Side trips are difficult for me, especially if it's early in the morning since nowadays my biological clock wakes me up really late. Though, I was amazed at how my unconsciousness let me be conscious early on this side trip. This is an unplanned side trip to Hoyohoy. Have you heard of that place before?
Hoyohoy is a barangay of Tangub City in Misamis Occidental, Philippines. It is located in the mountain area. Well, I am not very sure if it's the last barangay of Tangub City but it looks like it is because it's way, way up there. By the way, Tangub City is famed as the Christmas Symbols Capital of the Philippines because of its beautiful creativity of their decoration during Christmas.
I've heard about Hoyohoy many times before. I have also learned that it has the highest and longest zip line in Asia, which I witnessed and it's definitely real. But before I tour you to Hoyohoy Highland let's talk about how we went there and what are the other places that we stopped over before reaching to the breathtaking place named Hoyohoy.
After our scrumptious breakfast, we prepared ourselves for going to Hoyohoy. I don't know exactly how much it costs to get to there though I think it isn't expensive since Mindanao isn't like Visayas or Luzon. I bet you can get to the place by paying a "habal-habal", a type of motorcycle that can handle running in rocky and steep hills. We used Aunt Melanie's private vehicle, albeit, it's small but it was able to get us to our destination.
This is the vehicle we used to get to our destinations.
The only thing I heard about Hoyohoy was its zip line but I never realize how a beauty it is, an Epitome of heaven. While we were in the car and traveling, I was looking outside and complimenting the nature. The beauty of nature makes me realize how lucky I am to be able to witness the extraordinary beauty it possesses. I saw a lot of trees. The few houses, that are made of light materials, were getting fewer as we were getting further. The noise of the insect called "gangis" (cicada) in Bisaya from afar made Miss Ann shrank because it's unbearable for her but I can handle it since I am used to its noise. It usually makes a noise when the place is going to be humid.
It wasn't rocky though steeply, especially when you are almost at Hoyohoy. The pavement is cemented even though there was an area that was constructed but I think traveling to get there, either by motorcycles or private vehicles, is okay. The only inconvenient part was the steep hills. If you are scared then you might scream. I suggest that you try to look at its nature rather thinking of the steep hills. The nature of Hoyohoy along the road is worth looking. I was fascinated by the fog that was covering the mountain. There were also some flowers planted along the road. If I was traveling alone, I would probably stop over and take photos of the beautiful flowers.
We first stopover Hoyohoy View Deck, which I never heard it before. I think it's just constructed recently since the evidence of unfinished buildings and the laborers were working even if it's Sunday. Workers in the Philippines don't work on Sundays, especially for laborers. After Kuya (I totally forgot his name) the one who kindly drive us to get there, we paid the entrance fee that costs 30 PHP (0.6 USD). Th View Deck is evidently incomplete. There is another building on the right that is still bare. After stepping inside, you can see the pavement made of bricks and was grass as well. The sides have box-like benches, which were planted and the middle has different shapes that were covered with vine plants.
This is the view from the entrance.
We headed to the building and climbed to the second floor. The view was breathtaking. Definitely, I seldom see this kind of scenery. I am afraid of heights and climbing to the second-floor deck was a challenge for me. There was a part of the deck that it's made of glass and I am pretty sure that it's thick enough to allow some people to steep on it. It's translucent so I saw through it the people from the first-floor deck. But it cringed me so much. My head was telling me that I was steeping on the glass and it might be broken. Honestly, I tried not to steep on the glass.
The second floor of the View Deck.
I endured the cringing feeling I felt just to savor this beautiful scenery. I couldn't see the sea because it's covered with fogs at this time but it was still pretty and greenish mountain made me feel that I was one with nature. I actually wish to come back here soon. It's too pretty not to witness again.
The sight from the second-floor deck.
This is what I looked like when I was trying my best to get shots on the second floor. I was trying my best not to step on those glasses.
This was probably around 8:30 AM and the entire place was still almost covered with fog. It's cold but bearable. The heat of the sun couldn't get through because of the thick fog. I am sure that this place will be much more beautiful soon because Jihan mentioned that the government mentioned about allotting a budget in making the place more beautiful and attractive to tourist. It's probably cheap but I hope it won't be very expensive when everything's in place.
Posing with your friends is really fun.
We went down and took some group pictures of us with the mountain covered with fog behind us. After taking beautiful photos. We had some time to savor the moment we are experiencing this beautiful scenery. There were a lot of things popped into my head while looking at the fog and how it thickly covered the mountain tip. I looked down and saw the long river that might be connected to the sea and the steep hill that was covered with immense grass. The depth from the View Deck to the river made me imagine bad things so I didn't look again. I am really a scaredy-cat.
The group pictures.
We headed to our second destination. I don't know exactly the name of this place but it wasn't far from the View Deck. We passed this cottage look-like while going to View Deck and because it was almost everyone's first time traveling to this place so we decided to stop over. It's just along the road so it's very accessible. There was no one there and there was no entrance fee. The view here was amazing as well. However, there weren't activities to enjoy here, just like the View Deck, for the meantime taking pictures and enjoying the nature are the things tourists can do here.
The cottage look-like where we stayed for minutes.
Since it's lower than the View Deck so the sea from here was visible. It's not well-covered with the fog. The beautiful sea and the entire city were very visible from where I was standing. It's so green mixing with the blue sky and the fog made the place looked perfect. I wish the harsh world won't ruin this beautiful place.
The sight from the cottage.
