General Trail Queries
- The discovery trail is available as a day trail, a day-to-night trail, and as a night trail. Guests taking the day trail may opt to dine is Silayan to complement their trail visit.
- Special shared trails for interested individuals are currently available on select weekdays of the month until December 2017. This made available specially for those who cannot create a private group of 7-14. Please inquire at sharedtrail@masungigeoreserve.com if interested.
- The full trail takes 3-4 hours depending on pace and stamina. Alternate trails are available should there be a need for the group to return back earlier. These alternative trails allow guests to finish sections in 1.5 to 3 hours.
- Standard private trails are composed of a minimum of 7 guests and a maximum of 14 guests. Should the number be less than than 7, this is doable however the rate will remain at the minimum of 7. Special shared trails are currently available on select weekdays of the month for individuals and groups of less than seven. Please inquire at sharedtrail@masungigeoreserve.com if interested.
- The discovery trail and its walkways are designed for small groups. Should the group be more than 14 in total, this may still be accommodated. However it will need to be broken down into several smaller groups of no more than 14.
- The discovery trail is for ages 13 and above for safety and security considerations.
- Our accredited travel partner, Tanlines Philippines, offers hop-on, hop-off services from Manila to Masungi Georeserve and back to Manila daily from Tuesdays to Fridays at 7 AM. You can book your Travel Pass up to 12 hours before your preferred trip schedule. Interested guests may book through their website or social media pages (Instagram or Facebook), through phone (messaging, WhatsApp or Viber: +63.995.462.3072), email (info@tanlinesph.com), or by personally dropping by the Tanlines Lounge located in Poblacion, Makati. AirTaxi.ph also offers a scenic helicopter shuttle from their Manila Hangar to Masungi Georeserve in 15 minutes.
- As signal is non-existent and erratic on site, we are best contacted via e-mail at trail@masungigeoreserve.com. This also ensures appropriate documentation of correspondences.
Requesting for a Visit
- Weekend requests are recommended to be placed a month ahead of time. Weekend requests are recommended to be placed at least 4 days ahead of time.
- Visit requests may be placed through the website at www.masungigeoreserve.com/trailvisitrequest
- The trail visit request form provides a real-time reference on available and committed dates and times for your convenience.
- After selecting your preferred date and time on the website, the request to visit will be evaluated by our Guest Care Team. Once approved and to finalise pencil-bookings, downpayments for the conservation fee may be done through your preferred processing method. Guests are give three banking days for this. A confirmation e-mail containing guests details will be sent once done. Please allow for a 24 hour processing time in between correspondences.
- At least a downpayment is needed to finalise a slot. Conservation fees may be processed via Bank Deposit or Credit Card payment through the Paypal platform.A custom invoice will be sent should the latter be chosen. Please note that a service charge of 4.4%+ PHP15.00 will be added for credit card/Paypal transactions made through the Paypal Platform.
- The conservation fee is PHP 1,500.00 per guest on weekdays and PHP 1,800.00 per guest on weekends. Private trails are composed of a minimum of 7 guests and a maximum of 14 guests.
- Should trail and dining in Silayan be chosen, the experience costs PHP 2,100.00 on weekdays and PHP 2,400.00 on weekends.
- Special shared trails for interested individuals are currently available on select weekdays of the month. Please inquire at sharedtrail@masungigeoreserve.com if interested.
Resellers and Travel Agencies
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We are currently piloting an accreditation system with the following agencies and establishments:
Z Hostel, Pirkko and Troy Travel and Tours, Intas Destinations Management, Kilometer Zero Travel PH, Tanlines Philippines (Hop-On, Hop-Off Service from Manila to Masungi), AirTaxi.ph (Helicopter Tours)
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We are currently conducting initial runs of accreditations for resellers and agencies. For those curious on why the discovery trail requests can only be done through our website or authorised travel partners, please refer to our experience on this below:
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Mass booking done by unauthorized organisers/agencies, especially on weekends, does not give a fair chance for all to go on the trail and racks up prices significantly. The georeserve is designed for an intimate experience with nature and loved ones, not as a mass tourism destination.
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Consolidating multiple smaller groups without a clear program risks personal safety and security, and detriments operations on the ground. These people usually do not know each other, and are more likely to wander on their own.
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Unauthorized agencies and organizers has been observed to set different expectations and values for the georeserve. This leads manifests into conservation and guest experience issues on the ground. The georeserve is first and foremost a conservation area and not a tourist destination.
