Sablayan offers plenty of things to do. Among the exciting activities to try in this booming tourist destination is its island-to-island zipline which is dubbed as the longest in the world and the first motorized zipline pulley in Asia.
For those seeking an adrenaline rush, try out the Sablayan Zipline Adventure at Presing Park (more locally known as Parola Park). Its 1.76 kilometer length might not offer the scariest zipline ride but is meant to give a jaw-dropping panoramic view of the main island as well as the neighboring Pandan north and south islands.
Sablayan Zipline Adventure Guide
Upon arrival at the Parola Park, you can go straight to the zipline booth and pay for the activity fee. After that, you’d be asked to have your blood pressure checked by the in-house nurse. Truth be told, my BP was extremely higher than normal during the time of our visit and I worried I couldn’t get on the zipline. Good thing they allowed me to, I just needed to sign a waiver. Well, technically, all riders need to sign a waiver…
So after signing, you’d be geared up with a helmet and a harness. The staff will give all instructions necessary for first-time zipliners and also brief you on what to do and what not to do before, during, and after the ride.
After gearing up, you’d need to climb up the 21-meter zipline tower where you’d be ziplining to the other island. You can see the photos above and below.
If you feel more adventurous, you can wall climb or rappel all your way up to the top. Joyce of Philippine News Agency wanted to rappel and I wanted to wall climb but it was too hot. We decided to just take the stairs.
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| Zipline tower on my background… my bp shoot up but I gotta try this!!! Thanks sir teddy for my picture! |
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| Jamie of DOT, Ms Marian of Out of Town Blog, and me climbing up to the top! Photo by Sir Teddy Pelaez |
It wasn’t that scary going up to the top, thanks to the steel railings (and the walls for climbing/rappelling). I know some zip line towers in the Philippines that don’t have much railings and thus would terrify you when the wind blows. This one felt enclosed and secure.
No wonder a ninety-three-year-old lady recently tried this zip line!
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| My friend Joyce of Philippine news Agency posing before her zipline ride! |
Tips
1. Wear sunscreen
2. Don’t wear too short shorts like I did. You might get a layer of your skin stuck in the harness or worse the metal. BUT it wasn’t painful, just uncomfortable.
3. You can use your phone to take photos or your action camera or any camera during the ride. Just make sure your gadget is safely attached to your body.
4. Better to wear closed shoes than slip ons.
My experience
The ride didn’t scare me compared with the 1.2 km zipline ride in Balungao, Pangasinan. But that is not to say I didn’t like the experience. I fully enjoyed it! In fact, I’d love to try it again!
The view is amazing, breathtaking, stunning, (insert all other awesome adjectives here). It made me wish the world stops turning for a while and just have a restful time to feel the rush of the wind against my skin and simply admire all the natural beauty around, above, and below my feet.
After about three minutes, I gently landed in the zipline platform in South Pandan Island. In case you wonder, boats await here to take you back to Sablayan town proper or somewhere else if you wish to do other water activities.
For us, we took the glass-bottomed boat to Pandan Island Resort. We enjoyed the view underwater without having to get soaked.
The glass-bottomed boat experience was new to me. I liked it!
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| This is noon time… the heat was excruciating… don’t forget your sunscreen! |
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| Some boats to take you back to Sablayan main island.. ride is PHP30 per person |
Sablayan Zipline Adventure Fees
The rate for zip line ride –
Local & Foreign Tourist/Adult (18 years old & above) – PHP 500
Sablayeńo/Adult (18 years old & above) – PHP300
Minors (12-17 years old) – PHP300
Kids (5-11 years old) – PHP150
Boat service going back – PHP30
Wall climbing – PHP50
Rappelling – Php50
How to get to Sablayan
You can take a 1-hour-and-5-minute flight from Manila to San Jose, Occidental Mindoro and then travel 1.5 hours by van to get to Sablayan town proper.
You can also take an 11-hour bus trip from Cubao directly to Sablayan for ~PHP900.
Another route is by a 3-hour bus ride to Batangas port (PHP 150) and a 1-hour ferry boat ride to Puerto Galera (PHP 270 if you’re not traveling with a vehicle) and then bus going to Sablayan for about 8 hours.
For boat schedules, please contact Montenegro shipping lines at (+6343) 7236980 or (+6343) 7238294.
Contact Information
You can contact Sablayan Zipline Adventure through its official Facebook page. You may also contact Sablayan tourism office through email at amazingsablayan@yahoo.comand landline (+6343) 4580028.
Parting Words
A definite plus for Sablayan Tourism is the municipality’s Parola Park which houses the world’s longest island to island zip line with a total cable length of 1.76km. Even though less scary for zip line enthusiasts, the ride is exceptionally worthwhile because of the view. Try out the sablayan Zipline Adventure! Enjoy a panorama you can hardly see elsewhere from standing at the top of the 21-meter zip line tower until you land gently on Pandan South Island!
What do you think about this zipline? Do you want to try? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. If you have questions or other concerns, don’t hesitate to contact me.
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