Palawan Day 3: El Nido (Taraw Cliff Climbing)

The idea of climbing taraw

It has been my habit to check out travel blogs and other sites whenever I am planning to go somewhere. So when my ticket to Palawan has been confirmed, I immediately browsed the web and looked for exciting and out of the ordinary (life threatening) things to do at El Nido. And that’s when I came upon El Nido’s “TARAW CLIFF CLIMBING.”

Here are some of the stories that caught my attention and fixated taraw cliff climbing on my itinerary:

From TheKillerFillers.com: “Mountaineering experience won’t prepare you for climbing Taraw. It was serious rock climbing from the first assault. And when I say serious, I meant serious like 80-degree-5-storey-high-limestone-piercing-death-drop serious. I wrote many climb stories and talk about death cliffs all the time and I want to take that back for if death cliffs have a picture in the dictionary, the cliffs in Taraw should be it. There were times you will need to pull yourself up with the strength of your arms just to get to the next stepping stone and I am not the leanest person you’ve seen, so go figure.”

From IronWulf.net: “I thought this was gonna be easy. Like walking on regular mountain trails and winding roads… My mountain climbing experience didn’t prepare me for this. We were traversing the sharp and jagged limestone trails and pulling ourselves up along almost vertical walls… A few more climbs to the peak, the trail became more challenging and dangerous that one step could send me plummeting down to the sharp rocks.”

From BoyWonder.com: “Climbing Taraw Cliff has got to be the most difficult thing I've done physically. No amount of Zumba could have prepared me for it. We were literally rock climbing. And we didn't have any gears! There wasn't an option for it anyway. We just had our bare hands and slippers.”

Maybe it was in my nature to be competitive, that I want to achieve what others can. To prove everybody that even with a body and weight like mine, I still can. Or Maybe I’m just reckless and crazy that whatever crosses my mind, and thinks that it’s fun, I’m willing to do it, whatever the risk may be.

The day and night and hours before the climb

As posted in my previous blog entry, the day before my climb, my friends and I went to Island Hopping Tour A. And from the boat we were riding we saw the taraw cliff from afar. The view got me excited and at the same time scared, for I am sure that tomorrow will give me the best (experience) but the hardest (physically) time of my life!

view of Taraw Cliff from afar

Upon arriving at Tay Miloy’s, I asked them to contact someone who can accompany me as my guide to the Taraw cliff. They said the guide will be fetching me up early at 5:45 in the morning and the fee will depend on the negotiation between the guide and me. As advised by Tay Miloy’s, it is better to start the climb early so that I can catch the Island Hopping Tour C, which will happen later on the same day (at 9:30 AM). That means, I need to finish the Taraw Cliff Climbing on or before 9:00-9:15 in the morning the next day.

So I went to bed early, praying that it wouldn’t rain that night and everything would be alright. I want my climb tomorrow to be perfectly safe so I need good weather condition. At around 2:00 AM, I was awakened by the sudden pour of the rain. What the hell! Rain was the last thing I need. They told me it would be impossible for someone to climb the cliff when it rains. And so I went back to sleep feeling down because my taraw cliff climbing might not push through (or maybe the rain was just a dream).   

At 5:45 in the morning I woke up, went outside and saw that the road was drench with water (so it wasn’t a dream after all). Hoping that the guide would still come, I decided to wait for him until 6:10AM. Unfortunately, the ate receptionist from Tay Miloy’s who saw me standing outside the Inn, informed me that the climb might not push through because they could not contact my guide and more pressingly, because it rained last night. With a heavy heart, I took my camera and went to Bacuit Bay for a glimpse of sunrise, which I was not lucky enough to capture yesterday.

Finally! the sunrise...

While on the shore, I was thinking, maybe it was for the best, maybe it was God’s plan not to let me try the Taraw cliff climbing because something bad might happen. So, after spending 15 minutes at Bacuit Bay, I decided to buy my breakfast (pandesal & coffee), something light since I would not be needing the extra energy for the supposed taraw cliff climbing.

