Where to Bike Next? | Minalungao National Park, Nueva Ecija
Minalungao National Park is tucked deep within the town of General Tinio at the footholds of the mighty Sierra Madre mountain range.
This is one of the few remaining natural environments within the Central Luzon region, the park spans a total of 2,000 hectares.
General Tinio in Nueva Ecija is still known to the locals as the town of Papaya, you can still see the welcome arch with its original name after passing by the municipality of Peñaranda.
Wow, Minalungao!
Always a fiesta like scene whenever I come to visit this park, there aren’t a lot of places where you can swim here in Nueva Ecija. Locals and tourists tend to spend their days off marveling at the scenic rock formations on both sides as the Peñaranda River cuts through it.
Minalungao came from two words “Mina” which means to mine and “Lungao” which is a local word that translates to cave. If you’ll notice closely, the 16-meter high crags are full of caverns that are still yet to be explored. In fact, a group of monkeys, around eight of them, took refuge inside thecrevices when an afternoon storm passed by during my visit.
Defeating the Purpose
You can rent a floating cottage and spend your lunch aboard a bamboo raft for only 600php. Moreover, there’s a two-way zipline where you can fly above the emerald colored river.
There’s a lot to do in there, from cliff jumping, swimming, taking selfies in the middle of the hanging bridge, spelunking, a 1000 step hike to the glass cross on top of the crag, and many more.
A thousand things to do equates to overdevelopment, which in turn leads to a massive influx of tourists. During my visits in 2017 and 2018, there’s construction here there and everywhere, food parks, hotels, cottages, paved walkways, karaoke bars, but during the height of this current pandemic, it turned out for the worst, that it got closed several times for not following safety protocols. (**Update as of last Sunday, May 23, 2021, it got closed again)
Nueva Ecija, Never Ending (Commercial Developments?)
On this bike ride, I was quite expecting that I wouldn’t be able to enter since I reached General Tinio past 10 in the morning. But hey! I just paid 50php and voila, welcome to the royal rumble! Hundreds of people flocked in the area just to shake off that lockdown stress growing on each of us this past year.
The developments were over the top, there’s even an electronic billboard on the other side of the river (seriously?). In addition, Garbage here there and everywhere, the comfort room can’t even cater to the guests inside. I even went far from the crowd and bided my time until four in the afternoon before actually going around.
Being inside the Minalungao National Park is a great experience and a breather from all the troubles and woes of this past few months. But I do hope that the authorities do something about the over tourism and too much development inside the park as it defeats the purpose of ecotourism. (We sincerely hope it won’t become a resort in the future)
We at Transit Pinas calls on the Nueva Ecija Tourism to regulate the number of tourists visiting, and in the long run, we do hope that the tourism hashtag #NuevaEcijaNeverEnding does not literally translate to the never-ending commercial developments that exploits the province’s natural wonders.
How to Get There
- Minalungao National Park is located in General Tinio in the province of Nueva Ecija, 26.7 kilometers from Gapan City Plaza
- Private Vehicles: From Manila, (pin Minalungao National Park on Waze) take NLEX and exit at Sta. Rita, Bulacan then follow the Pan-Philippine Highway or DRT highway until you reach Gapan City in Nueva Ecija. Then follow the national road leading to Penaranda down to General Tinio
- Bike Rides: My starting point is from San Simon, Pampanga and I took the Sta. Ana-Arayat- Cabiao-San Isidro-Gapan-Penaranda-General Tinio route (Total 74 kilometers)
- Via Public Commute: From Manila, take a bus going to Cabanatuan and alight at Gapan. Transfer to a jeep bound to General Tinio/Papaya then ride a tricycle going to Minalungao National Park
- No life vest, no swimming policy
- When renting a floating cottage, waterproof your gadgets and belongings
- Visit on a weekday, avoid going there during and after a storm as the water tends to change from green to brown
- No bringing in of outside foods and beverages
- Admission Fees are as follows:
- Entrance and Parking Fee:
- 4-Wheeled Vehicles – 100php
- Motors and Bicycles – 50php
- Bamboo Raft/ Floating Cottage – 700php
- Cottage Rental – 500php
- Life Vest – 35php
- Entrance and Parking Fee:
- No signal and data reception for all networks except for DITO
- Follow minimum health and safety standards such as wearing of facemasks and social distancing
- Follow LNT Principles at all times
Extend Your Trip
- Into the Mountain of Thorns and Rafflesia | Mt Lakay (1,390+), Carranglan, Nueva Ecija
- Of Peaks and Waves – Dingalan, Aurora
- Where to Bike Next? | Bale Batu, Arayat, Pampanga
Where to Bike Next Adventure Series 2021
This adventure is a part of my bike ride last May 22, 2021 under the new normal. This covers my 151.38 kilometer bike ride to Minalungao National Park in Nueva Ecija.
