Short hiking trip in Bulacan


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June 6th 2009
Published: June 6th 2009
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the quaint waterfallsthe quaint waterfallsthe quaint waterfalls

Sherryl posing at the little waterfalls that we found
My friends and I decided to go to Licao-Licao in Bulacan last weekend. This is our second trip there. We discovered the place last year. It was a short hiking trip that ended in a quaint waterfalls. Its not too far from the city. Maybe just an hour away from Tungko but it looks pretty remote. Very very few people, saw four houses in the entire village and they dont have electricity. I wonder what its like to live without electricity. What would be the use of TV? The water was clean and the falls was breathtaking. We had to go down the mountain and trek the river for about 20 minutes to get to the falls. We had fun swimming and taking silly pictures. It did rain however so we decided to go home earlier than planned. But nevertheless, we really did have fun. On our way back home it started to rain hard. We found a little hut that had a porch and we went there for cover.

The house had a caretaker and said we could come in and change clothes for 5 pesos each. So we paid and agreed to stay there for a while while
Water demi-godWater demi-godWater demi-god

me doing my baywatch hunk pose
waiting for the rain to stop. When the rain stopped we decided to just rest for a while until the sun goes down so we wont get torched. Then, a drunk man came and approached us. He talked to Jun. I didnt understand what they were talking about. But we all had the feeling that he was asking for money. The man was stinking drunk. I felt like throwing him off the cliff. I imagined it several times. We gave him our leftover chips to shut him up and off we went. The jeepney that goes back to Tungko was way too slow on our way home. It was like riding the chariot of Sto Nino on fiesta. We got home early. About three o clock. I said I'd just take a nap but when I woke up it was already 2AM. I went to bed at 4PM. And my legs hurt for two days. Even though it was only a short hiking trip. Im sure the others were pretty exhausted too.

The other pictures I've posted in this entry (I had longer hair dyed brown) was taken last year in the same mountain but it was a lot
Maranat fallsMaranat fallsMaranat falls

we were the only ones there. Very few people know about this place
farther. 3 hour hike. I felt like I was in Lord of the Rings when Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas were looking for the dwarves. The scenery reminded me of that movie because we were on top of a mountain surrounded by more mountains. It always surprises me to see that some of the mountains would have a lone house on it. Maybe its for the loggers. We went into a cave but for some weird reason we dont have pictures in the cave. Maybe because the hike to the cave was so difficult. There was no trail. We asked for help from a man who lived there and he made the trail on our way up with his bolo. There was a trail before but the forest reclaimed it. There were these giant ants from hell that I think takes a fraction of your skin when they bite. Seriously, it was so painful. We scream when they bite. Those were the largest ants I ever saw in my life. Forests are dangerous. Found sea shells there. Weird. The ocean is like four hours away. The cave was cool though. Its like going down a well. I think we scared the
MeMeMe

this is a surprise shot. When i turned around Emmie took my picture and i didnt have time to pose thats why i look like that
bats when we went in so they all fluttered out of the cave and one hit my face. It was rather scary especially for the girls.

The local kids were playing with some small bright green snakes. They said it wasn't poisonous. But i wouldn't touch it even if it were not. We visited one of the locals. Her name was Beth and shes got three kids. She invited us to stay for the night but there were too many of us to fit into her small hut so we politely declined. However poor she was she offered us food. We couldn't say no to that. It was the best sweetened cassava I've ever had! Free food tend to give me that feeling. Beth's family lives on growing fruits and vegetables which they bring down the mountain to sell in the market.

