I’ll admit it, I’m a sucker for a good picture. So when I was planning my trip to the Philippines and saw a picture of a viewpoint overlooking El Nido, I knew I had to get it.

I quickly found out that this viewpoint was called Taraw Cliff, and I couldn’t find too much information regarding it other than a few blogs and a newspaper article about three people being injured after falling off the cliff. It appeared that climbing Taraw Cliff was banned for a period of time, but had been reopened just in time for my trip!

So I arrived to El Nido and I saw that island tours were being advertised everywhere, however not a single place advertising the climb. I asked my hostel and the staff said the climb was very unsafe and not many companies offer a guide, however they knew a local guide who would take me up for 500 PHP. So off we went at 630am to climb Taraw Cliff. We had to walk through some locals homes and through some weird alleyways and we made it to the base. Now even after all the posts I’ve read about the limestone being extremely sharp and slippery, I was surprised to experience it myself. The cliffs were extremely sharp, and even wearing running shoes and pants, I ended up with a bunch of cuts on my legs. It had rained the day before, so it was quite slippery and I had to go at a pretty slow pace and ensure that I had three points of contact at many stages. Parts of the climb were very vertical, and it made it even more difficult as it was slippery.

It took us about an hour and a half to make it to the top, and the views were absolutely worth it! I’m so glad we left early in the morning, as it was becoming extremely hot. We spent about 30 mins at the top taking picture and enjoying the views, and made our way back down. As for difficulty, I believe that if moderately in shape, you should be able to do it. I would call it bouldering more than climbing/hiking, and some parts are vertical climbs. I would not even think about doing this without a guide, as he knew the best routes and helped us with foot placement

Tips

• bring running shoes
• bring lots of water
• rocks are extremely sharp so be careful about cuts
• go at your own pace and be safe