Entering Wawa Dam in Montalban leads you to a series of trails with several fun river crossings at the Marikina. It’s an access point to the Casile Trails offers a lot of scenic spots in Inigan area as its surrounded by the Sierra Madre Mountain Range.
#TaleOfTheTrail
Wawa Dam is a popular tourist attraction. It’s perfect for a good swim and a great family time. Wawa Dam is also a trail entry point to the Inigan and Casile area. It gives you a different view of the trail with the rivers and the Sierra Madre Area.
The Map
The route starts at the Wawa Dam entry point in Casile Area. It’s a straight course that goes over the Marikina River all the way straight to the Casile area at around the 6.5k kilometer mark and goes back to the start area for the full loop.
Trekking the Wawa Trail
It’s been hot in the Philippine area so we started to trek early for this one. Wawa Dam is really a popular and beautiful tourist spot. It was great that we were there early in the morning since it was not yet crowded. There are bamboo rafts and huts for tourists near the dam.
Walk a little farther and you get a viewing deck and see a lot more floating huts. It does give you a feel of the floating villages in Vietnam. The area is a perfect family bonding place complete with the picnic tables and even videoke machines and stores.
After about a kilometer worth of floating huts, you finally get to enter the trail area. It’s a mix of light residential area and an overlooking view of the Marikina river. Since it’s a relatively flat course, it’s run-able and not too exhausting. It was a bit cooler at the start since it was still early in the morning.
Finally, the trails
After going over some single track trails, we then shift to the river area. There will be several river crossings as we would be shifting from one side of the Marikina River to the other. The river area starts with some with dirt grounds and stony terrain surrounded by some vegetation.
The view at this vantage point is really majestic as you are surrounded by the adjoining mountain ranges. You’ll love the views and you’ll enjoy the workout. It’s a relatively flat course so you can really speed up.
We switched to an interval pace with alternating runs and recovery walks. Running on trails is so much fun as its softer on the knees and more visually enticing for the eyes. We then asked how far would the Casile area be. The answer came in number of river crossings at 5-6 instead of the usual kilometers.
The River Crossings
Good thing, I had a time tested shoes and that can go through the waters. I really enjoy river crossings and it really brings out the child in me so I always end up running the shallower part of the rivers.
After each river crossing comes the dust and the dirt so expect your shoes to be dirty. Don’t bother cleaning it up as you’ll have your next river shortly. We went back on the usual run-walk sets that we’ve been used to doing the trails. The place had a lot of leg room to move but you’ll just have to follow the main trail so you won’t be sidetracked.
It may be messy on the shoes but I love the softer surface here that makes you love the feel of running. We went on for several more river crossings. It was easy finding the trails but there are route alternatives too but as long as you follow the river, you’ll be fine.
Being at a much lower vantage point has its advantage as you get overwhelmed by the beauty that surrounds you. You’re just a tiny speckle in a much bigger picture. The more important thing is that it makes you feel good. You feel good about the beauty and you feel good about the trail.
Inigan
We barely noticed the distance as we’ve already hit 5 kilometers. We took a short snack break at Inigan area, which is just 2 water crossings away from the Casile area. The Inigan area was one of my favorite spots during the trail. It is surrounded by the river and the mountains. There are deep parts of the river, if you want to have a good swim.
The surface shifted back to mix of sands and stones. It’s about a kilometers stretch to the next river. After this stretch, we were in Casile area already and crossing our last river. They are constructing a hanging bridge in the area which would really ease the load of the people here especially on times that the river would go high.
We were now in the Casile area. We took the short route until the intersection Casile road and New Casile area. San Mateo is really rich in trail areas and you can really do your own course here depending on the distance you would be covering.
Heading Back
After a short snack break at Casile, we were on the way back. We took an alternative trail at Inigan area but a cow was blocking the route so we had to go back. It was then that we saw a different view of Inigan area and it was beautiful.
Going back was more of a challenging because of the warmer weather. We brisked walked our way to start. We can see nearby mountains which also has an entry point near the Wawa area. It was a swift return back to the starting point and it’s time to call it an adventure.
