Minalungao National Park

Are you looking for a place near Manila with a budget of Php 1000 or below? 

Well, here's one place you can go - Minalungao National Park in Nueva Ecija.

How to go there: 

From Cubao, take a Five Star Bus going to Gapan. From there, there are tricycles who can bring you to Minalungao National Park. At first, Manong Driver wanted to charge us for Php 750 pesos but we argued that based on blogs, the fee is only Php 450. He eventually agreed with the fee. From Gapan, it's another 1 hour and 30 minutes via tricycle.

We stopped along the way to try their UNLI Lugaw for only Php 25 and to buy other things that we need. Just a precaution though, expect a portion with a really rough road along the way. Geeez, I got legit scared at some point of that rough road.

It was raining when we went there so the river didn't really look like those in the blogs. Nonetheless, it was still a site worth seeing :)

We decided to go to the Cross first. You need to pass 1,000 steps up  before you get there. It was raining during our climb so we were all soaking wet. After 1,000 steps, all that stop overs and rain, we finally reached the top. The view was all covered with fog though. Haha We had our lunch there.

On our way down, we stopped by a view deck with an amazing view from above. 

Then it was time to explore the amazing rock formation of the National Park. 

There's a cemented path so there's not much to worry. 

What amazed me though is when you make sounds on the other side of the river, 

you can hear its echo on the other side.

We would've wanted to take a dip in near the rock formation but there were other people who went before us and we really didn't want to socialize. Haha

We decided to take the raft instead and swim in the middle of the river.

We were laughing on how we really went to Nueva Ecija just to swim in the river. Haha After all, there are only a few (if none) "swimmable" rivers in Cebu so we have an excuse. Haha

There's a place where you can wash up after the dip. You just have to pay for Php 5.

And a shout out to our guides! Yes, they're kids. It was holiday during that time so they didn't go to school.

Now for the budget:

Manila to Gapan              - Php 120 (with student's discount)

Unli Lugaw                      - Php 25

Gapan to Minalungao       - Php 200 (we decided to give the tricycle driver Php 600 because of the road)

Tip for the Guide              - Php 100 (there were three of us so they received Php 150 each)

Miscellaneous                  - Php 50 (Snacks and shower)

Raft                                 - Php 50 (total cost is Php 150)

Gapan to Manila              - Php 120 (with student's discount)

                                          Php 665

Please note that we bought our own food. So in case food is not available in your house, then you have to add more bucks to your budget.

There you have it! If you just want to have a fast escape from the buzzing metropolis, then come visit The Minalungao National Park!