Taal Lake is a favorite among Filipinos, especially Manila locals, because the scenery and high elevation make for a great escape from the heat in the city. The lake fills the Taal Caldera, formed by large volcanic eruptions between 500-100K years ago. The last eruption was in 1977, but that doesn’t stop the crowds from rolling in. It’s quite easily accessible from Manila, just 60km south, which makes it perfect for a day trip or a weekend getaway. Many travelers pass up on Manila for the beaches as soon as possible, but between Taal Lake, the terraced rice fields in Banaue and Batad, and the tremendous hiking in Baguio the island of Luzon is not one to be missed.
Here are some snap shots of what the adventure looks like from ferrying across the lake to reaching the summit of the Taal Crater Lake viewpoint.
From Tagaytay, the adventure begins with a ferry across Taal Lake to the crater where the hike begins. You can make the trek to the ferry dock yourself from Tagaytay, or getting a trike (Filipino tuk-tuk) would only cost $30-50 pesos (<$1USD). It’s not only transport ferries out there. At one point I saw villagers fishing, and just a few hundred yards away a jet-ski pulling kids on an inter-tube. .
Approaching the beach of Taal Crater, simplicity of life for the villagers becomes apparent. There are kids playing in the water, and there’s a man that handles docking every boat the comes in for 20 pesos.
Sand bags line the boat slips of the docks. Dogs scavenge for scraps of food that may have floated ashore.
Before the trail gets sandy and steep, it goes through a village. Regardless of how small the village is there will be a basketball court. Filipinos are serious about their basketball which was introduced in 1898 with the start of the American occupation, leading up to the establishment of their first commercial league in 1938.
The trail takes approximately 45 minutes to walk. The Tourism Authority has made the Taal Crater Lake viewpoint accessible to all by providing horses for the journey up the steep sandy trail. It’s quite satisfying hiking the trail and sparing the horses that looked undersized, tired, and hungry. One can only hope the horses are properly cared for.
Taal Lake provides for a great backdrop when stopping to see how far you’ve come. Snacks, soda, water and halo-halo (Filipino shaved ice treat with sweetened beans, fruits, flan, corn flakes, and ube ice cream) are available from the little huts on the trail.
The view from the summit. You can supposedly swim in the water very briefly, despite it’s high sulfuric acid content, but every sign I saw said no climbing down to the lake. The view was best from the top anyways.
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