At the Mouth of Taal Volcano's Crater

Taal Volcano was a picture of tranquility when we went there one day in April.   The sight of the world's smallest active volcano instantly wiped away the sweat from our long ride from Los Banos, Laguna, the muggy air disappeared.   This volcano which lies within the lake which is also inside a crater is one of the most visited travel destinations in the Philippines, being near Manila, the country's capital.  We thought we would just enjoy the breeze, while looking at it from the highway.  But when a local guide approached us and encouraged us to go see it closer, we sort of got talked into it. 

We rented two motorized "bangkas", each one carrying 7 passengers and worth 1,400 each (that makes it 200/head) .  We were glad we decided to go the inner crater because we crossed the lake and felt the cooler air.  But the water is not safe for swimming because of the many fish pens built in the lake, so imagine what has accumulated at the bottom of the lake.  But despite this, the surrounding was not foul-smelling, thank God.  Breeding of fish such as bangus and tilapia is the livelihood of those living in the barangays near the lake and the volcano.  The trip took about 20 minutes.


 

This is the view from the top of the mouth of the crater of Taal.  The sultry sun intensified the already warm area.   Because we hiked coming up here (all 14 of us) we could see steam coming off the  blowholes around the area.  I saw about a total of 4 of them.   So be extra careful or you can't imagine what will become of your leg if you ever step inside one, eeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwww.    Some people rode horses, instead of hiking, which to me was completely a crazy idea since the mountain slope was not really steep and slippery.  It took us only 45 minutes to get here.  If you are fit enough, it would be a breeze, thank God, I skimped on rice a few weeks prior to coming here, otherwise, I would not have felt lighter. I was able to buy a shirt for souvenir from the  P600 which I saved by passing up  the horseback ride.  I saw only very few people hiking though, most of the foreigners rode horses to avoid the dusty hike and maybe for the experience of riding a horse, who knows.   I am glad this area was not turned into fish pens or is not infested by visitors and that this part of the volcano has retained its cleanliness.   It somehow eradicated my annoyance over the unbelievable amount of garbage along the mouth of the crater.

How to get here:

There are many bus companies that ply the Tagaytay-Manila route so it should be easy to get here.  The bus ride is very affordable.  Just don't be annoyed at the many agents that peddle their boats and services to get to the mouth of the inner crater.