We were dead set on summiting Mount Daraitan on this beautiful sunny day. However, while fueling up with a hot bowl of lomi at Barangay Daraitan, a guide from the tourism office suggested Mt. Mamara. "The hike is easier, but the view is equally spectacular as in Daraitan," he told us in Tagalog. While I was silently considering his advice, I waited for my friends Christine and Ferdz's decision if we would take a vote on what mountain to day-hike. There was silence—except for the sound of our slurping—for a few seconds before Christine made a final decision for our group: "Mt. Mamara it is then."
Day Hike and Dip at Mt. Mamara and Tinipak River
Ferdz agreed instantly. I said yes immediately. I guess we were all up for an easier day hike that day.
A Chill Hike Atop Mt. Mamara
I had never been to Mt. Daraitan—the slightly taller brother of Mamara—and would have welcomed the chance to scale it that day. But the option to enjoy a more relaxed hike presented itself and we grabbed it, as we all just wanted a dose of the great outdoors. Plus, what I was looking forward to the most was the after-hike dip at the Tinipak River.
According to our guide, they plotted the trail to Mamara and opened it to visitors as an alternative hiking destination whenever Daraitan reaches its daily carrying capacity of three hundred hikers per day.
Which is a good thing if you ask me. Having more than one option will thinly spread out climbers and significantly lessen the human footprint on the hiking trails.
We started at a brisk pace under the glow of the nine o'clock morning sun along a rocky dry riverbed leading to a couple of stream crossings. After half an hour, we finally reached the foot of the mountain and started our assault on the steep trail. While it was an exhausting path, our guide assured us it wouldn't take a couple of hours to get to the top and that we should proceed in a more relaxed manner.
Decreasing our speed, we found more time to marvel at the beautiful nature enveloping Mamara. The assorted foliage revealed a variety of flowers, plants, trees, and insects. This came as no surprise, as the peaks here—including Daraitan and Mamara—signal the start of the massive Sierra Madre mountain range, where some of the country's best flora and fauna can be found.
A Mountain Sitting on Three Provinces
Our guide also pointed out a fascinating fact to us. Mt. Mamara essentially sits between three provinces. "Where we started is in Daraitan, Tanay, Rizal. Where we are now is in Siniloan, Laguna. And the river you will cross later is already General Nakar, Quezon."
So if my phone’s GPS could talk, it would voice out profound confusion as to where we were at that exact moment. After more hurried and big steps going up, we finally reached the peak of Mt. Mamara—in just under two hours.
Drenched in sweat, I immediately felt the cool winds almost lulling me to sleep. Our guide once again told us another cool piece of trivia. "We call it Mamara as a shortened term for Mara-mara, which in the local dialect translates to ‘windy,’" he told us in Tagalog.
True indeed, feeling the breeze as I drank my water became a wonderful feeling. "This is exactly why I had to wake up at four in the morning," I told myself. As we rested and stared at the magnificent view of the Tinipak River threading a patch of green toward the Sierra Madre mountain range, the three of us congratulated each other for finally pushing through with this day-hike plan—although we were missing our fourth member: Celine.
There was a protruding slab of edgy rock formations by the edge of the peak, which our guide pointed out to us as the best spot to take a photograph. After snapping some pictures, we stayed at the peak for about an hour before deciding to head down.
Taking a Dip at Tinipak River
It took us a much faster time going down, as we opted to traverse the other section of Mamara to exit directly on the side of Tinipak River. After only an hour, we were already hopping from one giant boulder to the next, with the blue-green waters of the river streaming rapidly below our feet.
We settled on the riverbed fronting the shallow part of Tinipak, intentionally staying a couple of hundred meters away from a prenuptial photoshoot happening along the banks. The cool waters of the Tinipak River were exactly what the nature doctors ordered, as my cramping legs found absolute relaxation beneath the surface.
An hour of just dipping my body soothed my aging muscles and body joints. By the time we packed up and left the river, I felt re-energized in a way that only the great outdoors can do to my body. As we walked away, enjoying the natural scenery, I promised myself I would find time for more day hikes such as this in the future.