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Huge added fees are sometimes charged to guests without clear or just breakdowns – the value of which is unfairly imposed on the georeserve and local rangers to deliver on.
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We have received reports of unauthorized agencies or persons reselling non-existent slots and implementing other fraudulent schemes, much to the inconvenience and hazard of guests.
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Safety
- Karst landscapes have inherent risks being rocky areas. We have placed in trails made of stone steps and rope courses both for the protection of the environment and the safety of guests. These trails and rope courses allow for safer access and monitoring, minimise slippages, and prevent unnecessary contact with rocks and with wildlife. Our design approach for safety is largely preventive.
- The rope courses are made with industrial grade cables and ropes used in making buildings and ships. The rope courses have gone through and passed a load test for the weight of 45 guests. Every group is composed of 14 guests lending it a safety factor of 3x.
- The default trail is through the rope courses. However, all rope courses have alternative trails available should guests be more comfortable with these.
- In addition to trail stone steps and rope course structures, helmets must be worn at all times by guests. Rangers carry first aid kits and radio communication devices are accessible should there be a need for these.
- Trail visits are to push through being a rain or shine activity. However, cancellations may be called by Management depending on site conditions and rainfall.
Visit Regulations
- We disallow smoking and its alternatives on the grounds, the parking area, and the frontage of the conservation project. The practice contributes to air pollution within which affects the experiences and health of all guests. We have observed on the ground that where smoking is allowed, littering of cigarette butts is also prevalent. True enough, it is known that cigarette butts contribute to a great deal of waste collected in our seas. Following this chain of effects, it also brings toxicity in soil conditions thus affecting directly animal and plant life. For these reasons, it is not appropriate to have in a conservation project.
- Littering of any sort is prohibited. Leave no trace principles are in place for the area. This means bringing out everything that you may have taken in with you – may they be big or small, valuable or not, biodegradable or non-biodegradable. Please note that waste disposal systems in upland and provincial areas are not yet properly in place. Leaving trash also alters the habits of wildlife and puts their safety at hazard.
- There are no trash bins on site – only tissue bins for the restrooms. Please do not throw any other trash inside these bins. Waste in these bins are intended to go straight to our compost piles. Tissues on their own takes months to compost – other wastes take much longer. Kindly bring the rest of the waste home with you, if any.
- The georeserve is a sanctuary for wildlife and is first and foremost a place we have dedicated for conservation. We are around as visitors to their home, and therefore should act with respect and mindfulness to those arounds us. Noise causes trauma to wildlife, and negatively affects the visit of other guests who may be around for a peaceful respite.
- While we used to allow this practice, we observed that it causes tension between the satisfaction of guests and our environmental stewardship practice – the latter vulnerable to being compromised. We also believe that authenticity in interactions should be a standard value – not an item that should be dependent the anticipation of a tip. In summary, the no-tipping policy ensures non-interference of visits to priority conservation work, and encourages consistency in experience among guest visits.
- The first violation of non-smoking and littering rules incurs a PHP 3,000.00 penalty. All others are given a warning prior to the penalty. Should it be deemed necessary by management, entry may be refused and trail visits may be cut short.
Trail Facilities
- There are water refill stations at the start and end point of the trail. We have manually attempted to bring water to points within via gravity (there are no utility providers or electricity on site), however the deforestation in the nearby areas and watersheds have made it scarce and unreliable.
- Similar to water stations, these are available only at the start and end of the trail. With an erratic water supply due to the natural terrain & deforestation of the surrounding area, maintenance will be difficult, and thus we cannot reliably promise this to guests.
- Please bring with you a change of clothes, your water tumbler, and a camera, if necessary. We recommend keeping the load light.
- Meals are not allowed within the georeserve. You may bring trail snacks (i.e. biscuits, chocolates, trail bars) but these may only be eaten at certain points inside.
- We recommend leaving these in your respective vehicles for your comfort. While we have lockers available at the starting point, however these are only few in number and sets back a PHP 20.00 charge for storage.
Others
- Professional squatting and unbridled changes in land-use in the surrounding vicinity both threaten land conservation. Land conservation should not be taken for granted as it impacts all life existing on it – may this be the trees or wildlife.
- One of our greatest joys is meeting guests who are concerned for the environment and are hungry to act. Your visit on its own already helps us ensure the sustainability of our initiatives. Should you have ideas or particular interests/skills to offer, we humbly request that you communicate with us through trail@masungigeoreserve.com.