We're two months past 2020 and for people who are already looking for a breath of fresh air, Antipolo, Rizal is always a welcome sanctuary just a few hours from the metro.
And it's literally a breath of fresh air that awaits you at the Mt. Purro Nature Reserve located in the foothills of the Sierra Madre mountain range. It is an ideal place to just disconnect from the busy city life and get back to the basics of provincial life.
Mt. Purro Nature Reserve was founded by Toto Malvar, the grandson of General Miguel Malvar who is also an environmentalist at heart. Left barren by illegal loggers during the 1990s, Toto Malvar privately sponsored the reforestation of the Upper Marikina Watershed with Mt. Purro as its primary site. In a few years, 700,000 trees were successfully planted and maintained through the project.
What started as a small kubo where families and friends can have fun and spend time together, hike in the forest, and swim in the river, soon became the fully operational eco-park that it is now. Check out the photos of the site below:
The Mt. Purro Nature Reserve offers guests accomodations, use of function rooms, and a lot of close-to-nature activities. Their kubos range from P5,000 to P7,500 per night depending on the size, while cheaper options come in the form of the Pavilion Dorm which is P900 per person and the Garden Tent Area which is P750 per person. Just bring your own tent to save some cash, as tent rental is priced P500 while sleeping set rentals are priced P200 each.
As for the activities, guests can enjoy swimming in their in-house pool; play with the kids in the Nature Playscape; hike the Laudato Si trail to Malvar's Peak; trek the river path; and interact with the Dumagat people.
—
Location: Purok 5, Barangay Calawis, Antipolo City, Rizal.
Getting there:
For commuters, you can take a jeepney going to COGEO along Aurora Boulevard/Marcos Highway. From COGEO, take a jeep going to Paenaan and tell the driver to drop you off at Kanto Veterans. From Kanto Veterans take a tricycle going to Brgy. Calawis, and from there take another tricycle going to Mt. Purro Nature Reserve.
If you're bringing your own vehicle, you can follow this map.
Tip:
Mt. Purro Nature Reserve has several packages to help you maximize your visit, so give these packages a closer look and choose which one would best suit you and your kind of company. Learn more about the Mt. Purro Nature Reserve and its accomodations through their website, mountpurronaturereserve.com.
