Tinipak River : The Hidden Paradise of Tanay, Rizal
Just 4 hours away from Manila, you will have an adrenaline filled weekend by visiting Tinipak River which is located in between the province of Daraitan Tanay, Rizal and General Nakar Quezon.
The crystal clear water attracted me when I saw the photos of my friends who went here last year, and surprisingly hindi ako nabigo bes! The place is very breathtaking! The beautiful rock formations of naturally sculptured marble and the view of Sierra Madre Mountain ranges will give you a serene getaway from the busy life of the city. Plus, you will be able to visit the underground Tinipak Cave too while on the way to the main attraction of Tinipak River!
Bes kung problema ang budget, I'm telling you sulit na sulit ka dito. Sa halangang 600 pesos paraiso na !
How to Get there:
Estimated time: 4 hours to drop off which is the barangay hall.
It may sounds like ang tagal, but I swear you wouldn't feel it kasi the view during the whole trip is beautiful.
Option 1: Private car
I-waze mo na lang bes! I tried using waze to locate it and yes tama ung tinuturo ni waze papunta at pauwi bongga diba :)
Note: The road going to Brgy. Daraitan is rough and muddy especially during rain season. There is parking available near the Barangay Hall, but it is very limited.
Option 2: Public transporation
1.From Starmall in shaw boulevard, ride a van going to Tanay, Rizal. Go down at Tanay Public Market.
Fare: 70 pesos; Time: 2-2.5 hrs
If you will be coming from Ortigas/Cainta/Taytay, ride a jeepney going to Tanay,Rizal. Go down at Tanay Public Market.
Fare: 45 pesos; Time: 1-1.5 hrs.
2. From Tanay Public Market almost all the tricycle there can take you to Brgy. Daraitan. Fare: 500/ trip. Maximum passenger: 4. They will not allow more than the maximum for safety purposes. Also don't try to haggle with the price because the trip is long and will consume a lot of fuel plus ung pagod ni manong bes bako-bako pa ung daan kasi nga pabundok kayo diba :)
Tip: Travel by group of atleast 4! Kasi bes pag magisa ka lang 500 pa rin babayaran mo, plus mas madami mas masaya!
3. Go down at the junction of Brgy. Daraitan, from there you will need to cross a wooden bridge to get to the other side of the river.
Fact: There are Nipa huts in these area where you can rent for overnight.The locals say that during summer season, many people come here for camping.
4. After crossing the river, you have two options:
If you want to warm up for your trek/hike : start walking, it will take 15-20 mins to reach the barangay hall.
For convenience: ride a tricycle going to barangay hall. fare: 15/ person.
5. Registration at the barangay hall, you will pay the environmental fee for Tanay : 50 pesos and your group will be assigned to a local guide: 500/ group. Whether you will climb Mt. Daraitan or just go straight to Tinipak River the fee is the same . If you will go to Tinipak Cave, you need to rent a headlight : 30/each because the underground cave is pitch black.
Tip:
-If you will choose to hike Mt. Daraitan, then you should be here at around 2 AM for you to witness the sea of clouds in the summit.
- Never go without a local guide!
-If you have a headlight at home, dalhin mo na bes sayang 30 pang icecream din yun eh .
Y The adventure starts here!!!
If you want to reach the summit of Mt. Daraitan turn left from baranagay hall, it will take 4 hours to reach the summit and another four hours going down. Our group chose to turn right, which is the trek that will go directly to Tinipak river. We wanted to climb Mt. Daraitan but because it was raining our guide advised otherwise. Of course for safety purposes and to get a better view when you reach the summit.
The trek going to the main attraction of Tinipak river will take 1-1.5 hrs from the barangay hall.
It is somehow challenging because it requires river crossing, wooden bridge crossing and rock climbing. It's actually a good trek for a newbie because although it's short, it's still full of different activities.
It is somehow challenging because it requires river crossing, wooden bridge crossing and rock climbing. It's actually a good trek for a newbie because although it's short, it's still full of different activities.
Tip: You could bring your hiking gloves and wear rubber shoes instead of sandals because the rocks here are very sharp. Always be careful especially when stepping from one stone to another.
The mode of transportation of people here is usually by horse, so the animal lover in me really enjoyed seeing pretty horses the whole trek.
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| Look at these cutie patootie! Wanna take them home! |
Before you reach the main part of the river, you will pass by another registration. You will pay an environmental fee of 20 pesos/each because some of the parts of Tinipak river belongs to Quezon Province. This is also the perfect spot to take a break and to fuel up. You should try Tinipak's famous Lomi for only 35 pesos! I asked the cook what is their secret recipe for this lomi, kasi it really taste different from all the lomi's I had before. And the cook answered me this : 'pagmamahal po ma'am' ( It's love Ma'am) . Ay ganun talaga teh? Umakyat po ako ng bundok para lumayo sa feb-big feels sa city , hay di bale masarap naman.
Note: you should really try this famous lomi! 10/10 sa sarap!
Another 15 mins trek and we're finally here!
Hello Tinipak River! You will see in these photos that the water here is crystal clear as in malinaw pa sa kung anong meron sa inyong dalaw !
And the white rock formations , para kan nasa paraiso bes!
Everything is so picturesque!
As much as I want to go to the other side of the river where the best part of white rock formation are, it is not allowed because the current of water there is too strong. Always
We just chilled here for about an hour. Taking photos, eating,swimming, just relaxing, enjoying how beautiful the creation of God is.
Note: Listen to your guide when they say that it's not allowed to swim in some certain areas.
After enjoying the beauty of Tinipak River, we went to our side trip destination which is the Tinipak Cave.
It's an underground cave located 10 mins away from the main part of Tinipak River. Just for 5 pesos entrance fee ( like really diba ang mura), you will be able to see live limestones formations that shines like glitters under sunlight. The caving will take around 15-20 minutes and at the end is a basin like area with flowing water from Tinipak river where you could take a dip. The water here is very cold, like parang feelings sayo ng crush mo haha. So get ready for the tempreature! Don' be afraid to try swimming here even if it's dark, the water is just shallow. I'm just 5' and hanggang bewang ko lang sya.
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| Entrance of the cave |
Live lime stone formations
Note: Never touch the limestone formations! Our skin is naturally acidic which will cause these lovely stones to die and turn grey.
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| River crossing inside the cave |
Note: Never touch the limestone formations! Our skin is naturally acidic which will cause these lovely stones to die and turn grey.
After caving, we went back to swim in the river.
We left for trekking back to the barangay hall at around 4:30 PM. It will take another hour to go back where you could take a bath for free. They have good water source and well maintained restroom. The houses nearby also offers bathrooms for minimal charging.
At the end of the day, we are very tired. I ended up sleeping the whole trip from Tanay to Cainta haha! But, it's definitely worth it! The paradise of Tinipak will always be one of my favorites!
Will definitely go back to climb Mt. Daraitan soon!
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 Thank you very much for reading my first blog post ever! Would love to hear feedback from you :) |
