After a blissful walk with the husband on our way, capturing the mesmerizing beauty of nature, we finally arrived at the destination, the Hindang Nature Park.
We were welcomed by some cute and fluffy looking wild monkeys that put me on defense mode eventhough there was no clear threat. They were there just chillin' like a villain. Haha!
I was jumpy on the thought that these monkeys might grab my things or they could bit me. The staff that noticed my reaction told us that they are generally good monkeys. They told us not to feed them so they won't have a reason to come to us. There were quite a number of them at the entrance and parking area.
We went on to pay for the entrance which cost 20 php per person or 0.36$.
If you will bring your own motorcycle or vehicle, then you have to pay for a parking fee.
We walked on a narrow, paved pathway leading to a landmark and a cemented stairway.
Some friendly reminders along the way. There were more monkeys hiding behind the bushes and trees. We even saw a mother with her infants.
A couple of swings for the monkeys.
"Welcome to Hindang Caves and Wild Monkeys",
a landmark welcomed us to the place. Hindang Nature Park was originally known as Hindang Caves and Wild Monkeys which implies the main attraction of the area.
The "not a walk in the park" in a Nature Park starts here. 😆
Climbing up this stairway with around a hundred cemented steps lead us to the Hindang Caves hidden behind thick foliage of this forested area.
It was not my first time to visit this place and it's been years since I last visited here. I noticed that the area has become more forested and denser than before. I guess nature is starting to take full charge of the place. Without the caretakers maintaining and clearing the stairways, this place will be taken over by nature.
The stairway is built on boulders. So climbing up the steps, you'd see around are boulders with large and small roots of trees taking a hold on it.
Vines are crawling on these rocks too.
There are certain stops going up with benches if you get tired of climbing the stairs. We stopped for a while hoping I could take an overlooking view of the town but all I see were cannopies of trees.
Suprisingly there were no monkeys along the path. Before, they usually swing by the trees along the path to the Caves. Maybe because tourists are no longer allowed to feed them so they didn't come here waiting for some tourists to feed them. Thankfully it's the case. If monkeys were around I think I wouldn't be able to walk peacefully here.
As we approached closer to the main caves, we saw small caves. This is Lili-on cave. Lili-on means to peep as we had to look through a narrow opening to see what's inside the cave. Though it was dark inside, I saw stalactites inside shining as little light hit them.
This branching pathway will lead to the Cathedral Cave and Pandayan Cave. We took the path at the right first which lead us to Cathedral Cave.
As we approached closer to the cave, there's a change to the ambiance as older, taller and larger trees seem to be guarding this area. The presence of these large trees was intimadating in a sense that you felt small and powerless to their grandeur. And due to its thick foliage, the place become cooler,shadier, and darker. You could feel solemn peace.
Even before arriving at the cave's mouth, we could see the cave's ceiling made of white limestones.
The Cathedral Cave is habitat of thousands of bats. In the past, people would come here to collect bat poop or guano to be used as fertilizers. Because of the odor, I decided not to continue to the Cave's opening. I just found the smell pungent and repulsive. Well, that's just me. People have different level of tolerance. We then headed to the Pandayan Cave.
The real "walk in the park" is the way going to the Pandayan Cave. It's as easy as it gets. 😄. There were no steepy steps that made my knees and thigh muscles shake. The trees are less dense and more sunlight came through. I felt safer with the sun lighting up the pathway.
There are stops and benches if you want to hang out for a bit in this area.
I expected to have an overlooking view of the town again but still there is no way to see it. The trees branches and leaves covered the view.
After a short while, there's the Pandayan Cave. I like the formation of the ceiling though it's not as white as the Cathedral Cave.
There are more to see but we stopped with this scenery of the cave.
After failing to see an overlooking view of the town, it become my quest to find and area where I could see the town from a higher ground. So instead of exploring more of the caves, we proceeded to the zipline line area. Going there was more intense. The steps are steepier...
and the forest becomes denser. All there was to see are trees and more trees.
Still, the trees are blocking the view.
A few more steepy steps and finally we found the spot! Lo and behold! An overlooking sight of the sea! Lol! This is the best we got for the entire walk here. But still I am satisfied to see this wonderful scenery. I am happy to see this forest area become healthier greener and denser and so full of life.
We went up to the zipline area hoping to see a better view but we didn't. All we see were trees and greeneries and portion of the sky.
We finally arrived at the zipline area. This is the highest we can go.
Feeling more adventurous? Or if you feel like the whole climb up was strenuous enough and it's too tiring to go down the same path, you can opt to ride the zipline. It's the easiest way to go down. 😅
Of course we didn't go for the zipline. I am not as adventurous as before. I am too scared for this now. The adrenaline rush is not as tempting compared when I was younger, haha! 😬
After a while, we went down and that was when the rain caught up with us. We were soaked and wet.
It was great to walk with nature again. I guess the pandemic allowed nature to crawl back to its pristine form as how I see with how the trees are growing here.