Minalungao National Park has been an instant nature-celebrity in social media recently. The turquoise-green water of Penaranda river walled by a 16 meter tall limestone circulating around the net has become famous. No wonder a lot of people are wanting to see this place. Let me share to you how to go to Minalungao National Park and other frequently asked questions.
HOW TO GET THERE (via Public Transpo)
The park is in Nueva Ecija, 2-3 hours away from Manila. To avoid heavy traffic build up, it is better to leave early in the morning.
From Cubao/Pasay, take a 5 Star or ES Transport Bus bound to Gapan/Cabanatuan. Alight at Gapan Nueva Ecija. Fare is P150 – P200, Travel time is around 2-3 hours.
From Gapan, ride a jeepney going to General Tinio (not sure about the fare, maybe around 30-50 pesos, one way). Then from General Tinio take a tricycle going to Minalungao National Park. Fare is P50 – P150/pax. Travel time is around 45 minutes to an hour.
If you want to have a hassle free trip, you can rent a tricycle from Gapan which will take you directly to Minalungao. Fare is P500 – P700 (depends on how good is your bidding “tawad” power is). Travel time is around 1-1.5 hours and the tricycle will be waiting for you on your way back to Gapan.
PARK RATES AND FEES
Entrance
Fee
P50/pax
Tricycle/Car
Entrance Fee
P30
Comfort/Shower
Rooms
P10/use
Cottage
P300
Bamboo Raft
P300 – P800
TIPS
Bring your own food and water.
Good for a day trip or side trip.
Not advisable to visit during rainy season as the road gets muddy and the water level is unpredictable and the current is strong.
Visit the park during weekdays to avoid heavy crowd.
SUMMARY OF EXPENSES (divided into 3 persons)
Bus
Fare (Back and Forth)
P300
Tricycle Fare
(two way)
P700 ( P233
each)
Breakfast
P120
Cottage
P300 ( P100
each)
Comfort/Shower
Room
P150 ( P50
each)
Guide
(optional)
P150 ( P50
each)
Total
P823
Please note that fares and rates may change without prior notice. Fares and rates are as of April 2016.
The water doesn’t look exactly like this. I don’t know what’s wrong with my phone, but this is the only picture that I have covering the whole river
“Leave nothing but footprints; Take nothing but pictures; Kill nothing but time”
The jade-like water sandwiched by a 16 meter tall limestone and rock formations is one of the famous scenic view in Minalungao National Park. Located in the Municipality of General Tinio (known as Papaya for the locals) Nueva Ecija, this 2,018 hectares park is a national treasure and said to be as one of the hardly remaining natural environments in the Philippines. This was declared as a National Park and protected area on 1967 by Republic Act No. 5100.
This is what the water really looks like
It was one boring day while I was scrolling through my Facebook feed when I saw the picture of Peñaranda River which immediately caught my attention. I then messaged my friends and we all agreed to visit Minalungao after our Hong Kong trip. We chose to go there on a weekday to avoid the crowd but there were already quite a lot of people. I can’t imagine how does the park look like on a weekend, might be as crowded as EDSA, aw! So I suggest that you plan your visit on a weekday if you want to enjoy and experience serenity (hopefully) with mother nature.
We wanted to be there as early as possible and to avoid heavy traffic so we depart from Cubao on a 5-star Bus bound for Gapan/Cabanatuan at around 5:00 AM. We arrived in Gapan at around 8:00 AM. Our plan was to take a jeep going to General Tinio and tricycle to Minalungao or rent a tricycle from Gapan to Minalungao, whichever comes first. Right after we stepped off the bus a tricycle driver offered to take us directly to Minalungao for 400 pesos. It was quite expensive so we declined, then he lowered it to 350. We thought that it was for a two-way trip so we agreed. We made a mistake when we didn’t ask if it’s for a two-way or one-way trip and yes! it was 350 one-way which obviously makes it 700 pesos for a two-way ride.
It was all our first time going to this part of Nueva Ecija and we were quite excited. Adventure is what we are looking for but little did we know that a very unexpected adventure awaits us on our way back home, I’ll tell you more about it later.
We reached the park at around 10:00 AM. It’s quite far and some roads are steep and bumpy and some parts are under construction. Going to the park on a rainy season is not a good idea as the road gets surely muddy and water current in the river might be too strong so it’s kinda dangerous for you to swim.
There were already a lot of people when we came. The park has a parking area, one eatery, comfort and shower rooms with a P10 fee per use. Bamboo rafts are also available for rent if you want to have picnic in the middle of the river (this one’s good for a group of friends or family) and the rental fee ranges from P300 to P800.
The dry part of the river which serves as a parking area
Bamboo rafts available for renting. Life jackets are also provided (i think if you only request for it)
A kid named Christopher offered to guide us so as first-timers, we all agreed to have him as our tour guide. He brought us to different picture-perfect spots. He also led us to the cave which is not really an adventure-like. The guides don’t have a specific rate, so we gave him P150.
The steel hanging bridge. The other end of the bridge leads to what they call “1000 Steps”. If you are up for hiking and has a reliable knee, you can climb up the hill with 1000 steps. There’s a big cross on top of the hill and you can make a wish.
Bamboo bridge made for an easy passage
Inside the cave which is sadly ruined and vandalized.
So after all the photo ops and sight seeing….it’s swimming time! yey! We rented a cottage just right beside the river, we paid P300. The scorching heat of the sun made us more excited and eager to plunge in the water. Now this is where first of the unexpected adventure happened. My partner put his 9-day old iPhone 6s+ in a zip-lock bag and brought it with him in the water. He was not comfortable leaving it in the cottage unattended due to a lot of people are also occupying the cottage just right beside us. After around 30 minutes of enjoying in the water he noticed that his 9-day old phone was also swimming inside the zip-lock bag! The water came inside the zip-lock bag! We all don’t know how because it was zipped twice plus another lock outside, there were no holes either. We tried to revive the phone put it into a plastic of dry uncooked rice and after a couple of hours it still won’t turn on :(. Good thing the phone is insured so we’re just now waiting for a replacement.
Keep swimming! keep swimming!
It was around 3:00 PM when we head back home. This is where the second unexpected adventure took place. While on the road, a heavy rain suddenly poured and yet the tricycle driver didn’t pull over so we can take cover or maybe he was thinking that the rain would stop so we ended up soaking wet! Third unexpected adventure: in the middle of nowhere with zero visibility the tricycle ran out of gas. We were on the road, under a heavy rain soaking wet and shivering. I was scared because the lightning could hit us any moment on the road, good thing the driver pushed the tricycle and we hid under a tree. He managed to get a gasoline by the help of his fellow tricycle driver but this time the engine won’t start. No matter how hard he tried it just wont turn on. We waited for an hour until a help came. 🙁 We had no choice but to endure the cold in the bus. It was a 2 hour trip back to Manila and we were all soaking wet inside an air-conditioned bus! But nevertheless we were still thankful that we were able to go home safely (except for the iphone).
One last pahabol picture! ^_^
So there you have it! That’s the story behind the unexpected Minalungao adventure. Overall, our Minalungao National Park trip was indeed fun and full of adventures, very unforgettable.
