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Is Tanay the next Tagaytay?

Barbie Salvador-Muhlach

<p>TANAY -- As a lifestyle writer, I am conflicted in creating this piece on Tanay, Rizal. </p><p>On one hand, I feel like it is my duty to let the world know about this little known gem just east of Metro Manila because perhaps, spreading the word can help improve and bring in money to the local tourism there. On the other hand, I grapple with the idea that in doing so, I am betraying the very charm that got me there in the first place: its relative anonymity. </p><p>I first heard of Tanay as a 10-year-old from Marikina City. I got to visit it one time for a field trip to its only popular spot then, Daranak Falls. After that, it had ceased to exist in my world. No one I knew was from Tanay or would dare drive past Masinag to go up there. There was just no reason to revisit the place. </p><p>It was not until two decades later, in my quest to reconnect with nature, that I was reminded that hey, it’s still up there. No thanks to the daunting SLEX traffic and the threats of Taal Volcano this 2020, Tagaytay as my usual go-to destination just didn’t seem as appealing as it used to.</p><p>So up to Tanay I went, past any landmark I knew. And there I met Tagaytay. Sort of. It was Tagaytay from 15 years ago, before Ayala or Robinsons or SM’s Sky Ranch. Yes, definitely before Starbucks and Nuvali and the horrendous traffic. Tanay is quiet, serene, bare and beautiful. It is everything that I liked and maybe also disliked about Tagayay before it was overdeveloped. </p><p>There are two routes to Tanay: via Antipolo and Cainta or via Cogeo. I chose to go up via Antipolo because I was more familiar with this area. And also because I did a side trip, 30 minutes further south to the wind farm in the town of Pililia. </p><div class="media-content"><div class="slider-for"><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/news/03/08/tanay1.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/news/03/08/tanay2.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/news/03/08/tanay3.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/news/03/08/tanay4.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/news/03/08/tanay5.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/news/03/08/tanay6.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/news/03/08/tanay7.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/news/03/08/tanay8.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/news/03/08/tanay9.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/news/03/08/tanay10.jpg"/></div></div><div class="slider-desc"><div class="item-desc"><div><cite>Barbie Salvador-Muhlach</cite></div></div><div class="item-desc"><div><cite>Barbie Salvador-Muhlach</cite></div></div><div class="item-desc"><div><cite>Barbie Salvador-Muhlach</cite></div></div><div class="item-desc"><div><cite>Barbie Salvador-Muhlach</cite></div></div><div class="item-desc"><div><cite>Barbie Salvador-Muhlach</cite></div></div><div class="item-desc"><div><cite>Barbie Salvador-Muhlach</cite></div></div><div class="item-desc"><div><cite>Barbie Salvador-Muhlach</cite></div></div><div class="item-desc"><div><cite>Barbie Salvador-Muhlach</cite></div></div><div class="item-desc"><div><cite>Barbie Salvador-Muhlach</cite></div></div><div class="item-desc"><div><cite>Barbie Salvador-Muhlach</cite></div></div></div></div><p>Pililia, by the way, is also very interesting as it offers a panoramic picture of the windmills to one side, and an overlooking view of the Laguna Bay on the other. If you are up for a trip anyway, you should consider visiting it as well. </p><p>From Pililia, I drove back to the highway, this time towards the foot of the Sierra Madre mountain ridge. The Sierra Madre mountains, I have learned, form the eastern backbone of Luzon island from up north in Cagayan, down to Quezon. Like in any trip, it’s always about the journey and not the destination. And the surprisingly wide roads and gorgeous sceneries made the trip there absolutely worth it. </p><p>Taking the Sampaloc Road to get to Marikina-Infanta Highway, my next stop after Pililia was Café Katerina. </p><p>The coffee shop is frequently visited, thanks to the beautiful views it offers, including the Pililia’s wind mills some 35 kilometers away. It offers the usual Filipino &quot;silog: meals, grilled food and even the traditional Tagaytay dish, bulalo. And thanks to its charm and absence of nearby competition, one would easily look past the lack of quality of food and service here. I support it nonetheless to help the locals, in hopes it will one day get better. Besides, their coffee is good. </p><p>Back on the road, this time I made my way towards the reason for my trip: Treasure Mountain, an educational campsite at the heart of Tanay. It’s quite a bumpy drive going up there but a short one. </p><p>Even shorter and easier was the trek up its famed view point. And there, I was surprised to find Baguio and Sagada and Tagaytay and Pulag. Adventurous souls who had gone there before me were right. The Sierra Madre’s majestic views will get you first and then the quiet. </p><p>It offered camping areas and basic mountain lodging, along with ATV rentals and rope climbing activities. But its real main offering, methinks, is the beauty in nothingness. I went there in search of a refuge and an avenue to reconnect with nature. And I found it. </p><p>After taking some mandatory pictures, I stood there with the vast void before me for what seemed like forever. It’s hard to imagine now how easy it was to break free from the metropolis and hideaway in the middle of the mountain and in the thick of the Tanay’s forest. </p><p>And the best part for any lazy bone is that it requires very minimal hiking. It’s friendly for families with kids and even seniors. And if you dare wake up early or perhaps camp overnight, you will be treated to a surreal view of a sea of clouds. </p><p>But even for late-riser, day-trippers, Treasure Mountain is exactly that: a gem of a destination sitting right at Metro Manila’s backyard. </p><p>The question now is when you find yourself a treasure, should you keep it locked away, or shine a spotlight on it? I guess in making this article, I have made my choice. My only wish is that local government and tourists would keep it that way. </p>

<p>I feel like it is my duty to let the world know about this little known gem just east of Metro Manila because perhaps, spreading the word can help improve and bring in money to the local tourism there. </p>

I feel like it is my duty to let the world know about this little known gem just east of Metro Manila because perhaps, spreading the word can help improve and bring in money to the local tourism there.