared breakfast and feasted on danngit, itlog na pula, kamatis, sinangag and some left overs from the previous night's dinner. After which we had quick photo ops in the summit and at the campsite before we decided to break camp and get ready for our decend.

sunrise at the summit

Mt. arayat as my background

Breakfast... Sarap!

last group pic at the campsite

We opted to take the same trail we took on our way up, so we could take a dip in the part of the Madlum river with massive rock formations that we saw yesterday. I will make a separate post on this later.

going down

We continued the trek after an hour or so of swimming in the cool waters of the river. Upon reaching the jump-off point, we had our lunch before we proceed to our next activity - Spelunking Bayubok Cave.

From trekking up Mt. Manalmon, to river crossing and swimming, to a laid back raft ride, to spelunking at Bayukbok Cave and crossing the monkey bridge, and more. It was one heck of a thrilling and breathtaking adventure.

QUICK INFO
MT. MANALMON
San Miguel, Bulacan
Major jump-off: Sitio Madlum, Brgy. Sibul, San Miguel
LLA: 15°15.11'N; 121°1.22' E; 196 MASL
Days required / Hours to summit: Half-day / 1 hour
Specs: Minor climb, Difficulty 2/9, Trail class 1-2
Source: http://pinoymountaineer.com

PROPOSED ITINERARY
Day 1
7:00 From Pasay; take Cabanatuan-bound bus
9:30 ETA Brgy. Kamias, San Miguel; take tricycle to jump-off
10:00 Arrive at jump-off; register and get guides at community
10:30 Lunch
11:00 Start trek
01:30 ETA summit of Mt. Manalmon; take pictures
03:30 Back at camp site
05:00 Cook for dinner
06:00 Dinner
07:00 Socials

Day 2
07:00 Wake up call
07:30 Cook for breakfast
08:30 Breakfast
09:00 Visit Madlum and Bayukbok Caves / Swim at Madlum river
11:00 Back to camp site
12:00 Back at jump-off; proceed back to Brgy. Kamias
12:30 Take bus back to Manila

Note: As you can see, we didn't follow our proposed IT. Hahaha! *wink*

This 2-day adventure happened last January 22-23, 2011 at San Miguel Bulacan. Here is a series of posts on this one of a kind mountaineering experience with my group, "The Sosyal Klaymers". Mt. Manalmon Climb | Mt. Manalmon - How To Get There, Travel Expenses, Climbing Fees and Contact Details | Madlum River Swimming | Traversing through the Monkey Bridge | Spelunking at Bayukbok Cave Thanks to Ajel, Benj, Julius and Mitch for sharing some of the photos I used in this post.

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