Discovering my inner goddess on the sacred trails of Mt. Banahaw

(Update May 31, 4:48 p.m.) - No, I didn’t climb Mount Banahaw last weekend. I painfully crawled Mt. Banahaw on all fours—over gigantic boulders, and picturesque, pristine clear streams with gazillion little pebbles that are so painful to walk on—all throughout the two-hour rain that drenched our little group on its way to and from the sacred falls at the foot of this mountain in southern Luzon.  

Mount Banahaw which stands over 7,000-feet-high in Laguna and Quezon provinces was reputedly a volcano sometime ago until its last eruption in the early 1700s. A favorite of hikers and mountain climbers, Mount Banahaw also  draws the spiritually and mystically inclined.

 

Legend has it that a hermit in Spanish times once heard a voice, instructing him to establish Mount Banahaw as a “spiritual center.” Eventually, several religious groups set up their operations base at the mountain. We met a number of followers of these groups when we went there for “spiritual renewal and meditation”—as well as to cleanse our collection of natural crystals and gems (popular belief has it that you can energize any crystal by bathing them in the clear waters of Banahaw’s streams and falls). 

 

Like any other mountain reportedly to be holy or sacred, Mount Banahaw has its attractions to spiritually-inclined people and New Age followers—and those who are into meditation, yoga, or just want to commune with nature in a natural, primal environment (our group fell into all the categories). Mount Banahaw boasts also of many streams, reputedly sacred and definitely a draw to the sick or those wanting to get well physically as well as spiritually. 

 

Auspiciously called “The Banahaw 13” (you can’t be any luckier than that! ) because of the number of people who joined our group, our renegade party arrived at the bed and breakfast place halfway near the foot of the mountain around lunchtime. We were hungry and sleepy (a good number of us were up by 4 a.m. to meet up in separate locations in Metro Manila).

 

We had been planning to visit the sacred trails of Mt. Banahaw for three long months already. One of the senior members of our group was a regular longtime visitor of Banahaw and regaled us with stories of spooky nights, of enchanted kingdoms of fairies, dwarves and goddesses, and of tales of healing by just dipping into the many natural pools and waterfalls of Banahaw, enabling many of us to be almost sleepless for a great part of the night before the trek. And of course, meeting even just one of the Rizalistas and witnessing their loyal devotion to our national hero Jose Rizal was also a mystery that needed to be fathomed.  

The trek up

 

After a hearty meal of sinigang na baboy, we finally began our ascent. And then the rains came down—hard! Never before did I realize that droplets would turn into a river of muddy brown water on the side of a mountain. And so walking through a sudden flood of muddy water to reach green fields of grass, I had to slowly trudge at the back of our group, sloshing in the rain wearing my sandals with heels.

 

After a five-minute walk, our renegade Banahaw 13 group reached the edge of the thick Banahaw forest, already excited beyond measure, drenched in the cold rainwater of the mountains. And then the “Kalbaryo” started! We had to maneuver ourselves to climb 279 (or was it 268 steps? Locals say the number of steps keep on changing) stone steps leading us to the bottom of the ravine. 

 

I gingerly stepped down onto to the mossy-covered steps hewn out of the rocky mountainside, afraid that a fall would be a sheer drop to the ravine below. But no such thing happened. Eventually, we ended up at the bottom and found ourselves on the bed of a shallow, running mountain stream.

 

Santa Lucia Falls

 

Clambering through boulders and walking partly on the side of the stream or across it, we reached what they call the “Santa Lucia puwesto.” As popularly known and practiced for ages by the locals, each boulder, crag, falls, cave or natural formation was associated with Catholicism’s Stations of the Cross, or a deity that inhabits the place.   

In this part of Mount Banahaw, we were being introduced to the Santa Lucia Falls comprised of two small waterfalls—the “Talon ng Ama (The Falls of the Father) and the “Buhok ng Ina” (Mother’s Hair).  

