And with its immense height (higher than Cantabaco), it has the potential to become the first big wall of Cebu. However, by the looks of it, we deduce that it is made of very hard, very solid limestone. We weren’t able to get really close to it due to the very dense vegetation at its base. Sweetie checked out the white rock face of Puting Bato. One side is completely covered with vegetation. The photo below shows the other sides of this beautiful rock. Puting Bato is named so due to the gigantic white limestone wall that comprises its eastern wall. Erosion exposes or forms monoliths, which are often made of very hard rock. Remember that you are seeing the photo in forced perspective the people are closer to the camera than the monolith.Ī monolith, by the way, is an impressive geological feature that consists of a singular massive stone. To give you an idea of just how huge this rock is, check out the photo below and compare the scale of the people to the rock wall. The shorter outcropping beside it has been baptized as Itom nga Bato (Black Stone). Then all of a sudden, the massive, immensely tall Puting Bato stepped right in front of us with all its glory. The cloudy day definitely made the uphill trek a little easier as there was no hot sun to scorch us. Patches of light woods made way for patches of grasslands. The evidence of civilization trickled ever so slightly, and we were in Mother Nature’s bosom. We passed by a quiet community, left our packs in Sir Enie’s cousin’s home, and continued our trek towards Puting Bato.Īfter a quarter of an hour of trekking, we entered light woods, which momentarily hid Puting Bato from view. From several vantage points on the highway, Puting Bato is clearly visible. Coke, of course, was never absent.Īfter letting those yummy morsels settle in our stomachs, we took a habal-habal ride to the jump-off point, which is just around 10 minutes from Cantabaco and a walking distance from the Lutopan “Landing” bus stop. Great! But before going to Puting Bato, we treated ourselves to a traditional Filipino lunch of inasal manok (roasted chicken) puso, or hanging rice (rice cooked in weaved coconut palms) and atchara (grated and pickled papayas). We were also happy to meet several friendly climbers who came all the way from Dumaguete to experience climbing the Philippine’s premier sport climbing crag. During weekends where we don’t have any scheduled treks, trips, or other adventures, you can almost always find us climbing the routes here with great friends and fellow climbers. Kanlaon climb.Īn excellent, sunny Sunday starts with an adrenaline-pumping morning of scrambling up the pure limestone crag of Cantabaco, one of our favorite weekend hangouts in Cebu. This mini-adventure was also our post-climb reward for a successful Mt. And last April 6, 2014, Sunday, we asked sir Enie, a rock climbing guide, to guide us to check this potential rock climbing treasure. The monolith is officially known as Bantogan Banog (thanks, Sir Wendell for the information), but locals simply call it Puting Bato (White Stone) due to its massive white limestone face. Best of all, the venue is near a bustling community, just like Cantabaco! That means comfort and convenience are nearby we don’t have to suffer in the wilderness after a hard day’s climb. Yes, it’s that near! And it’s so tall and so big that it can be seen from the Lutopan plaza. We need more candidates, and we found one just an hour away from the bus stop in Lutopan at the Naga-Toledo Highway. Presently, there are only three rock climbing sites in Cebu-the Cantabaco crag, the Poog crag, and Chocolate Mountain, the last of which is still being developed. Finding such sites is part of our support in the local climbing community. Behind the online scene, we have invited friends to come with us during weekends, so they can experience climbing sheer rock walls.Īdditionally, as avid rock climbers, we have always been on the lookout for new venues that can be developed as excellent rock climbing sites. As you, dear readers, may have already known, we’re constantly promoting Cantabaco through our blog, urging everyone to visit the area and try out this confidence-building sport. Ever since we got hooked to the extreme sport of rock climbing, we have been trying, in our own humble way, to develop the budding rock climbing scene in Cebu.
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