Finally, the Peak of the Beak at Pico de Loro

Not everyone who goes to Pico de Loro actually makes it to the peak of the monolith, also known to mountaineers as the Parrot's Beak, and I was in fact one of them. And for obvious reasons - the monolith is imposing and while not exactly towering, it is completely vertical. It appears as though getting to the peak requires professional rock climbing skills, if not reckless courage. I proved it all wrong when I finally made it to the peak.

To reach the peak, one has to go through slabs of flat rocks lead to a spot where rocks were carved into a stairway. On my first attempt, this was the actually the farthest part of the monolith that I got to before I decided to back out. On this spot, a rope is attached to help you pull yourself up. Using the rope and making sure your feet has a firm grip requires a slightly tricky maneuver, but which is nonetheless manageable. While this, I believe is the only difficult part, and I highly suggest that those who have fear of heights, weak knees or are otherwise clumsy assess their own capability. After the rope, you simply needs to scramble your way all the way to the top, away from the edge of the monolith, and voila, you're at the peak, finally.

Me, sitting on the edge of the monolith and pretending to be brave.
At the back of my mind though, I was praying that the rock I was sitting on wouldn't fall off the cliff.
BTW, these are the slabs I'm talking about.

Rope climbing in action. Not exactly proud of that expression in my face, though.

The area at the top is actually more spacious than it looks from the other peak, which, unfortunately, does not have a name. The other peak, when viewed form the monolith, is beautiful and majestic in itself. Getting to this other peak, I should say, it even more difficult that scaling the monolith. Lose rocks and dusty soil make both ascent and descent difficult.I had to grab whatever bit of grass I could hold on to to prevent myself from sliding all the way down.

Trail wise, Pico de Loro should be easy even for beginners. From DENR to the first campsite, the slope moderate. From there the trail will be mostly flat, and the "assault" begins once you reach the so called Alibangbang Park, a spot with a tree with wide leaves that also serve as a resting area.

Guides are also not necessary due to trail markings and arrows.

Here's how to commute to Pico De Loro:

1. Take a bus bound for Maragondon in Baclaran. Fare: P60-70 (I forgot the exact amount), Travel time: 1.5 hours. Drop off at Ternate.
2. At Ternate, there are tricycles beside the Petron that can take you to DENR. P200 for 4/pax (or depending on the amount you negotiated), 30 mins.