Something “new” for Coco’s 9^th Birthday – a camping experience on a mountain at makapag bida bida ala-Spider-Man! (He already experienced camping on a beach setting). It was only when our world stopped because of the pandemic when I realized how I regret not taking him to adventures that will create new core memories for him to look back when he is older. I promised to just do that once the pandemic is over. Here’s the first of the adventures I promise to create with him and I hope you get to visit too.

Destination: Rainbow 89 Ecopark Camping and Trekking
📍Sitio Maysawa, Brgy. Cuyambay, Tanay Rizal

Entrance Fee:
Overnight (2PM to 11AM) – Php250/pax; Child 3-10 years old, PWD and Senior Citizen – Php200/pax; Children 2 years old and below – FREE
Day Tour (4AM to 4PM) – Php100/pax; Child 3-10 years old, PWD and Senior Citizen – Php80/pax; Children 2 years old and below – FREE

We left Pasig (Ortigas Extension Area) at 1:20PM. and arrived the entrance of Rainbow 89 at 3:15PM. Roughly, it is an hour and 25 minute travel with a side trip at my grandparent’s cemetery for around 30 minutes. The entrance of Rainbow 89 is narrow and a little steep.

We signed the waiver form and parked. There are 3 parking areas. This photo is the middle part. I’m not quite sure how to go to that upper portion where you can see the slope and the lower portion’s entrance is around the area of the red SUV. Parking fees are Php50 for any vehicle and Php20 for motorcycles. From here, I must tell you and be completely honest — if the parking guy asks you if you need a porter, GET ONE or TWO! A hundred pesos per porter is just a small thing compare to the displeasure you will feel. I even got dizzy, especially we arrived in the middle of the afternoon sun. Yikes. Just being honest here. Plus, you get to help the kuya porters, because they are saving those for Christmas.

The 365 steps to the campsite proper starts at the stair case beside the slope in the parking photo. Yes, 365 steps – not just normal walking but you will have to climb up to the campsite. What’s nice is that they are proper stairs with a beautiful view and railings where you can hold and rest if you start to feel tired already. But first, you will stop over at the Rainbow 89’s Cafe where you will pay for everything you need to pay for – entrance, rentals, etc. From their cafe, the 365+ steps trekking up to the campsite proper continues.

While trekking up, you will passed by the cute Rainbow houses where you can also stay if you don’t want to sleep inside the tents. These Rainbow houses are good for couples to a family of 8. It comes with a mattress, pillows and blankets. Price ranges from Php1,500 to 3,500.

Around the long climb, you will also see the bonfire area, heart arch and a lot of picnic tables, some are free to use by anyone. The use of the bonfire area is Php250/hour. And of course, you be left in awe with the picturesque view.

Let’s talk about the food! It’s either you bring your own food or you eat at the café. There is no corkage for bringing of food, but bringing of liquor is not allowed. You can either bring cooked meals already or cook it there. You can bring your own cooking stuff or you can rent it from the café. Table rentals are from Php100 to PhpPhp350, plus Php50 for each monoblock chair. Stove with 1 butane gas is Php300 and an extra butane gas is Php100. There are common areas where a griller is available to use for free, but if you want your own, you can rent it for Php150 plus Php30 for a pack of coal. I am not so sure if they also rent pots and pans, but we brought are own. But it is a must to bring your own utensils.

But if you don’t want to cook, then you can eat at the café which is open almost 24/7. Rice meals ranges from Php100. They also have snacks like burgers and fries. Aside from soft drinks, they also have milk teas and fruit teas available. You can also buy anything you need that you might forgotten to bring from their sari-sari store. We bought packs of ice (Php10/pack), dishwashing liquid, sponge, Coke and ice cold water there. The thing is you will have to go all the way downhill to reach the café. So if you need anything, get them all at once, unless you have the endurance to go back and forth.

Once you reach the top, you’ll find the grotto – Mama Mary and Jesus Christ. The bottom of the grotto seems unfinished yet, but you can climb on top, right at the foot of the huge statues and from there you can see a full 360° of the whole ecopark.

