Riding the Zipline and the Open-Air Cable Car at 5th Mountain of Balakayo

It was just weeks after my experience on riding a cable car in Genting Highlands when I saw a post from Mica of Senyorita about an open-air cable car ride in General Santos City. An adrenaline junkie, I excitedly included this activity to my Soccsksargen tour. It was supposed to be a solo trip but I invited my friend Maricar to join me in this trip. Good thing she has the same interest as mine in conquering the adventures of Soccsksargen.

Me and Maricar haven’t met each other yet but with comments and messages exchanges it feels like we’ve been friends for so long. So when we finally met each other on my hotel room at Amigotel, what we first did was just laugh at each other. Hahaha! What can I say about her? Ang tangkad pla nya! Nanliit ako.

5th Mountain of Balakayo

5th Mountain of Balakayo is an adventure park for thrill seeker like us. It is situated uphill in the mountainous area of Baranggay Olympog in General Santos City.

How to Get There? From Amigotel we walked towards Rose Pharmacy besides the public market. From there, we rode a motorbike for rent (habal-habal) and took us to the 5th Mountain of Balakayo. Some drivers weren’t familiar of the name 5th Mountain so better tell them an adventure park located in Baranggay Olympog or zipline in Baranggay Olympog. But please take note that there would be another zipline area in Baranggay Olympog soon (which our driver told us) so tell your driver specifically that you wanted to go to 5th Mountain. 5th Mountain is situated higher than the one which is still in construction.

Anyways, motorbike (habal-habal) fare is Php150 per person one way. It was Maricar’s first habal-habal ride so I was a bit worried about her.

It was a long winding road to get to Baranggay Olympog. It took us about an hour to reach the 5th Mountain. So imagine ourselves seated in a motorbike for an hour. My legs felt numb after the ride, I bet Maricar too. There’s a certain road that one needs to be left behind first because the motorbike can’t run fully. Mabigat daw kasi, ahm… Maricar?

We were the first guest of the park that day. The staff asked us if what activities we wanted and we told them we wanted to do the zipline and ride the cable car. Zipline costs Php250 per person and Cable Car Ride costs Php200 per person but if you do it combo, the package would costs Php400 per person. So we agreed to do it all. There’s also an entrance fee of Php30.00 per person.

We went to the reception area and found the open air washroom at the side area.

Me (to Maricar): Eto yung sinasabi ni Mica na CR na open air sa blog nya.
Lady Staff: Sino si Mica?
Me (to lady staff): Yung nag Soccsksargen tour dito
Lady Staff: Ah si Mica yun matangkad na maganda.

The staff told us that there were no electricity so we rested for awhile and did some story telling with Maricar (chikahan) while we await the electricity to get back.

After an hour or so one of the lady staff approached us and told us if we’re already ready for the zipline. We were surprised and asked her that we thought there’s no electricity. And she chuckles and told us that there’s a generator for the zipline. What the, we waited for an hour.

We put on our gear and moved to the zipline area.

I volunteered first. The view from the zipline starting point was so…. startling yet frightening since one wrong move I feel I’m going to fall. I can’t measure how deep the chasm was but add the wind blowing to my face, it was so scary. I moved too short and cautious, I’m too watchful with my moves. I don’t want to die yet, OA!?

And time came I started to slide along the suspended cables. I was in awe. I could feel the adrenaline rush. Zipline might be sounds overrated now because most of the places offer this such activity, but this one is definitely one of the best.

I was in delight when I reached the ground, I’m safe now.

We still have to do another zipline to get to back to other side but this time me and Maricar did it altogether. I felt a bit scary this time cause how can be a single cable could handle the heaviness of two persons.

We started to slide and we reached the other side safe and sound.

Feels like we weren’t contented with zipline, we went for another ride but this time it’s in the open air cable car. We went to the shaded area near the cable car and waited for the staff to arrive who will be setting up the ride. Me and Maricar were taken aback that there are utmost 10 persons approaching our area. What is this inauguration of the ride? Or they wanted to see if we’re going to make it or not. With all that laughable thoughts we pursued with our adventure.

It’s more scary than what I’ve thought. An open air cable car moving slowly with unmeasurable deep below us. I sitted stably and didn’t create any moves, oh well except for my hands which I took some photos of the surroundings.

When we reached the other side, the staff joined us to get back to our starting point. Me and Maricar switched places so we can be able to experience different view. It was more fun now because we were joined with the friendly staff. They told us about some epic stories about their customers. There’s one who peed on the pants, a policeman who was discouraged to take on the ride, a foreigner who almost gave up on the ride. I was brave enough to say, I conquered these rides. It was so easy after all. No guts, no glory!

It was a relief when we reached the loading area. We went back to the reception area and paid our dues.

We rested for 5 minutes then we left the area as we still have another activity to do that day.

We rode the same motorbike (habal-habal).

We asked our driver if we can passed by on this place we saw awhile ago.

Viewing deck ala Tagaytay. There’s also an unoccupied house which is very picturesque. It feels like a rest house or some sort. We went inside the terrace and did some photo ops.

It was already 12:00 PM when we arrived at Amigotel.

We took our bags and placed it to our new room since I have a companion now.

We quickly ate our lunch at the Amigotel’s resident restaurant then proceeded to Maitum, Saranggani for another adventure.

Travel Stories:Day 01: A Solo Trip to Gumasa BeachDay 02: Riding the Zipline and the Open-Air Cable Car at 5th Mountain of BalakayoDay 03: Lake Sebu and The Seven FallsDay 04: White Water Tubing at Maitum, SaranganiOur Stay at Amigotel and Getting Around General Santos City

Trip Tips:

• As of March, 2012 the only public transportation to get to 5th Mountain Adventure Park is through motorbikes for rent (habal-habal). Fare costs PHP 150.00 per person one way.
• It’s best to get to 5th Mountain Adventure Park when it’s not raining. It’s hard to reach the area when it’s raining because roads could be covered with mud.
• The activities aren’t advisable for those with fear of heights unless you want to overcome it.
• Only chips and refreshments are available in the area, better bring your snacks. But they can also cook meals for you but you need to buy the whole chicken for them to cook it.