Rizal: Day Hike at Mount Sembrano

Mount Sembrano Craggy Trail

The passion for hiking can still draw people together across differences of whatever kind. And in this case, people of different department - audit, accounting, purhasing and tax. For all our differences, hiking provides us a common thrill of adventure, a flash of wildness that binds us together.

Nothing But Grass

One Sunday morning, a group of office folks decided to climb Mount Sembrano in Pililla, Rizal. A couple of them have climbed it before while the rest of us will be climbing it for the first time. It was just a day hike so we packed light.

Town View at the Top

After a three hour drive from Manila, we parked at the Barangay Hall of Malaya and register. A minimum token amount served as our registration fee.

Shady Trail

Hiking Mount Sembrano is a two-part series. The first part will be an easy trek from the jump-off point to the Manggahan. In this part of the trek, you will pass by communities on a paved road that becomes scarce as you continue to hike up.

Manggahan Hut

And in a steady phase, you will reach Manggahan in a little less than an hour. Manggahan serves as a pit stop of the hike. in here, you can either pitch a tent or spread your picnic pads. On some days, fresh coconut juice are sold for around twenty bucks. Manggahan also serves as a campsite to those who will stay overnight.

Sembrano Summit

On summer days, Sembrano tends to be very hot speacially on the summit because it is fully exposed to the sun sans any trees for your cover. The upside however is that the trail up there will be dry, thus, less slippery and easier to climb.

Mini Falls and Swimming Area

Come rainy weather, the trail to the summit will be a perilous one because there are parts there that have 45 degrees angle amidst sharp rocks and steep ravines. The upside however is that it will be much cooler at the summit.

Kabayo Falls

Also, one thing good about this Mountain is the presence of a small but refreshing falls just five minutes from Manggahan. Some calls this Manggahan Falls because, well it's located in Manggahan Campsite while some refers to this as Kabayo Falls. I just do not know if it is named after a horse 'coz I see no horse in there. These series of Falls serve as the water source for the campsite and the bathing area for the weary-soled travelers.

Motortrade Hikers

Mount Sembrano is a fun climb -made more fun with the people you go up with. This is my first climb with people at my work place and this will definitely be not our last. Until the next climb!