Climbing Mount Tapyas

It has been almost a week since I came back from my trip to the Philippines. The first leg of my travel was a medical mission in Palawan. When I first heard that the medical mission was in Coron, Palawan, I got really excited, only to learn it later that it was not in the “touristy” area of Coron but rather in a somewhat remote area of the island.

My itinerary to the Philippines was so hectic, that I flew in and out of Coron from Manila without even having a chance to do island hopping or to visit the renowned gorgeous beaches in Coron. The only time I got to the ocean in Palawan was when I did my early morning run from the town proper to Coron pier where the boats leave for island hopping. There I ventured into the edge of the dock and dipped my hand into the water and tasted it. Yes, it was salty alright.

With my limited time, I decided to get at least a good view of the whole island, and there’s no better way to get a panoramic view of Coron than from the top of Mount Tapyas (“tapyas” means to cut off or a slab). Photo below is Mount Tapyas as seen from the pier.

However, climbing this mountain is not an easy feat as it involves scaling 721 steps up to the summit, and not to mention dealing with the stifling summer heat, with daily heat index of above 40 degrees C (more than 100 degrees F) during my entire stay there. Thus the best time to climb Mount Tapyas is before the sun is up when it is slightly cooler. And that’s what I did.

I left our hotel in the town proper and started my hike around 5 o’clock in the morning. Mount Tapyas is less than a mile hike from the town of Coron.

It was still dark when I started my ascent and the “CORON” sign and the Cross was still illuminated.

As I progressed up, the dawn turned into morning and the sky got brighter as evidenced by the photo below of the town and pier.

Here are the number of steps I have to clamber up to get to the top of this mountain. It gave me a sense of fulfillment as I saw the count getting higher.

A total of 721 steps! This is equivalent to climbing up a 65-story building.

Finally, I was on the summit and I was standing at the bottom of the big bamboo cross. Getting to this point was like carrying a cross, but it was well worth it.

Photos below are the sweeping views from the top of Mount Tapyas under the glorious glowing skies.

Not too long after I reached the summit, my expected date, the sun, appeared in the horizon and greeted me. Soon the whole surrounding was flooded with its light.

There was these two guys who were flying a drone at the summit. Were their photos more stunning than what I took? Maybe. Though I could have my iPhone fly too.

Shortly after sunrise, I headed down the stairs and back to town before it got too hot. I took this final photo below on my way down.

It was time for me to descend, take a shower, and get ready to head down to the medical mission site. I knew that it would be a long arduous day as many patients were waiting for us. But this was a beautiful way to spend a “slab” (tapyas) of my time and start a new day.

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(*all photos taken with an iPhone)