Marian Hill in Rizal 2012-10-07

A day earlier, I was biking along the Manila East Road when I saw something that caught my attention. From a distance, it looks like a statue of Jesus Christ on one side of the hill. I tried to get as close as possible, but the road seems to go up steeper than I'm willing to ride up with my folding bike, so I turned back.

The following day, I tried hiking up prepared for a long walk, but finished the hike up in less than an hour. Along the way, I encountered several groups of mountain bikers and a few hikers like me. The first half of road after the village is cemented, while the second half is a trail. There were many crucifix along the way up until I reached the gated area where the statues are located. Inside the gated area, there are several side paths each leading to a different statue.

Once I finished exploring the area, I continued along the path and found that the trail simply looped around to another way down that intersects the main trail. Earlier, while going up, I was unsure whether the path I took was the right one. But now I know that no matter which path I take, the result will be similar. Along the way down, I tried another path with steps. When I reached the end of the steps, it simply connects to the main trail again. Basically, you can't get lost or reach another place on these trails.

When I reached the end of my solo trek, I boarded a ride home. I don't even need to take a break because the climb was very short. It took me just 20 minutes to go up and a little over 15 minutes to go down. A short but fun hike to a new place.