As I walk back to Tay Miloy’s to eat my breakfast, I saw ate receptionist and a stranger talking in front of the Inn. They were looking at me and that gave me (butterflies in my stomach..lol) hope that maybe the stranger was my guide and my Taraw cliff climbing would finally push through. My hunch was confirmed when ate introduced me to the stranger, his name is Toto, and said that he would be my guide for the climb. I gladly introduced myself and shook his hand with a big smile on my face. I guess that was my friendliest and happiest introduction with someone so far! Hahaha. But then, the guide asked me if it’s fine with me to continue the climb even with the said cliff condition. He explained that it would be harder than normal and more dangerous to climb the cliff due to slippery rocks. He gave me an option to start the climb later in the morning (around 10 AM or 11 AM), to give time for the sun to at least dry some of the rocks.   After giving it a lot of thought (maybe 10 seconds), I told him that it’s fine with me to start the climb right at that moment even with the said cliff condition.

So at 6:45AM with the camera in my hand (as my only possession) we departed from Tay Miloy’s and went to the starting point of the climb.

The Climb

The start of the trek was the easiest part and the climb was nothing new to me. Back in my hometown, Quirino Province, I usually climb mountains such as susong dalaga and nagbukel (both have rocky parts to climb also). The only difference now was that I gained a lot of weight and my joints (bones) are a lot weaker due to my sedentary lifestyle.LOL. Since the first part was easy, I told the guide to make the pace faster for us to finish the climb ahead of time.

Walang kahirap hirap! Lol...

Reaching the halfway point, I was already panting, breathing spasmodically and sweating like a pig. I had to call (more of yell) at Toto several times to wait for me (why did I even requested to make the pace faster?). I used ‘taking pictures of the view’ as an excuse to catch my breath and make the pace of our climb slower. Honestly though, the trail from the start to the halfway point was not that hard but not easy as well. The only problem I had was, I easily got tired and my weak lung capacity (I really need to stop smoking! Oops, don’t tell my relatives :P)

Paradise!

The view from the halfway point would give you a renewed strength; more like a buoyant force that would push you reach for the summit.

Are effing kidding me?

However, the road (rock?) to the summit was really hard, irregular and scary! The climb really required a lot of effort, strength, energy and bravery. This is what you call a hardcore-literal-cliff-climbing-experience. There were no ropes, safety gears and other support materials you can use for this life-threatening-one-of-a-kind cliff climbing. The only things you can depend on are the ones attached to your body – your hands and feet (common sense and prayers, as well). You have to stretch your limbs (like lastikman/rubberman, seriously) because the rocks were very sharp, abnormal, coarse and steep and some were also unstable.

El Nido's Mordor. Lol...

A few meters from the summit was where I think is the most difficult part of the trail. You have to cross a foot bridge like set of spiky and sharp rocks with nothing to hold on to. I had to crawl and walk on fours like a pig to maintain my balance and avoid falling, which was really not an option for this climb.

After 45 minutes of clambering, awkwardly rock climbing and scrambling, I reached the summit and was rewarded with a breath taking view of Bacuit Bay!

We spent 30 minutes at the top to take a rest and take pictures of this unbelievably beautiful view. Toto complimented me for completing the trail up the Taraw cliff in just 45 minutes.  Because normal estimated time for completing the Taraw cliff climbing is 3 to 4 hours (so that's 1 to 1.5 hour one way). 

Although I’m not yet ready to go, we decided to descend after 30 minutes to give ample time for my Island Hopping Tour C. In my opinion, the trail down was a lot easier because Mr. Gravity was there to help me. We completed the descent for 30 minutes and were back at Tay Miloy’s at around 8:30 in the morning. I paid Toto Php300.00 pesos and gave
 him with snacks before we said our thank yous and goodbyes.

Dream the impossible, believe in yourself  and you will survive!

My Personal Thoughts on Taraw Cliff Climbing
For some people, Taraw cliff climbing might be nothing but ordinary, for some it might be just an activity they do when they get bored, but for me, the experience from climbing the Taraw cliff was something that I will hold deep into my heart and remember for the rest of my life. It was really a once in a lifetime experience. It thought me many things and I learned some things about myself that I am not even aware of. If given the second chance I will definitely do it again!

Follow my adventures at Palawan on the succeeding posts:

Palawan Day 0: Tra-Abel En Route - From Mountains to Beaches

Palawan Day 1: Puerto Princessa City - City Tour
Palawan Day 1: Tra-Abel En Route - On My Way to Paradise
Palawan Day 2: El Nido -  Island Hopping Tour A
Palawan Day 3: El Nido - Taraw Cliff Climbing 
Palawan Day 3: El Nido - Island Hopping Tour C