madlum

Madlum River

Trekking, spelunking, cross the monkey bridge, dip into the cold water … these are the promises of Madlum river adventure in Bulacan. Since 2011, I bookmarked this activity and for whatever lame excuses, the plan only materialized last month.

I woke up late. Haha. I rushed to the terminal to catch the bus trip to Bulacan. (There are plenty of available itineraries online that you can refer to if you plan to do this activity.) After two hours, I was at the junction where I need to take a tricycle. After a bumpy tricycle ride, I was finally at the foot of the bridge crossing the Madlum river. That was the starting point of my activities for that day.

At the other end of the bridge, the barangay official in-charged in receiving visitors was waiting for me. I did not secure the necessary permits prior to coming but since the process is not yet well-defined and that I am all by myself, they allowed me to do my planned activities that day, promising to secure permit next time I come. It was weekday and thus less visitors were expected. I waited for a while for the official to get a tour guide because no one was available the hour that I arrived. When the guide finally arrived, off we started with our first activity: hike Mt. Gola.

Madlum adventure offers two mountains that you can hike. They are relatively for beginners, ranked 2/9 by mountaineers. If you have time and your physique can sustain, you can hike both mountains in one visit (3-4 hours). Please also note that guide fee for each mountain is separate. (P600 if you hike both, P300 each).

After Mt. Gola, we descend and took a short break at the river before we decided to assault the next mountain: Mt. Manalmon. This is less strenuous than the first mountain. On our way up, I asked the guide the story behind the name “Manalmon” and gladly he told me the tale.

view from the monolith of Mt. Manalmon

Based on folklore and old tales, once upon a time, there was a decent guy (Juan) who planned to marry a fine lady in the barrio (Maria). The family of Maria wished only nothing but a festive celebration for the wedding. Juan, being a humble farmer, committed to provide. He then immediately went up the mountain to hunt so he can offer enough meat for the wedding. While hunting, he struck down a white deer. It was later revealed to Juan that that deer was the forest fairy and Juan was cursed.

Maria was curious why it took Juan so long to return. So, she decided to look for him in the mountain. She found Juan buried (half body) in a huge rock. She appealed to the forest fairy. The fairy then told Maria that she can save Juan if she can produce 15 jars of freshly squeezed fruit juices. She then asked the help of townfolks to produce the required volume but on the day she promised to deliver, she only got 14.5 jars of fruit juices. She decided to fill up the last jar with water from the river.

The fairy found out and was enraged. Juan was then buried finally into the rock, for now what is said to be the monolith at the summit. Maria, devastated for her loss, asked the fairy to turn her into a bird so she can watch over her beloved Juan. The fairy granted her wish. Later on, that bird was called Juanco ( she makes a sound like “Juan ko, Juan ko” while hovering above the mountain). Such bird is said to be a native to the area, which is near the Candaba swamp.

Because of that tale, the mountain was called Manlalamon, which later on evolved to Manalmon.

The summit of two mountains offer view of the expanse of sierra madre ranges and nearby mountains. Not far, Mt. Arayat is also visible. ( The tour guide also told me one more interesting tale about Mt. Arayat and the Candaba swamps but I’ll save it for another article, this entry is getting very long already). The twin mountains are separated by the stretch of Madlum river which is a sight to behold when you are at the summit. I had great time spent at the monolith, taking 360 degrees video of the wonders my eyes can see. Breathtaking. Although I had a short panic moment when fear of heights get the better of me while attempting to reach the monolith, it did not spoil the fun. In fact, it added to the thrill. I would bring my friends next time and set up a tent at the summit. I think it is nice to spend overnight there.

After getting enough of the view, we descended and our next activity: spelunking. There are two caves, the Madlum cave and Bayukbok cave. But since the activity would take around 3 more hours, I decided to skip one cave and opted to just see the opening of Madlum cave. Madlum cave was once the refuge of revolutionaries, together with the caves in Biak na Bato. There are still formations rich in minerals and crystals. I was told that the other cave is richer with calcite formations and that spelunking is more challenging and exciting. I will reserve it for my next visit.

After that short activity inside Madlum cave, I have two more activities left: cross the monkey bridge at the river and dip into the water.

The day I was there, a group of Scout Rangers were setting up their course for their scheduled training the following day (I was told Rangers often conduct their exercizes there). Hiya took the better of me. I don’t want to lousily cross the monkey bridge while the Scout Rangers watch. Diyahe. Bright orange pa naman ang shorts ko that day. Baka may sumipol e di ko mapigilan lingunin. LOL. I rested shortly to relax my feet from trekking and afterwards, dipped into the water. After less than an hour, I tidied up and settled my dues. Luckily, there is an available tricycle that could bring me back to the main highway so before the night sets in, I was already on the bus back to Manila.

Had I come much earlier, I could have completed all the activities. The good thing though is that I have reason to go back.

NOTES:
1. If you go solo and would like to do all the activities, prepare a budget of P1500. Transpo is P700-P750. P800 for the fees (hiking and spelunking). Overnight rate is different. If you come in group, you can save on transpo because you can split the trike fare among yourselves. (P480 to and fro. This is special trip and thus seldom you’ll find other commuters whom you can share the trip with). You can also share the guide fee. (If you come in a group of 4, estimated budget is P700)

2. To avoid similar accident as reported a year ago (about a group of students drowned in the river), let us support the local tourism office to establish the process of securing permits a week before your target date of visit. This way, visitors are documented and local officials can prepare necessary arrangements in advance. For my case though, I contacted them a day before my visit. I went solo and so they accommodated me. The hassle was that, no tour guide was available because I did not provide enough time for them to prepare. Contact Boy Florencio (Municipal Tourism Officer) at rrboyflorencio@yahoo.com and 09053726148.

3. The site is part of Biak-na-Bato National Park under Pres. Proc. No. 401 of April 1989. This huge forested area covers the municipalities of San Miguel and Dona Remedios Trinidad in Bulacan. Let us help protect and preserve natural resources and its historical value.  Let us help the organizers improve their process by sharing few inputs you may have. Let us support local tourism, this provides livelihood to our friends in areas like this where source of income can be difficult.