Posted on December 17, 2009 - by Vic

Mount Pinatubo Gateway to High Adventure

The nomadic Aeta Negritos call the mountain Apo Mallari. But for people around the world, this volcanic mountain is more popularly known as Mount Pinatubo after having exploded its way into international prominence by blowing off its 300 meter cap, spewing fine ash 25 kilometers into the atmosphere, showering an area of 200 square kilometers and creating a crater of 2 kilometers wide.

Photo by Teddy Pelaez

Day became night as the volcanic haze circled the globe, creating magnificent sunset skies around the world. Typhoon rains mixed with ash to create lahar, a mud slew that gushed downhill burying everything in its path. It was the most violent volcanic eruption of the last century, practically obliterating the towns of Bacolor and Porac from the map, killing 550 and displacing thousands from their homes and farms. It left behind a lunar landscape beyond imagination.

It is for this reason that the Department of Tourism initiated a project to provide a livelihood project for the local Aetas and recently set up and inaugurated the Sapang Bato Information Center along Sitio Target, in Barangay Sapang Bato as a starting point for would be explorers to this interesting dramatic lahar wasteland.

The aboriginal guides carefully brings tourists to deep canyons and gorges with walls as well as to carefully selected campsites in order to prevent visitors venturing out alone to end up swallowed by innocent-looking pools which may turn out to be treacherous hot quicksand.

Photo by Teddy Pelaez

The number of trails to Pinatubo’s crater varies from time to time and even from day to day due to shifts in ash and sand masses. Most package tour guides follow the Crow Valley, a flat, long valley that leads right up near the rim of Pinaturbo’s crater. Other routes are seldom traveled and require climbing equipment and experienced guides as you are faced with negotiating a maze of narrow ash canyons. What better way than be guided by the expert Aetas who have lived around the volcano as long as time immemorial.

Hidden in the crater above this moonscape is a jewel-blue lake – an enhancing reward for intrepid explorers. The hike to the base of the crater is an easy 4-hour walk. Another 30 minutes of flowing a streambed brings you to the top of the rim. From here it’s a 5 minute scramble down to the lake for a nice warm swim. The ash and sand deposited by the eruption in a wide area around Pinatubo have created a magnificent landscape. The impressive terrain is criss-crossed with bizarre ravines, through which one can wander for hours. Other areas can be better explored with a vehicle, and for those who want to have the big picture, an aircraft will provide the perfect vantage point – which can all be arranged. There are half day and full day treks on offer, but only on an overnight expedition can you truly feel the soul of Apo Mallari.

Photo by Teddy Pelaez

Although the eruption of Mount Pinatubo had seemed like the end of the world at first, the local people particularly the Aetas with the help of the DOT, the New Zealand Agency for International Development (NZAID) and some other non-governmental organizations (NG0s), took a quick breather then rolled up their shirt sleeves and got down to making the best of the situation. The Sapang Bato Information Center is just one of the many tours to Pinatubo. Initially this idea was thought to be absurd, but those pessimists just had to eat their words later.