Our third destination was in Hoyohoy Highland Stone Chapel and Adventure Park. This is more known to everyone because of its zip line. The tall trees and the pine trees greeted us when we arrived. I was very fascinated with those trees. I remember the scenery of Baguio in pictures. I have never been to Baguio so I would always just see the beautiful place in pictures. I am hoping I can travel there in the future. The entrance fee costs 50 PHP (1 USD) for each person.
Here's the entrance of the Hoyohoy Highland Stone Chapel and Adventure Park. And the proud tall trees.
We saw some plants that were for sales like herbal plants and others. I can't remember everything. There were about 4 women who approached and tried to convince us to buy their newly harvested vegetables. There were cheap actually. The cherry tomatoes made me salivate so I bought a plastic of it that costs 20 PHP (0.4 USD), later I learned that it's very expensive in the malls. The amount of a 100 PHP (2 USD) of it was just half of the one we bought. I thought I was lucky to try it. I've never tried cherry tomatoes before.
We toured ourselves around and we saw the signage of their establishments and activities. The entire place has planted with plants, trees, and flowers. I walked through the View Deck and saw the entire city of Ozamis and Tangub city. It was clearer than the previous stop-overs we did. It's so refreshing to see for me since I have never been to high places before and witnessed this beautiful creation.
The signage and the view from the view deck area.
At the back of the View Deck, there were the huge rocks and the Stone Chapel. The rocks felt like it was there for ages. The grass covering the ground was quite thick and there were cute blooming yellow wildflowers. The Stone Chapel was basically made of stone. The architecture of this Chapel is quite amazing. I can see hard work in how it was constructed. The Chapel was almost made of stones excluding the roof and the flooring of it. It isn't a big Chapel but the stone wall was very thick.
The exterior of the Stone Chapel
Even the interior was made of stone. According to the people there, the walls were really made of stones and it looked legit. It's smaller inside because of the thick walls. Probably, a maximum of 20 people could sit on the long wooden chairs. Although it looked humid because of the thick walls, the coldness of the place outside made the Stone Chapel cooler. The place didn't look like a priest holds a mass there but it's a place where I can pray for my numerous sins.
The interior of the Stone Chapel.
On the left part of the Stone Chapel stood the Hotel as well as the function hall and café. It's quite big and might have enough facilities to accommodate their guests. Although the staff was so kind to explain to me about their hotel and expressed his willingness to tour me inside the vicinity, especially the hotel, I just asked a flyer. It's a pity that we weren't able to tour ourselves so much of the place because we had to be mindful of our time as Miss Ann and Sir Dennis would be flying back to Cebu at 3 PM.
The hotel.
The tariff showed how worth-it the place to stay with. I am interested in the Barkadahan Room for 6 persons that's worth 1,500 PHP (30 USD), albeit, food is excluded but I think it's fair enough. I'm not really an authentic travel blogger so I can't really if this is economical or not. But with the beautiful place and the relaxation it can give me while staying in here, I think this price is okay.
Check out their tariff.
I headed to the restaurant where the zip line was also located. My companions were already then since Sir Dennis was very eager to try the zip line. I was so busy looking at every piece of the place intently because I want to write a defined blog about this place. I was also busy taking pictures of the place. I have to admit, I am in love with this place.
Going to the restaurant I needed to walk through the stone stairs. Oh boy! They are almost made of stones. It's quite steep and long though I was walking down so it's fine but in the back of my head that I would surely be catching my breath when I have to climb up this stairs. And definitely, I did. I was like an old woman chanting some weird words. The old people who were passing were looking at me with those weird looks.
The stone stairs.
The restaurant looked quite fine. The interior wasn't bad but wasn't also very attractive. The area wasn't big enough to accommodate a lot of people. Maybe this place didn't have a lot of guests all the time. The had a mini stage which I guess they invite a singer sometimes. My companion was curiously spoken out whether the food in the restaurant needed to be called to be prepared before coming over or not which I was also curious. The advantages of this place were the breathtaking scenery of the entire city from the restaurant and the friendly staffs. However, if you just want to visit the place just for a day, I suggest to just bring your own food. They don't charge for the food corkage and I bet the price of the food in the restaurant might be expensive.
The restaurant and the menu.
When Sir Dennis was decided and settled, the staff explained to him the things that he has to remember while flying. He was attentively and excitedly listening to her. He was very eager to try. I heard from Miss Ann that Sir Dennis is really adventurous. When we ready to set off, they pushed him and he was visibly enjoying himself in the air. Later, I couldn't see him anymore but Miss Ann was cheerfully saying that Sir Dennis was still in the air. I am actually short-sighted so I couldn't see it very well.
Sir Dennis asked me to take a photo of him.
Minutes had passed and we thought Sir Dennis was taking too long so the staff called the other staffs that probably was with Sir Dennis. He then assured us that Sir Dennis was coming. Later, I could hear the gear of the jeep. Sir Dennis then gave us a thumb up when he saw us. He mentioned how he got stuck in the mid-air when he was doing the second zip line because of the pressure of the air and because he was light so the staff needed to grab him. He excitedly told us that he took advantage of it by taking a lot of pictures. He also mentioned, which we also didn't know, that after finishing the zip line he was asked whether to get on the horse or the Off-road car Riding to get back to the zip line area. He said, he hesitantly asked which was better probably he was also interested to do both but the staff said that the off-road car riding was more of an adventure so he chose it and he said it was worth it. The 500 PHP (10 USD) long zip line and the off-road car riding or horseback riding were worthwhile.
That's all for this blog.
Credits to Sir Dennis and Chelle for some of the pictures used. I am also in #ULOG. Check out my ulog journals.
Loudette 😘