Balete Park 2013

It’s a must for thrill-seekers. Climb 200 feet up the balete tree’s roots and vines. It’s definitely a nerve-racking experience. It's the highlight of my Balete Park tour, located n the town of Maria Aurora, Aurora Province... just a 30-minute drive from Baler Municipality.

Here you can find the Millenium Tree which is a balete tree more than 200 feet high and about 600 years old.

I looked up and I thought I was never going to reach the top. Maybe halfway’s okay but more than that, my fear of heights would get the best of me. But my friends, Ben, Audee and Kean, started climbing. What was I to do?

It wasn’t about conquering my fear. This was about doing things despite the fear. Just like life, huh?

The locals there served as our climbing guides. My guide pointed to which vine I should grab and which branch I could step on. I wore my sandals which was a good idea. My feet and hands were soaked with sweat and wearing sandals, not slippers, ensured my footwear won’t fall off. My feet and hands get sweaty when scared (eww right). But I’m not alone — Audee sweats more, hahaha.

After about 20 minutes, the impossible happened. I reached the top! We were all there. I had to pause to let it sink in. Did it really happen?

Yes it did and I did it afraid. The fear of heights is still here, even as I write about the experience my hands and feet are sweating again.

Here’s the hardest part --- going back down. Looking down made me tremble. I had to stop thinking about how high we were and just focus on my guide’s instructions. My heart pounded. It took more time for me to move from one branch to the next because I had to look at the branch I was going to step on — this meant I had to look down. Climbing up required me to look up and that helped redirect my urge to look down. But going down made me think of the reality that we had no ropes, I wasn’t wearing any harness and that one small slip would mean a big fall down. I took my time and made sure that every branch I grabbed was stable. My guide made sure I’d live through this and he even made me step on his knee several times when it was difficult to reach the next branch.

After about 30-45 minutes, I was safely on the ground. The experience didn’t end there. I had to take a few more minutes to breathe and process everything that just happened. I looked up, and asked “Was I really up there?”

We gave our three guides about Php600-700 as their tip — this was relatively a huge amount. But it felt like our guides gave everything to make sure we were kept alive during this adventure and they took the amazing photos too.

These guides are unbelievable. They were able to climb that same tree in just 8 seconds. The scariest part, is when they play at the edge of the branches 200 feet above the ground. I will never try that.

Climbing up and making it down in one piece already made me feel like a winner.

Was it all worth it? Most definitely.

Note: this was done way back in 2013 and climbing the peak of this tree is no longer allowed today to preserve and protect it. Previous climbers, unfortunately, carved words, messages and names on the branches up to the top. Read more about my most recent trip to Balete Park which is now known as Ronquillo Balete Eco-Park by clicking here.

BALETE PARK
Address: Brgy. Quirino, Maria Aurora Municipality, Aurora Province

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