Rizal

                Daranak is owned by the provincial government of Rizal and there is a minimal fee of PhP20 per person to enter, and compared with the Hinulugang Taktak in Antipolo is a little bit cleaner. During the rainy season, these two falls gush ebullient cascades of water which is made quite mesmerizing by the fact that these beautiful waterfalls are so close to Manila! Batlag Falls (Entrance fee- PhP50 per person), which is further up from Daranak and is privately owned by the Felix Family (and reportedly Philippine boxer Manny Pacquiao offered to buy the entire estate for PhP90 Million- the family refused) is even better and even cleaner than Daranak. Batlag Falls is actually composed by two waterfalls each looking like a bridal veil. Both falls were refreshing and beautiful although it is constantly being threatened by the stupidity of some of its visitors – since picnicking is allowed, some visitors are insensitive and dumb enough to leave some of their trash around. Good thing the trash situation at these waterfalls is manageable and hopefully it will not reach alarming levels. At Batlag Falls we even saw someone etched their name on one of the stones! I wish that the local government of Rizal and the town of Tanay would do something to preserve the beauty of these places – which incidentally are used frequently by Filipino filmmakers to shoot some of its fight scenes. For fans of Philippine Cinema, are you familiar with the requisite scene where our hero jumps off from the top of the waterfall? You guessed it right, it was all filmed here. There are some small huts available for rent, but the main falls area of Daranak itself closes at 5PM. In Taytay, there is a smaller and apparently harder to reach waterfall, the Tres Escalon Waterfalls as well as the Maharlika Falls.

              For mountaineers or just fans of beautiful rock formations, one is stunned by the numerous colossal rock formations of Mount Masungi covering hundreds of hectares. In some areas, at certain times of the year, with the right angle of sunlight and viewed from the top, the formations looked like tall spires of orangey-colored rocks that look like a fusion of the limestone karsts of Palawan and the vermillion colored rocks of the Grand Canyon of the United States of America. At the very least, the formations are an impressive sight to behold that seemingly go on for miles with its spiky tops poking through its thick vegetation. The Masungi Park and the Daraetan River of Tanay which are both located at the Sierra Madre Mountain Ranges are a hiker’s paradise with their countless caves (check out the newly-opened Sungib Cave with an apparently navigable river inside) and natural springs. The Daraetan River, awarded as one of the cleanest rivers in the Philippines and where Tanay River originates, has splendid naturally sculptured marble formations that look like they have been chiseled or blasted by a machine (sometimes known as Tinipak na Bato – Chiseled Rock) – a favored place for fans of 4×4 drive and trekkers.