Conquering Mt. Pinatubo

Mt. Pinatubo is no easy trek – it makes you pay on the way up. It is raw, rugged and beautiful.

Rising some 1,780 meters (5,840 feet) above the plains, this huge pile of igneous earth made headlines when it erupted in 1991, burning a path of devastation throughout Central Luzon. Tons of ash were dropped on their homes, followed by raging rivers of lahar, an avalanche of volcanic water and mud, that wiped out the entire towns and villages.

The destruction went on for years, making wastelands out of Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales. These days, however, after the volcano has quieted down and the affected provinces strive to rebuild themselves, Mt. Pinatubo is once again a focus of attention, but this time as an attraction for adventure seekers.

To get to the place, one needs to travel three hours all the way to Capas, Tarlac to Sitio Sta. Juliana, which is known as the gateway to Mt. Pinatubo. This village is often used by trekkers as a base camp for their expeditions.

Four-by-four can be hired at this place but can only take one to the foot of the mountain. After that, it’s on foot for the rest of the way up.

That’s what the group of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Tourism Secretary Richard Gordon did when they trekked to Mt. Pinatubo. The wide trail they tried was a dry riverbed of lahar, bordered on both sides by mountains of ash. Rocks were everywhere, jagged formations that rested at impossible angles.

They passed a number of streams and several million rocks. The mountains of ash seemed to go on like great, unbroken walls. As the group went on, the land around them was no longer gray but a more natural brown with splashes of green vegetation. The streams, too, has changed. Now they were warm and tinted with ochre and red.

Finally, the group reached the top and before them a vast lake of impossibly blue water, bordered on all slides by craggy cliffs made of ash and sand. A layer of volcanic minerals lined its waveless shores, hinting at the restless earth that lay underneath.

One can only wonder how the source of so much devastation can be this beautiful. It was truly a breathtaking sight. The trek is part of the President’s initiative to bring attention to Philippine tourism. But there is a trek of conquest that has not received as much attention – Barangay Sta. Juliana’s eco-tourism initiatives and efforts to connect it to the world.

This was put into centerstage when the President made a satellite phone call from the peak of the mountain to Ronaldo Tiotuico, DoT’s director in Central Luzon, informing him that the two satellite mobile phones (Ericson R-190) given by Smart Communications, Inc. to the President was donated to the Sta. Julian Tourism Council (SJTC) for use by guides to connect to the Sta. Juliana office at the foot of the mountain.

Tiotuico, on the other end, was in SJTC office using the Smart Link fixed satellite phone in the Smart Tawag Center.

Some 129 kilometers of Metro Manila, at the farthest barangay west of the town of Capas, Tarlac, lies Barangay Sta. Juliana. After 10 years following the volcanic upheaval, Barangay Sta. Juliana remains unperturbed and spared from the mudflows cascading from the volcano.

A number of residents make a living from volcano debris while others have started tending some farmlands. Affected most are some 100 families belonging to the indigenous community of Aetas.

Now, through the initiative of the DoT-Region III, the people in the community established the SJTC, a foundation through which the community could generate economic benefits from travel and tourism.

Slowly, through continuous training in programs, mountain guiding were introduced. An association of mountain guides and porters were formed. Homestay participants were readied to receive visitors into their home. A newly-built visitor assistance center complete with a front desk, information materials and computer system were put in place.