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Biking to Antenna Hill and the Angono Petroglyphs

Downhill bikers of Antenna Hill

Downhill bikers of Antenna Hill

Its steepness will remind mountain bikers of The Wall in Timberland. The view from the top meanwhile will recall the hills of Antipolo, which overlook Metro Manila. If you’re looking for a different kind challenge for the weekend, Antenna Hill in Tayuman, Binangonan, Rizal should be high on your list.

This biking destination also comes with several bonuses as you can head on to the historic Petroglyphs after climbing the hill, visit a first-class resort along the way, and take a tour of the arthouse restaurants in Angono.

Antenna Hill

Antenna Hill as seen from Gate Two of San Carlos Subdivision

I wasn’t really planning on doing a solo ride of Antenna Hill last weekend, but the biking bug bit me. I also couldn’t get any buddies to join me so just decided to go it alone. It’s always preferable to have a buddy on a ride, but it’s always better to just go solo instead of wasting a great day to be outdoors just because no one else wants to join you.

Although I’ve climbed Antenna several times before, the place just never gets old. The climb starts at the Gate 2 of San Carlos Subdivision. It’s a nice paved road, until you get to the middle part where the tarmac disintegrates and it becomes a potholed fire road all the way to the top.

Antenna Hill's Way of the Cross

Antenna Hill’s Way of the Cross

It’s a pretty gnarly climb, but if you’ve completed The Wall before, Antenna Hill shouldn’t get you gassed out. Along the route are stations of the cross which were placed there by devout Catholics from the Sacred Heart Parish. There’s also a shrine near the top.

The store at the top of Antenna Hill

The store at the top of Antenna Hill

When you get to the summit, you’ll be glad to know that there’s a sari-sari store there which serves Gatorade and other drinks, and where you can have instant noodles cooked for you in case you’ve depleted your carbohydrate and sodium stores while biking up. There’s also a place where you can park your bikes.

From the summit, you can hit the trails where the Spyder Downhill Cup was held last February. I wouldn’t recommend you attempt the jumps though if you’re unsure of your skill level. Some of the regulars here say that you can do the technical stuff even on a cross country rig, but you risk breaking your bike.

Downhill racer jumps a drop again

Might as well jump…

Downhill racer negotiates the steep slope

This is a lot harder than it looks. Most mountain bikers would probably choose to just dismount instead of descending this track.

Some of them drop over five feet and can easily send an overeager noob over the handlebar. Most of the guys who do this have downhill specific suspension forks, and wear full-face helmets.

Antenna Hill's Downhill Ramp

Antenna Hill’s Downhill Ramp

One of the trails on Antenna Hill

One of the trails on Antenna Hill

Bike in the hills of Binangonan-Angono

This is the stuff of great weekends

Downhill bikers of Antenna Hill

Full face helmets are a must for downhilling

Bike overlooking Metro Manila

You can really see how polluted Metro Manila’s air is from this vantage point

From Antenna Hill it’s just a few hundred pedal strokes away to East Ridge subdivision. Bikers familiar with Timberland will get a sense of deja vu here—at least until they see ThunderBird Resorts, which then reminds you of La Union and that movie where Derek Ramsay gets to bonk both Anne Curtis and Cristine Reyes. 

Thunderbird Resorts Rizal

Thunderbird Resorts Rizal

Hungry bikers can try the breakfast buffet in this classy resort. Be prepared to pay hotel rates though for filling your bread basket. If you don’t want to do too much damage to your wallets or you prefer to eat in someplace that’s got more character, skip that and wait until you get down to Angono where you can try Balaw Balaw and the Nemiranda Arts Cafe.

But before you do that, you really need to see the Angono Petroglyphs in Binangonan first.

Road to the Petroglyphs

Angono Petroglyphs Tunnel

Angono Petroglyphs Tunnel

Angono Petroglyphs Tunnel

It’s a very interesting ride

Angono Petroglyphs in BinangonanAngono Petroglyphs in BinangonanAngono Petroglyphs in BinangonanAfter soaking up prehistoric art, it was time to head down to Angono for something more contemporary. No bike tour of the Binangonan-Angono hills would be complete without visiting Angono’s artsy restaraunts.

A group ogf friendly bikers in Thunderbird

A group of friendly bikers in ThunderbirdAngono Ateliers Museum

Nemiranda Art House

On the way back I met a group of bikers who had also just visited the Petroglyphs. One of them recognized me as the guy from Travel Up. Oh well, I’m pretty sure OutsideSlacker will also be as famous as that blog someday.

I was thinking of doing a short detour to Thunder Trail, but since it was almost 11am, the heat was already starting to become unbearable. Maybe next time. Thunder Trail is an excellent trail that was built specifically for mountain biking. If you’re visiting Antenna or the Petroglyphs, you need to try this out too.

Anyway, San Carlos Subdivision (the entrance to Antenna) in Tayuman Rizal is about an hour to an hour and a half away from the Ortigas Center in Pasig City. Check this map for directions. You can park in the sidestreets, but first ask permission from the owner of the house you’ll be parking near–just in case you may be taking a parking spot. If you want to know more about the folk art and food of Angono, visit Travel Up’s excellent article on the subject.

