Let me rephrase the title: Conquering Taraw Cliff in FLIPFLOPS!

Yes I know i know, you can judge me on how stupid I am but the important thing is that I learned my lesson and that I survived! Thank God!

Important reminders to consider before the climb:

I know some of you are lazy enough to read and are only here to see the photos. I don’t want you to miss this so before I go ahead and share to you my personal experience, I wanted to list down the important things that you should bring or be prepared of when you’re planning to climb Taraw Cliff:

1. Bring lots and lots of water if possible.
2. Have enough sleep before the climb.
3. Comfortable wear is a must! Gym clothes is okay as long as you’ll be able to move around with it.
4. Wear hiking shoes or sandals with straps. Don’t be stupid enough to wear flipflops (like me).
5. No bags. You don’t want to add up more weight, do you?
6. Gloves. (Optional but recommended)
7. Don’t rush. Take one step a time.

Please be prepared enough before the climb and don’t go yolo like me who only took the no.1 reminder on the list above or else you’ll end up sick the next day. Experience is the best teacher I tell you.

It was our second day in El Nido when we planned to climb Taraw Cliff. Normally on every trip I go to, I usually do a lot of research on things to do and visit but for this specific trip, I let my friends do the itinerary since this was their plan in the first place and I sort of just joined the last minute. Because of this reason, I didn’t really get the chance to read blogs about people’s experience on climbing Taraw Cliff. I totally didn’t know what to expect which was good – because you don’t get to be afraid because most of the blogs tell you that it’s scary and dangerous to climb and bad –  because I don’t get to prepare enough for the climb that I literally had slippers and not so comfortable wear all the way up!

Our alarm was set at 4 – 4:30am, enough for all of us to prepare for our scheduled 5am climb. We got two guides for the climb since there are 7 of us. There should be a guide for every visitor who wants to climb at Taraw Cliff and we got ours at Tay Miloy’s Inn for 200 each (subject to change depending on how many pax in a group). And please, don’t ever think of not getting one. I’m not trying to scare anybody but there was actually a point where this was closed for climbing due to sequential accidents that happened (and yes, the worst can happen) that is why it’s very dangerous to go alone with your group.

There are actually two ways to do this. One is the “rock” climbing all the way up option or you can go try the Canopy Walk. This is a much safer alternative to what we did and a kid-friendly option. Perfect for families! With registration of 400 per person, you get to have your own helmet, a harness that is attached to a wire through out the entire walk and a guide. You also get to enjoy walking around hanging bridge and a great view of El Nido.

We went for the more challenging option, of course. With this  It was still dark when we started our climb. We passed by through a small residential houses before the actual climb. At first I thought, “oh this should be easy” because it started with a stair. Then and there I was wrong. The trail got harder and harder as time goes by. There are like two hardest parts of the climb but who am I kidding? Every part of it was hard! There was actually a moment that when I looked up, I thought to myself, “OMFG, how on earth will I be able to climb this?” and imagine me on slippers with all these sharp rock formations!! Not the wisest decision I know but at this point in my life I thought of all the mountain hikes I had in the past that prepared me for this day. Especially that rock climbing I had in our P.E class in college. LOL

 It took us a while since we had lots of break along the way. We finally reached the top at around 9pm and IT. WAS. AMAZING. Even saying that is an understatement. You’ll forget all the pain from climbing up with that view. These photos just don’t even do justice on what you see and how you actually feel being there on top of the highest peak in El Nido. I could just sit there the entire morning mesmerizing how spectacular the view is.

Going back down is another story. Remember I told you about forgetting the pain when you reach the top? Well you will again remember it on your way down. My legs are shaking at this point. I was so afraid and careful on every step I make. I just can’t wait to reach the bottom at this point that I went ahead when I got the chance because I thought that when I’m ahead than the others I had enough time to rest until they reach me. I was so wrong. It caused me muscle pain all over my legs the next day I could barely walk. So please always take your time when you’re at it.

Like what the saying goes, “The best view comes after the hardest climb.”

Remember them? The couple I went to Boracay with?

Fennie’s face tho! lol!

Overall this is an experience I will never ever forget! It made me realize of the things I am capable of. I’m also thankful for the rest of the crew. They all are actually fond of this kind of activity so I call them the “mountaineers” which gives me motivation all throughout the climb. I wouldn’t have this experience any other way!

Climbing Taraw Cliff is no joke. One mistake and it can change or even take away your life, God forbid! So please be mentally and physically prepared before the climb and don’t forget to pray and ask guidance from Him from start to finish. 🙂

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