Pampanga Bound
A Travel Guide to the
Home of the Kapampangans
MT. ARAYAT
Pampanga is a flat land and somehow nature created near its center a lone Mount Arayat. My grandma’s version of the legend was of two lovers Ara and Yat being punished and turned to soil forming the mountain, the peak of the mountain shaped by the side profiles of the lover faces. There are many legends of the place, google and read one before you go for more fun.
Mt. Arayat is of course in the town of Arayat. My mom, aunt, and I went there by car and actually got a little lost, but that’s part of the adventure itself. From San Fernando you can take a jeep or car and just drive on straight towards Mexico City, there are signs along the way and if you miss one, just stop and ask people by the road to point you back. Thinking back it’s a long straight road with 3 diversions or forks. When you’re on the road you will see the Mount getting bigger and bigger and that’s when you know that you’re on the right track. There is a gated property at the end of the road and that is the entrance to the Mt. Arayat National Park.
Entering the park, I was actually a bit disappointed of what I found. It was far off the “very’ beautiful place my mom told us about. The park was worse for wear because it hasn’t been properly maintained for a while. The play sets in the playground were very rusty, the concrete walks were broken, the swimming pools near the big water falls were empty. There were evacuees occupying some of the grounds. Overall, it is still a must see and a place for people to enjoy. You could swim in one of their functional pools and enjoy the cool waterfalls. You can trek up the mountain by climbing the first 100 steps staircase located near the pool and continue your own route after, a lot of mountain climbing groups visit the site.
It is a huge park, it is best if you get to be assisted by able and willing to tell you where to find the sites and adventures. A young teen showed us the winding road leading up the mountain where we saw the dirt road leading to the bikers camp. He also led us to the grotto for praying and getting a higher view of the surrounding towns, along the way we saw people with water jugs and taking showers all courtesy of free flowing water from pipes inserted on the side of the mountain.
Here are more photos from and around Mt. Arayat.
The stairs leading to the peak of the Mountain. Below is a picture of one of the waterfalls with a couple of friends having fun and enjoying the cool water.
This is the only functioning pool as of the moment in the park but as you can see from their happy faces that they're all having fun.
Another, smaller twin waterfall.
Road around the mountain. You could pretend to be Thorin and his Company in your trek to the "Lonely Mountain." That could be fun with less danger.
This is the Grotto where people can take baths and get water from the mountain.
View from the small Shrine.
Currently the park is being renovated with the supervision of the Town Mayor and hopefully the park will return to its former glory. But it still is a must see, I recommend you still get to enjoy the beauty that nature has to offer. So don’t hesitate to stop by and go on an adventure to Mt. Arayat.
Click on Google Maps to check out the location of Mt. Arayat in Arayat, Pampanga.
To learn more about Mt. Arayat, Check out these blogs, links and videos.