Home // Posts tagged "power up tandang sora"

Rock Climbing in Wawa, Montalban

Rock Climbing in Wawa Montalban

A route with a view. Photo courtesy of Dennis Pagayon

Wawa in Montalban/Rodriguez, Rizal is a well known destination for mountain bikers in Metro Manila. But this little rural village on the foothills of the Sierra Madre is also a mecca for another tribe of outdoor sports enthusiasts. Rock climbers flock to Wawa Montalban because of its limestone cliffs which offer some of the finest and most challenging climbing in the Philippines.

In my ten year on-and-off love affair with climbing, Wawa has always occupied a special spot. The first time I went there, I gazed stupefied at its cliffs. I did not know that there were walls like that so near to Manila. I’ve gone there two more times since my first visit, and it has never been boring. Just looking at the cliffs can make you dizzy with both dread and anticipation. With some crags shooting up more than a hundred feet, you need to be a real badass to try to scale them. Read more [+]

Biking and Running in UP Diliman

U.P. Diliman Biker

For running and biking, the U.P. Diliman campus is the best destination in Metro Manila

If New York City has its Central Park, Metro Manila has the UP Diliman campus. No disrespect to Luneta and the QC circle, but in terms of wide and green open spaces, the 493 hectare flagship campus of the State University is unmatched in Metro Manila. The campus is a gigantic garden with tree-lined avenues and wide grassy areas where all sorts of outdoor activities can be held. I am not sure if there’s a place that can compare to it in the Metro.

Bonifacio Global City may have lots of runnable and bikeable pavement, but its small trees hardly provide any shade. Luneta and Roxas Boulevard meanwhile have deteriorated a lot, as evidenced by the seemingly uncollectable trash along the baywalk. If you’re sick of breathing in the brown, oily halitosis of Metro Manila while running or biking, UP Diliman is the best place to go inside the Metro. Read more [+]

Wall Climbing In Power Up Tandang Sora

A climber tries to overcome an overhang

Personally, I think bikers and runners should take on climbing to balance things out. While biking and running give our legs a great workout, they neglect the upper body. Climbing takes care of this. Also, if you bike or run in Wawa, you must be familiar with its magnificent soaring cliffs that are just waiting to be scaled.

And there’s no better place to learn climbing than in Power Up Tandang Sora–the grand daddy of wall climbing gyms in the Philippines. It is one of the first (if not the first) indoor climbing gyms ever built in the country.  Read more [+]