Pico de Loro - To be closed indefinitely starting October 1, 2016

As per the DENR-PAMB in Maragondon, Cavite, which also serves as the Jump Off Point (JOP) for hikes going to Pico de Loro, the mountain will be closed for all hiking activities starting October 1, 2016. This closure is supposedly being implemented to let the mountain heal due to the damage that was supposedly brought about by the chronic number of hikers who there especially during weekends and holidays.

Pico de Loro

The Monolith

Many are hopeful that this plan would finally push through since news of such closure has been around the mountaineering circles as early as the second quarter of this year, after the announcement of the closure of the Monolith to hiking activities (which was not followed by some climbers).

Updates will be posted here as soon as we receive the information.


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Pico de Loro - Indefinite Closure

Pico de Loro / Mt. Palay-Palay - Tramping Advisory (Temporary closure of the Monolith)

***Please note that there are claims (still unverified) that the Monolith is still open since it is supposedly outside the jurisdiction of Cavite, and that one only needs to sign a waiver in case a hiker/climber wishes to scale the Monolith (as of March 23, 2016).




Pico de Loro is one of the most popular climbs in the entire Philippines. Aside from the challenging trails and magnificent views at the summit, it's Monolith is really one of a kind attraction. As such, climbing the Monolith has become a personal rite of passage to the daring.

The Monolith on the left....the Summit on the Right.

On the other hand, this popularity has likewise become Pico de Loro's curse. As the number of climbers scaling it has dramatically increased in recent years, considerable changes along the trail leading to its Summit, much less, the trail leading to the Monolith became more and more obvious.

The Monolith taken from the Summit

In this regard, the DENR-PENRO in Cavite issued an order temporarily barring mountaineers / hikers / climbers from climbing the Pico de Loro's Monolith starting March 15, 2016. The DENR-PENRo Cavite cited the supposed erosion of land and loss of vegetation at the base of the Monolith in issuing the directive.


Mountaineers / hikers / climbers, please be advised accordingly. Let us help the mountain heal itself.

***credits to the owner of this photo that I got from the net

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Pico de Loro / Mt. Palay-Palay (Temporary Closure of Monolith)

Pico de Loro - New Trail / DENR Trail

As the Skookum Mountaineers officially turned One, I made sure that our group should at least have a hike/climb last January 31. And since my fellow Skookums were either held back by their respective schedules or personal commitments, I was forced to do a solo-climb instead.

While I would always prefer to be with my best climb buddies (of course that includes my wife) rather than doing it solo, I'd say that hiking alone also has its advantages. Nevertheless, I'd make a separate post concerning this topic once I get more ideas and experience on the matter.

As it was my first time to climb solo, I decided to just limit my options to the mountains that I am most familiar with. And it was not until after I was able to drive-thru the Jollibee branch in nearby Tomas Morato (for my breakfast) that I finally decided to head to Pico de Loro.

Pico de Loro remains to be one of the most popular climbs in the Philippines

The Monolith

My 1st mountain for 2015

Held by traffic at the EPZA area just after the Cavitex, I arrived at the jumpoff at around 0730H. Just as I expected, there are already a lot mountaineers heading to the trail head, and of course, the ever-increasing number of weekend warriors who also try to have a piece of their own adventure. I parked Jaff on the shoulder of the highway and immediately put on my gears. I paid the mandatory registration fee of P25.00 and then went on to do some stretching. At 0810, I said a brief prayer and then started to hike/run.

Oh how I missed the eerie silence of the forest, which was intermittently broken by chirping birds, the sound of crickets/cicadas and the rustling of leaves caused by the cool mountain breeze.

Mt. Pico de Loro - Scaling the famed "Parrot's Beak"

Since we scrapped our planned dayhike at the San Jose Circuit last Saturday (September 20) due to the inclement weather brought about by Typhoon Mario and the enhanced Habagat, we decided to do a "substitute hike" at Mt. Pico de Loro last Sunday (September 21). Although it was really some spur of the moment decision, the thought that there would be less hikers there (hence a better chance for us of scaling the fabled "Monolith") made us oozing with adrenaline.

We left Quezon City at 0500H and had to fetch Gani at the Boni MRT Station along EDSA. Passing through the Coastal Road and Cavitex, we finally reached the DENR Station along the Ternate-Nasugbu Highway in less than 2 hours. We could have arrived earlier because while the traffic at that instance was still bearable, we were somewhat delayed as we neared the jump-off point since there were road repairs at the approach of the Magnetic Hill.

We then immediately prepared our gears, paid the registration fee of P25.00  and proceeded to the nearby store cum eatery for breakfast. While they did not prepare pre-cooked meals because they anticipated that mountaineers will only come in trickles, they still have on hand silog meals.

It was already 0745H when we left the DENR. Of course, we prayed at the trailhead like we were accustomed to. As we also did some stretching exercises, it was already 0755H when we formally started to hike.

We traipsed leisurely at the start as we were welcomed by chirping birds and the whistling of leaves. It really is a very welcome respite from the intoxicating life in the city. The forest in Mt. Pico de Loro is really very impressive.

At 0815, we arrived at the famous "orange tree" (it was not an actual "orange" tree but I called it as  such because its bark has this somewhat orange glow) where we encouraged Gani to have a picture. At the junction where one needs to do a right turn (going to Camp 1), we noticed the trail sign made up of luminous Mountain Dew plastic bottles that one of the vendors at the DENR mentioned to us. We then passed by the famous fallen tree trunk, and was able to reach Camp 1 at 0825H.