A couple of steps before you reach the grotto is the path way going to campsite 1. But before anything else, I’ll be sharing first the details if you want to do the tent accommodations. You can do your own tent pitching for Php150/tent or rent one for only Php350 for 2 pax and Php550 for 4 pax. Bring your own pillows and blankets or rent them (tent insulation foam – Php100, pillow – Php50, blanket – Php100). If you are a group, you can request for tents that face each other, or near one another. Rental tents are already set up and ready to be occupied.

Going to Campsite 1 will be another long trek, most likely an addition to the 365 steps but it is not steep anymore. There is no signal for your mobile there. The area has more space to move around.

While Campsite 2, which is uphill means you have to reach the top where the grotto is, walk to its back and another small trek going down where your tents are. The best part is mobile signal is available in that area, as in a great one! But limited space to move around and tents are kind of by the edge.

When we arrived our tent area, we rested for a while and started preparing for dinner. It has started to get dark, like around 6PM, and we realized Coco hasn’t blown his 9th candle yet, so we decided to prepare his cake.

Lo and behold, it seems that the tiramisu melted from the heat and what was left was just the chocolate cake. Good thing we have donuts that we just stack on top of each other. We ate dinner after, talked, and just spent the moment to feel the breeze on our skin.

We were so tired that we actually fell asleep a little past 10PM. I woke up in the middle of the night, it was only 4 in the morning, when I felt I’ve already slept for a long time already. I went back to sleep and woke up just in time for us to see the sunrise. Don’t forget one of the camp rules – Observe Quiet time from 10PM to 6AM.

In Campsite 2, there is only one comfort room. Conserving water is a must as they only use generators to bring water uphill. Also they only open the faucet again by 6:30 in the morning. So imagine what will happen if you waste water. This is also the area where we washed our dishes and food before we cooked them.

We woke up at 6AM and saw the SEA OF CLOUDS at the other side of the mountain. We were all in awe of its beauty. It is the first time we saw something like that.

We drank coffee and Milo and then off we went downhill to experience the Spider web/Burman bridge (Php50/pax), which is actually their main attraction. The staff said, the best time to do that was in the morning (around 6 or 7AM) so that there will be no shadow in our pictures. I actually wanted to do it during our first day, but we were so tired. This is actually the real reason why I chose Rainbow 89 – their spider web for my dear Coco who loves Spider-Man so much!
We roamed around a bit after we did the web, took pictures until my little boy got grumpy already because of the heat of the sun. Haha! Imagine, it is only 8 in the morning! We went back to our tent area by 8:30 and ate breakfast. We rested for a while and took more pictures around the area of our tent.

Then we started to pack up. We were going to leave by 9:45AM, but it suddenly rained. We were hoping for a rainbow, but we were too unlucky to witness one that day. By 10AM, we were already leaving our tent area. The kuya porters helped us. Make sure to clean your place well. It is okay to leave the trash bags, as long as there are no other kalat left.

Things that I’d like to share:
It also can be hot inside the tent, depends on the weather. So I suggest you bring chargeable fans or hand fans. No doubt, it is really cold at night when you are outside the tent at night. Also, even if you are under the afternoon sun, it is pretty windy so you won’t really feel the heat as much, unless you trek up and down.

Not only you shouldn’t leave your tent unattended, but also don’t leave your tent open. There was a really huge kuliglig and very black at that, inside our tent and it took awhile before we were able to remove it.

We were so tired and displeased with the trek, but really, once you are already in your campsite and you appreciate the beauty of your surroundings and feel the cold breeze, you will forget every discomfort you felt going up. That is why I recommend asking help from the porter.

It seems like every move, there is payment. But I guess, it also helps to lessen the things that you need to do and the things you need to bring, especially if you don’t have it yet like a gas stove. I have a tent but didn’t bring it to lessen the chore. Although, if its the first time, it is nice to pitch a tent too. It wasn’t our first so, it is all good.

While I was waiting for my orders from the café, I was chatting with one of the staff. I asked what’s the best time to come, they said, right before sunset. Standard checkout hours still apply though.

There are rules for a reason. One of it is observing quiet time. Please, some are trying to rest. Talk quietly with your friends. Don’t talk as if you own the whole place. It is not cool!

Rainbow 89 was called as such because if you are LUCKY (89 is lucky for the Chinese), you’ll find a RAINBOW in the sky. Too bad, we weren’t able to see one! Watch our vlog to see it in its majestic beauty. Comment down below if you have questions!