Treasure Mountain (Chill nights at Tanay)

“The Lord often has his prophets climb mountains to converse with Him. I always wondered why He did that, and now I know the answer: when we are on high, we can see everything else as small. Our glory and sadness lose their importance. Whatever we conquered or lost remains there below. From the heights of the mountain, you see how large the world is, and how wide its horizons.”
― Paulo Coelho, The Fifth Mountain

Wanting to go to the mountains without any hustle? Famous Treasure Mountain of Tanay, Rizal must be the answer. There is always a different kind of feeling whenever one has climbed a mountain. Maybe my favorite Novelist Paulo Coelho has the answer as written in his book The Fifth Mountain. This Year 2020 I wanted to go over the mountains as much as I can but with the limited schedule and budget I had. I may not be able go as often as i want it to be. Thankful that there are so-called no-hike mountains for those who wants to have a little time for this activity. Though, I am not favor of carving the mountains to make it a commercial or park-like environment, It is somehow giving the chance to other People to go over the mountains like Families with small kids, older members and those with members of PWDs. It is now like a Picnic grove in Tagaytay with lesser amenities. 

Our overnight stay started with running after the last trip of Sampaloc Market at Cogeo gate 2. They said that 6pm would be the last trip but due to flock of crowd who explore different mountains at Tanay, They had an additional trips but only until 6:30pm. Take note that if you don't know where exactly to go then you may opt to get off at Sampaloc market then take another trike to Treasure Mountain. It was still at peak of cold season when we get there. Though it is not a smooth sailing all throughout but later on, everything went well. I'll tell it later why we had some unfortunate moments. 
When our rented tent has been pitched, we didn't waste much time and had our dinner and some drinks to chill the night off. There's a good side and bad side of camping on a cold season. You can experience the best of the night by staying inside your tent and taking a glimpse of the night sky (A starry night) but will have to endure the pain of too much cold and strong winds. Up until Twilight while waiting for the sun to rise. Never thought that would be as crowded as it can be in the morning. Only to realize that it is a now a park-like establishment. It wasn't too astonishing as daylight comes. The Sun has been hiding through the clouds, will show itself for a while then hide again. Then, later on, some drizzle of rain pour down. But nothing can stop the crowd from taking photos to different spots and plunging into its new amenities for adrenaline junkies. Not far from the treasure mountain were different resorts built to choose from. There comes El PAtio Razon where they offer Kawa Bath and Hobbiton inspired rooms. You only have to make advance reservation for it has now become a big attraction in the province especially for non-hikers and social media savy. Without something to do, we leave the place and look for an overlooking restaurant nearby. Famous for bikers and passers-by We had our brunch at Cafe Katarina. They're serving silog meals for breakfast and typical pinoy dishes for lunch till dinner. They also serve freshly brewed coffee and hot chocolate that suits the windy atmosphere while chillin at the mountain ranges view. That's how our Treasure Mountain experience has ended. We have to wait for jeepneys to go back at Cogeo gate 2 and take a ride going home.

Tanay Rizal has been blessed for it has the most easiest access to Sierra Madre Mountain Ranges. It is a good idea to make some way for non-hikers to experience a mountain adventure without going through any difficulty in hiking. A kind of bond for a family who wants to get close with nature. One thing that disappoint is that, they should closely monitor those People at the Entrance. It is clearly stated that walk ins are allowed but People at the entrance or perhaps other people from different establishment nearby wants to take advantage of the situation. Upon entry, they will ask you if there is a reservation and if you have tent to pitch in. If you don't have any, they would say that it is now fully booked and there were no tents available. But they will offer a cottage which cost 5,000 and up. That cottage is located to next establishments in the area. However, the Tricycle driver told us to ask first at the office before giving in to the offer. And so, we proceed to the office and they only asked us one thing. If we have tent to pitch in, if we don't have one then we can rent to their office. See? People from the entrance has been taking advantage of the situation. That is the only miscomfort we had since we got there almost late night and leave as early as 7:30am. Nevertheless, it was a good try. I only hope that there would no another mountain to be carved or be open for commercial use. I still want those mountains to be in its natural form. A difficult place to go but worth of every sweat. It is a way preserving our World for a better future ahead of us. That someday, other generations will also be able to see the beauty we are seeing right now.