Mt. Iraya - The Shy One

As I’m packing my things the night of April 8, 2014, I never really expected that another dream of mine would come into reality. Who would have thought, Batanes and Mt. Iraya? Yay!

After our 3-day stay in Batanes (2 days in Batan and 1 day in Sabtang), my feet are now itching and ready for another climb. Our guide (Thank God we found one!), Kuya Ireneo “Neo” picked up my call late afternoon of April 11. It was not just an answered call but an answered prayer. We (I and Karen) were losing hope that we won’t be able to climb Mt. Iraya due to unavailability of guides in Basco. Luckily, our tour guide phoned someone and helps us secure our much-awaited climb for Saturday. We agreed to start the climb around 7 in the morning so we can still catch up with the rest of our non-climber friends who opted to go to the beach.

Saturday, 5AM.

Mt. Iraya as viewed from Fundacion Pacita

The alarm woke me up and instantly I’m on my feet. Gave Karen a text message and off to take a quick shower. Kuya Neo was already outside of Batanes Seaside Lodge together with our rented tricycle service.

We arrived at the jump off (near Basco Airport terminal) a minute before 7AM. We started our trek right after our usual “fresh look photo opt.” The first 20 minutes was a breeze passing thru some backyards and neighbourhoods at the feet of Mt. Iraya.

the blogger, Kuya Neo and Karen

After the easy trail came the sudden assault crossing ridges while the cool breeze are fanning on our faces. The ridges remind me of Mt. Arayat although this one is much lower. Thick vegetation would be an understatement if I am to describe the trail of Iraya. The trail is abundant of ferns and other flora that we not only tripped once. The sound of chirping birds made good melodies while we’re busy brushing off plants along the trail.

view of Valugan Boulder Beach from the trail

The trail is a bit ‘disturbed’ due to some climbers who has trekked Mt. Iraya the day before us. The ground is muddy and the mossy trees are moist with the dew coming from the clouds that constantly enveloped the summit. Fortunately for us, not a single drop of rain was present. 

the mossy part of the trail

After 2 hours of continuous climb, we reached a small flat ground which locals dubbed as ‘balikat ng Iraya’ (shoulder of Iraya). Sadly the view at the summit was not clear. It was covered with thick clouds and shying away from our admiring eyes.

view of summit from the shoulder of Iraya. see the trail?

We rested for 10 minutes before we proceed with the ‘close to 90 degrees’ summit assault. If I were to rate this part, it’ll be a 5/9 difficulty. The steep trail combined with thick vegetation made it harder to reach the summit. ‘An hour, an hour and I’ll be on top.’ I kept repeating that in my mind while grabbing every available branch to assist me.

hold on! this is one of your 'saving grace'

Forty five minutes later, we arrived at the summit. I made! We made it....safe and dry. Just like the view from the shoulder of Iraya, it was still cloudy and adorned with thick vegetation. We were so grateful that we were blessed with a good weather. If not for that, we would not have done it in less than 3 hours. Whew!

altimeter reading from my watch

Right after a little photo opt, we decided to stay for an hour before descending. We’re still hoping that the clouds will make way and give us a clear view of the entire Batanes including that of Itbayat. 45 minutes had passed and not a single view was seen. L Next time! I know there’ll be a next time.

at the summit landmark

If going up is hard....going down is much harder but we never falter. Armed with strong will and hungry stomach, slowing down is not an option! Good thing that Kuya Neo was very attentive and chatty the entire climb. It made the climb a lot easier.

The descent from summit to shoulder took us around 45-50 minutes and the descent from shoulder to jump off was around an hour and 30 minutes. It’s not how fast or slow we reached the summit and back but how safe and happy it made us. We were conquered by the majestic beauty of the shy Mt. Iraya.

We called our rented tricycle service (Kuya Elmer) to drop us off back to our hotel and bid our goodbye and thank you to Kuya Neo. He was such a good guide and would definitely recommend him to other climbers planning to climb Mt. Iraya.

It was nice to have met you. Dios mamajes, Iraya!

Until then!