Mt. Tapulao Itinerary - Day Hike


Day Hike IT for Mt. Tapulao – Palauig , Zambales


June 21, 2008 - Saturday
8:00 PM – Meet up – Victory Liner Caloocan (713 Rizal Avenue Extension, Caloocan City)9:30 PM – Departure VL Caloocan to Iba (as chance passengers, thanks to Edward’s quick thinking ) – bus fare 337 (332 fare plus 5 pesos insurance)
11:30 PM – Arrival VL Olongapo terminal for a 15 minute break and for them to take in new passengers
11:45 PM – Departure from VL Olongapo
1:20 AM – Arrival – Victory Liner Terminal, Iba
1:20 AM – Restroom break, arrange for tricycle to Dampay Salaza in front of VL Iba terminal – fee is 130 pesos per head during the wee hours
1:35 AM-2:40 AM –Victory Liner Iba to Dampay Salaza Barangay Hall via trike
2:40 AM – Register (30 pesos each and no need to contact the barangay in advance), fix stuff, restroom break. Ate Beth – the staff from the Barangay Hall lives just beside it. If she’s not there, just let the dogs bark at you and she’ll come over. Hehehe. She’s really nice and will  provide you the cellphone number of the head of the tourism council of Dampay Salaza in case of emergencies.
3:30 AM – Start Trek
7:30 AM – Arrival – First water source. It’s just a small spring with a bamboo tube at the right side of the trail coming from the jump-off. Water here is cold and potable (drank it myself – but if you have a sensitive stomach, better not take any chances).
10:27 AM- Arrival at the new bunker – the very first bunker you will see from the jump-off. We were told that the people here came only April 2008. The old bunker where we slept before is still there. It’s nearer to the second water source.
11:00 AM – Start trek to summit. We used the trail in front of the new bunker.
11:58 AM – Arrival at Summit
12:30 PM – Descent from summit
1:10 PM – Arrival in new bunker.
1:15 PM – Start trek back to the barangay hall
2:41 PM – Arrival at first water source
5:54 PM – Arrival at Barangay Hall, rest, bath time
7:00 PM – Ride a trike to Chowking Iba (120 pesos each)
7:50 PM – Chowking Iba to VL Iba Zambales
8:00 PM – Arrival VL Iba , wait for buses back to MNL (Last trip to Pasay is at 11:30 PM)
9:00 PM - Departure VL Iba (as chance passengers – VL Iba to Caloocan terminal, 332 pesos each)


June 22, 2008 - 1:40 AM – Arrival – Victory Liner Caloocan – from Victory Liner Caloocan, there are already buses going to Cubao. Just cross the street fronting the terminal and walk your way to EDSA.

Trekking Times:
Jump-off to new bunker - (Edward - 6 hours; Richard 6 hours 30 min; Me - 7 hours)
Bunker to summit - 50 minutes
Summit to bunker – 40 minutes (my time)
Bunker to Barangay hall – (Edward – a little less than 4 hours; Richard – a little less than 5 hours; me – 5 hours)

Summary of Information :Victory Liner Caloocan – Address : 713 Rizal Avenue Extension, Caloocan CityLandline #361-1506 to 10
Edy Badar – President of Dampay Salaza tourism council
Cellphone Number - +63 9107757212


Summary of Fees :
Victory Liner Caloocan to Iba – 337 pesos
Victory Liner Iba to Caloocan – 332 pesos
Tricycle from Victory Liner Iba to Dampay Salaza barangay hall – 130 pesos/head (there were 3 of us)
Registration Fee in Barangay Hall – 30 pesos/head
Dampay Salaza barangay hall to Chowking Iba – 120 pesos/head
Chowking Iba to Victory Liner Caloocan – 30 pesos (good for three people)
Victory Liner Iba to Victory Liner Caloocan – 332 pesos/head
Suggested water supply - 3-4 liters. Bring 5 liters if you drink a lot and cannot drink water from the mountain
My favorite trail food - Mars dark chocolate - can really boost your energy and morale - tried and tested!

Other IT source : Pinoy Mountaineer
Lastly, please do check the weather before proceeding. We saw a huge landslide in the area, about one and a half hour from the bunker. Better safe the sorry...I often refer to these sites when checking the weather:
PAGASA  and Wunderground

Past adventures

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