 

The Talon ng Ama’s waters are stronger, dropping from a great height overhead from near the canopy of tall trees that ringed the ravine we went down into—a monumental site to behold. The Buhok ng Ina is not as strong, but its dripping waters are cooler.  

 

Both falls represent the male and female aspects of ourselves, our yin and yang. Popular belief has it that you need to stand beneath the falls to bathe in its therapeutic waters. The locals believe that a bath in these falls will heal you, physically, emotionally and most especially, spiritually. 

 

Moreover, if you wash your crystals and gemstones here, they will sparkle or their colors will be brighter and more vibrant! Many of my friends brought the best stones from their collections and washed them there. Even silver jewelry looks so sparkling in the sun; no need to polish them.

 

But before you proceed to these two falls, you must take a dip in the pool beside it. A little waterfall trickles into this pool. Popular belief has it that if you bathe your eyes with the trickles of water coming down from this waterfall, they will be cured of any ailment or be as good as new.

 

The water in Sta. Lucia puwesto, particularly under the Buhok ng Ina, is awesome. Bitingly cold—I can hardly keep from shivering. Same thing with the sacred pond water. But it was worth the trip, even walking over the pebbles that line the bottom of the Sta. Lucia pool—it could be painful sometimes.

 

When we said our prayers and lighted a few candlesticks on the altar beside the two falls, we proceeded to go back to our accommodation by climbing up the 279 steps. We were so fired up and the air so fresh that the ascent was even shorter and faster than the descent—which proves that the healing waters of the falls really work!

 

Most of us slept peacefully during the night but not before we had a bonfire and roasted hotdogs and marshmallows. And during the bonfire, we had an “expected” visitor. Within the embers of our bonfire emerged the faint silhouette of Hera, locally known as the Goddess of Fire. Whether it was just a figment of our overactive imagination or the result of being too tired, we can never be certain.

 

Kinabuhayan

 

The following morning, waking up a bit later than usual, we trekked toward Kinabuhayan, a little local village in the middle of the forest. Here on the trail, we chanced upon another little stream venerated by the locals because it contains a rock that bears the shape of a footprint. It is now aptly called Yapak ni Hesus (Footprint of Jesus), as it is believed that it is the footprint of Jesus Christ who locals believed visited the area during his younger days.

 

The stream that runs over this miraculous rock is also called Kinabuhayan Stream. Its waters are believed to have healing powers.  

Further downstream, we come to the mouth of a cave which devotees there usually enter to pray before altars with Virgin Mary statuettes and where you can light candles. But the best attraction of this cave, simply called Templo (temple), is the little tunnel underneath it that you can crawl into and come out just beside the stream outside. It was dank and dark and claustrophobic, because the hole that you climb into is only in parts as wide as your body. Halfway through this tunnel, the water seeps in from the stream outside, and so you wade through ankle-deep water and over pebbles that really hurt.

 

After the Temple Cave, you trek by another 20 minutes beside the stream and deeper into the forest—until you come to the highlight of the trip—a 10-foot drop into a dipping pool where local children and adults, and some devotees were already happily splashing in. The water was chilling to the bone, and because of the sparse sunlight that filtered in through the canopy of trees overhead, we were hardly warmed by it.

 

What was the result of this amazing experience at Mount Banahaw? Clearer lungs and minds, and stronger bones and limbs, I suppose. There are those that attest to the healing powers of the Sta. Lucia Falls—like Manang Adelina who seems to be the resident masahista (masseur) at our guesthouse. 

 

Manang Adelina has been living on Mount Banahaw since 1969. Brought by her parents who have been deceased for some time, Manang Adelina swears by the healing powers of Banahaw. She said the waters at Sta. Lucia cured her from epilepsy. She said she visited the falls every day then and bathed in and drank from its waters—a great feat to most of us, considering that in those days, there were no stone steps to go down to the ravine, only ropes and vines to hang onto to make the descent. 

 

Whatever is Mount Banahaw to those who worship, climb or visit her, it continues to mystify generations of Filipinos—and will continue to be one of the presumed healing and energy centers of the country. –KG, GMA News