I saw some boys carrying wood. illegal loggers. Although it makes me sad to see that, I cant blame them. Wood is the quickest way to make money and theyre very very poor. No electricity! They have oil lamps. If we ever decide to go back I'd buy Beth a solar lamp. It's only about 700
seriouslyseriouslyseriously

another surprise photo. i forgot to exhale coz it was so quick
pesos here. And clothes for her kids. Their clothes looked dirty. I don't think they use detergent, just water. We slept there for a night in our tents and it was soooooooo cold. Like 12 degrees Celcius. Thats cold by Filipino standard. At least they dont need air conditioning. We left the following day. There was a little store there that sold rice, canned goods and vegetables. I was amazed to see that the man was selling Halo-halo! Its a Filipino dessert thats mostly ice with milk and lots of sweetened ingredients like bananas, beans, coconut, purple yam, leche flan etc. The big chunk of ice that they shave to make halo-halo came from the nearest market at the foot of the mountain. Three hour hike. They store it in a styro container filled with rice husks. That store also serves as a restaurant for hikers. You can ask them to cook rice and vegetables for you. Canned sardines is a staple in rural areas. So thats what they cooked for us. A soup of sardines with egg noodles poured on a bowl or rice. Simple food tastes great when you know there's no other choice.


Additional photos below
Photos: 11, Displayed: 11


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exhaleexhale
exhale

see those ribs? my model friend told me the secret to great photos when showing skin. EXHALE
wackywacky
wacky

Manuel told us to do wacky poses and thats all we could come up with. i raised one leg.
On the way downOn the way down
On the way down

Hiking on the way down to the river
Rowena and EmmieRowena and Emmie
Rowena and Emmie

Taken last year on the other side of the mountain taken last year.
Almost thereAlmost there
Almost there

Almost at the top of Mt Maranat. Taken a year ago
BoulderBoulder
Boulder

Found this big rock on top of the mountain. Wonder how it got there. Been hiking for about an hour. Two more hours of walking before we get to the river


24th June 2009

hi to all
nice pics.
4th July 2009

ofcourse!
thanks, im glad you liked the pictures!
11th December 2009

QUESTIONS
Hello, i am currently looking for a place to hike and i found your page and reading through it, i think its a good place to go. Id like to know how to get there, if there are locals who can guide in tour, special safety measures, and other info that you think might be helpful. Thanks you! God bless!
16th January 2010

how to get there
Hi can you give me sketch on how to get there its nice place . Thank you .
17th January 2010

how to get there
ok. im not so sure if its still a good place to go to. it might be polluted by now coz people are starting to live in that area but you can still go. maybe you can let me know how it is. theres a jeepney in tungko going to licao licao. thats your stop and from there you walk up the mountain for like 20-30 minutes to get to the small waterfalls. the other falls is 3-4 hours away. theres a trike that can take you to the first falls but the one farther out. i cant give you directions. the best that i can give you is go to the very top and follow the trail to the right. youd come across some people and you can ask them where sitio ilas is and when you get to ilas ask the locals where the falls is
3rd November 2011

IT ng trip
sir, san banda to? minor hike lang po ba? pa-send naman po ng details especially yung IT. balak ko po kasing mag dayhike sa bulacan this sunday. thanks!
5th November 2011

@pao
see my previous comment. thats all i can give you
7th February 2012

Nice!
My project kse kme na gagawin, feature show about sa mga undiscover place sa Bulacan, then un narinig ko nga na may na falls sa san jose.Sana til now maganda pa rin ung place na to:)
14th January 2014
Maranat falls

Hmm. Sir tanung ko lang po kung saan yan? para po kasi hindi sa Maranat Falls yan. Thanks po.. Nagtatanung lang po..
15th January 2014
Maranat falls

thats maranat
from what i remember. there are 3 waterfalls there from what ive been told
15th January 2014
Maranat falls

Maranat Falls
Thank you sir. Baka di ko lang po Marecognize yung photo kung saang part ng Maranat po yan. As of now nsa 10 sa magkakasunod na falls ng Mt. Maranat ung naexplore ko. Add nyo po ako sa FB account ko sir. Edwin Ramos Sta Maria po. Founder ng Sagip Kagubatan. Thanks sir. God bless po and more adventures to come. :)

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