Nueva Ecija Part 2: Minalungao National Park

Let me share with you the highlight of my trip last week in Nueva Ecija as I take you around Minalungao National Park.

The park is located in General Tinio, Nueva Ecija. This rising attraction in Nueva Ecija is just a 45-minute drive away from Gapan. It would be smart to bring your car and your own food since the parking fee is just Php50.00 for the entire day.

We reached Minalungao at around 1.30pm and there were still a lot of bamboo rafts available. These bamboo raft cottages are parked by the shore. You can just hop in and rent it for the day for only Php500.00.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31VgfZu9PAs]

Right beside the lagoon is a lodging that’s still under construction.

Here’s Chef Nap Yuson and his wife, owners of Kukon Ramen House, as our hosts for this trip.

These are all prepared by Chef Nap and his wife Karen (super thank you, guys!).

After having our lunch, we decided to explore the caves and the mountains of Minalungao.

Minalungao National Park boasts a breath-taking 16-meter high limestone formations lining the fresh water river that winds its way to the Sierra Madre mountain range.

You can freely trek the towering limestones or be smart about it and hire the locals to give you a tour.

We crossed the hanging bridge and decided to explore the Thousand Steps to reach the Giant Cross at the top of the mountain.

OMG, 1500 steps pa raw lawit na dila ko!!! 😛

There were no signal in the entire Minalungao Park. So don’t be fooled by this picture–I was just busy taking snaps for Snapchat so I can upload them as soon as the signal comes in.

Are we there yet??

[insert glorious angels singing sound effect here ***ahhhhhhhhh***]

Behold, the towering Glass Cross when you reach the end of the Thousand Steps.

Here’s the view from the top. There’s something so relaxing to be on top of a mountain. Oh, and don’t worry about water. There’s a vendor who goes up and down the Thousand Steps daily to sell ice cold bottled water. Let it be your simple reward for persevering. <3

After a couple of minutes resting, we decided to come down and tried the zipline next.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30m56tIle5I]

Yes, ziplining was definitely the cherry on top of this trip. We went in with the balikan for Php100 per ride (so that’s Php200/head for us). We had so much fun as first-time zipliners.

By 5pm, the bamboo raft cottages would be brought back to the shore.

Since we got there after lunch, we weren’t able to take a dip in the fresh water river and explored the caves. I would suggest for you to come in the morning to fully enjoy Minalungao National Park.

Nevertheless, I had so much fun in this trip. 🙂 A refreshing change from the usual beach outings.

PS, Much thanks to Chef Nap Yuson and his wife Karen for taking us around and being the most gracious host. 🙂

 

Let’s socialize:
Twitter: @couchwasabi
Instagram: @jleanne85
Snapchat: couchwasabi

---

Download the Couchwasabi App on your Apple and Android device to check out my latest update in one tap!