Catching the Sunset at Mount Tapyas

One of the things that shouldn’t be missed when visiting Coron is catching the sunset from Mount Tapyas. Whenever I travel I catch the sunrise or sunset whenever possible. These are just too magical and majestic in feeling. Watching the sun how it rises or how it sets is just so dreamlike.

Mount Tapyas is located few kilometers away from the town proper. We rode a tricycle from GLC Lodging to get to the foot of Mount Tapyas, fare is PHP 10.00 each. Few minutes more and the sun is about to set when we reached the foot of Mount Tapyas. We still have 720 steps to hike to reach the top. I hurriedly hiked the steps and hoping to still make it to the top before the sun set.

We were just on our 100th something steps but we were already feeling tired. Our feet must have been forced for such activity that day. Some of my companions weren’t expose to such hike; so just imagine ourselves while trekking up to the Mount Tapyas. We were so tired and thirsty and good thing one of the vendor followed us through our hike. We bought a bottle of drink to relief our thirst. TIP: Bring drinking water with you.

We’re already half-way and in that moment, the sun sets.

I was peeking from the trees obstructing my view to capture the sunset.

Nevertheless, it was indeed majestic.

From then on, we hiked moderately until we reached the top. We were panting when we reached the view deck. It was indeed 720 exhausting steps. Here’s how we looks like, tired and thirsty.

But that vanished away when we saw the beautiful view from the Mount Tapyas viewing deck.

Aside from the magnificent view of the islands surrounding Coron, there’s a giant cross standing at the peak of Mount Tapyas. The view of Coron town proper can also be seen from the peak of Mount Tapyas.

It’s already getting dark and so we weren’t able to explore more of the area. The only light available in the area was the giant cross which is lighted during nighttime. We were the last group to leave the viewing deck. It’s kind of creepy getting down because the pathway doesn’t have any light, it’s so dark and the only light we have is from our mobile phones.

Then I realized why there are no lights in the pathway is to focus the giant cross at the peak which is lighted during nighttime. Seriously, it’s kind of scary being the last group to descend from the peak. TIP: Flashlight is needed whenever you plan to leave Mount Tapyas viewing deck after sunset or when it’s already dark.

We don’t bother the steps and just hurriedly went down until we reached the foot of the mountain. Whew! What a relief!

From there, we rode a tricycle and went to Kawayanan Grill to have the much awaited first meal in Coron, our dinner. Fare is PHP 10.00 each. I will post about this restaurant on a separate entry together with other restaurant we have dined in during our trip.

It has been a great first day in Coron. It seems what we did for the entire day is to chase and catch everything. From chasing our flight to catching the sunset but good thing all these exhausting chase ends there and the next days on our travel seems to be pretty great, impressive, surprising and shocking.

Trip Tips: 

• If you plan to hike Mount Tapyas to catch the sunrise / sunset from the viewing deck, start to hike at least 45 minutes before sunrise / sunset so you’ll not be in a hurry to hike and not to miss it
• Bring drinking water
• Bring flash light if you plan to leave the viewing deck after sunset or when it’s already dark
• No need for a guide to hike (as long as you’re physically fit) as there’s already a path and steps to follow