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29 Comments

  • hi sir! I wanna join you when you hit rizal areas kaso newbie pa lang ako hehe

    • sure jm, sige. subukan ko mag organize ng isang ride to antenna petroglyphs at bunot trail sa december 🙂

  • Hi, this is nice..I am from Montalban, any way to join, not a newbie but never been but determined to be one…

    🙂
    Thanks.

  • Hello Sir,

    If you happen to visit Angono and Binangonan again, do drop by Kinamat Resto-bar for good food at reasonable prices. Our place is convenient for bikers since bikes can be brought inside the resto-bar. We have nipa huts where you can rest and eat. Our place is located at 1342 Col. Guido St. Binangonan Rizal. You’ll pass by our place on your way to Thunderbird resort. Hope to see you there soon 🙂

    https://www.google.com.ph/maps?t=m&sll=14.527351,121.159297&sspn=0.0079763,0.0109864&q=Kinamat+RestoBar&output=classic&dg=ntvb

    • outsideslacker

      April 4, 2014 at 8:58 am

      wow! i’ll make it a point to check you out next time i bike on the col. guido road 🙂 bikers need to know about good eating places along the way. thanks for the info!

  • Hi! Is it possible to reach Antenna hill on a road bike? I’m not sure if “potholed fire road” is safe for us roadies hehe 🙂 Thanks in advance

    • hi liz, i wouldn’t recommend you climb antenna on a road bike. baka ma-flat gulong nyo or masira ang rim

      • Is there no other path to Antenna hill? Just the dirt path?

        • outsideslacker

          July 11, 2014 at 3:32 pm

          hi angeli, you mean to the top of antenna hill? yup, yung dirt path lang. although paved naman yung paakyat mula sa san carlos gate 2

  • hi,sir. galing ako kahapon dun sa Antenna Hill, kaya lang pag dating ko sa taas may nakalagay dun sa entrance na “Bikers lang po ang pwedeng pumasok.” Sir,ok lang ba kahit sinong biker ang pumasok dun or kailangan member ka ng isang club?

  • Hello po, ask ko lang po kung kaya bang marating yung Thunderbird resorts and yung museum and art house pag roadbike ang gamit? Or may rough roads po na madadaanan? Thanks po! 🙂

    • outsideslacker

      May 15, 2014 at 4:26 pm

      yup. kaya if you go by the angono highway instead of antenna. if you’re coming from manila turnleft at teh 711 store. diretso lang yun. good luck lang sa steepness ng road hehe

      • Haha. Sige po. Thanks for the info. Pag too steep pwede na akay na lang ng bike. Hahaha thanks.

  • I’ve been to Antenna Hill once and I want to try it for the second time around. I also want to see the Angono Petroglyphs because I’ve never been there. Could you give me some idea on how to get there? Thanks in advance.. 😉

    • outsideslacker

      July 8, 2014 at 11:37 am

      the petroglyphs are just down the main road. there’s a sign on the dirt road leading to a tunnel. it’s also on google maps 🙂

  • Hello sir…
    It’s been a year since I posted something about the bike I bought and started the life on the saddle and “behind bars”..this blog is really really helpful for a newbie like me…helps me and my newfound friends (bike groupie) map out and plan ahead our bike ride destinations ahead of time…almost all our ride destinations info. are taken out from this blog…thank so much sir…more power and hope to see a lot more ride destinations in this blog..and maybe someday meet you in person that would be very very cool.

    • Glad to know you’re enjoying biking 🙂 pag di na masyado maulan I’ll organize a ride for the readers of the blog 🙂

  • newbie here, sama sana ako…..when can i know kung na organize na ang bike ride

    • Hi Orlando, ipo-post ko sa fb page ang ride sked. Pero busy pa ako ngayon so baka sa January na next ride 🙂

  • san po kaya yung bike trail sa thunderbird resort?

  • Hi. Are there bikes for rent near antenna hill or petroglyphs? We were there last weekend and we saw a sign where they had bikes for rent but I’m not sure if it still going on up to now. Thanks

    • I am not really sure. That’s probably a recent development because people who bike there usually bring their own bikes

  • Hi,

    Can you pls give me directions “bike all the way” from UP to Antenna. Preferably all road since one of my ride mate is on rigid. thanks

    • hi carlo, from UP take katipunan, then marcos hiway, turn right at imelda ave. left to ortigas ave extension, then right sa manila east road. continue until you get past angono hiway. pag nakita nyo na yung san carlos heights second gate, pasok kayo dun. yun na yung paakyat ng antenna. kung naka-mtb kayo lahat, you can cross the fireroad to thunderbird resorts and the angono petroglyphs.
      if you’re with roadies, another option is to turn left sa angono hiway sa 711. paakyat yan ng east ridge at thunderbird. warning though, it’s steeper than timberland’s “the wall”

  • Very inspiring blog… I will have my new bike next week. Ipon mode now is worth the wait 😀

  • hi paano po ba makapunta dun sa trail from valle verde 5 and paano po malaman kung saan yung trail. thanks!

    • hi enduro, gusto sana kita tulungan pero di ko alam kung saan ang valle verde 5 hehe. but from shangrila edsa, just head straight down ortigas ave, turn left to the manila east road, then when youb get to angono, turn left to the diversion road/highway. pag nakita mo na yung 7-eleven, turn left ka dun at dire-diretso lang hanggang dun sa killer climb. pag nasa east ride ka na, may sign naman dun which says thunder trail