Anawangin in San Antonio, Zambales is fast becoming a popular destination for those seeking a beach to getaway from it all. There aren't too many amenities on this secluded beach. In fact, there are none. It's a favorite of those who want to camp out with nothing but bare essentials. And that's because there are only two ways to get there, by pump boat or via a 5-hour hike up Mt. Anawangin.
We decided to do the latter, a night hike at that! We left Manila at 1 a.m. and after a leisurely drive, arrived in the town proper of San Antonio, Zambales. Our destination was Pundaquit, a barangay several more kilometers down the road by the beach. If you get lost, you could easily ask the tricycle drivers how to get there. We finally made it to the jump-off at 4:30 a.m. just in time to start our night trek.The silhouettes of the mountains showed us why Anawangin is such a popular destination. As the sun slowly rose, a beautifully landscaped environment greeted us. Nature is indeed the best landscaper. We marveled at how the bamboo, the trees and the rocks were artistically arranged creating this surreal scene.
By the time we neared the peak, the sun was up. And the heat added to my exhaustion (it was another sleepless night and being the designated driver, I could not catnap). But to make the long story short, we reached the pass leading to the beach. The view of Anawangin Cove was nothing but fantastic! But instead of going down to the beach, the group decided to go up a few more meters to reach the summit.With that settled, we all thought going down was going to be a breeze. But it wasn't! The rocks were just too much. And the sad part was that the grass was tall enough to cover the rocks so you couldn't see if your next step was on soil or on rocks. And that could spell disaster if you lost your balance. It's good thing I got myself a pair of Colombia Titanium Kailua sandals the night before and it did me wonders.
We finally made it down. But not before we almost got attacked by a wild carabao. There are a lot of wild carabaos in the area according to our guide so be careful. It was a good thing our guide saw it in time and scared it away.Part 2: Anawangin Cove in San Antonio, Zambales
Part 3: Capones Island and its lighthouse
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Thank you and congratulations for your wonderful blog. You perform a great service. Glad to hear about the abundant pine trees, the clear water, the fine beach, and the lots of wild carabaos. This is great news about the environemnt (to us who frequently hear bad news about the environment). Keep up the good work. Metung pa. Manyaman ca yata bie. Ot caring anggang retratu mu, e ca lupang mangayayat. :)
ReplyDeletehello po! your posts are most helpful! mabuhay ka!
ReplyDeletequestion: gano po kahirap/kadali ang trek? we're a group of non-mountaineers, office-dwelling people who just want to experience a bit of nature. maybe to make it easier to describe, how do you compare it to the pinatubo hike? Ü
di naman ba delikado? i heard there were some deaths last year and there are wild carabaos... anything we need to worry about?
many many thanks!
@dana: Based from the comment of my teammate regarding the Pinatubo hike, I'm leaning towards the Anawangin hike to be more difficult (went there last April 18-19) especially if you hike during noon. Bring lots of sunblock or I suggest that you also take the early hike or start at 4:30am.
ReplyDeletethe hike is really one great thing to enjoy and be proud of =)
hi! we're planning to go to anawangin this december 2009. where can we find a guide for the trek to anawangin? thanks!
ReplyDelete@dianne: there are lots of locals there who would offer to be your guide for the trek. if my memory serves me right, i believe it was 500 for a certain number of people (10 at the most - not sure about this though).
ReplyDeletecorrection lang po hindi po mt. anawangin, mt. pundaquit po ang tawag sa bundok na yan,, sana lang po macorrect nyo kasi yung iba nagagaya sa inyo,, by the way nice site
ReplyDeleteHi! ask ko lang po kung meron po kau contact para sa mga guide for trekking papunta sa anawangin. were planning to go there this april 20 and naghahanap kami ng pwede magguide samin at least 20 pax kaming aakyat
ReplyDeletethe mountain's interchangeably called mt. pundaquit or mt. anawangin, though personally i've preferred pundaquit.
ReplyDeletehi there!i just wanna share our boatman and guide in mt, pundaquit,kuya jay-r agasa.he's highly recommended and very accommodating.you can go contact him at 09173809104.he will arrange all your stuffs going to anawangin:tent,boat,trekking guide and others,so enjoy!
ReplyDeletehi sir ivan... nakakapagod pero sulit ang hiking with mt, anawangin.. buti nalang yung tour guide namin mabait,, ndi nagrereklamo kahit hinto kami ng hinto..
ReplyDeletesa mga gustong mag hiking text them at 09193910016 they are very kind
Hello! Stumble upon this post via Google search! Well, I'm planning to go to a place like this (Hiking+beach) on my birthday. I just wanna ask if you have any idea how to go to this place coming from Bulacan? :-/ Hope you can reply :p Thanks so much! Wonderful photos, btw :)
ReplyDeletehi sir!went to kuya jay-r as our guide in trekking and also as our boatman..superb experience!very wonderful place,indeed,also with very nice and accommodating locals there.would like to recommend kuya jay-r for good service they showed to us:09173809104.
ReplyDeletei did a day hike today to mt.pundaquit, also called mt. anawangin. started the trek at 4:30 am and reached the anawangin cove at 10:00. God gave us a perfect weather! We did not burn so much with the heat of the sun- and my new TNF hiking boots did me great wonders especially in trekking down. For guide, you may contact Luisa, Tatay Afring's daughter who takes care of guide schedules: 09196498563. She will even offer you coffee upon your arrival at the jump off point, esp. when you arrive in the wee hours of the morning.
ReplyDeletei did a day hike today to mt.pundaquit, also called mt. anawangin. started the trek at 4:30 am and reached the anawangin cove at 10:00. God gave us a perfect weather! We did not burn so much with the heat of the sun- and my new TNF hiking boots did me great wonders especially in trekking down. For guide, you may contact Luisa, Tatay Afring's daughter who takes care of guide schedules: 09196498563. She will even offer you coffee upon your arrival at the jump off point, esp. when you arrive in the wee hours of the morning.
ReplyDelete