Whenever we go to Tagaytay we always stop to view the Taal lake and volcano. On our most recent visit tho, we decided that we would go and see the crater up close. We were in Tagaytay for a wedding and scheduled our trek to Taal for the following day. The hotel we stayed at had contacted a guide who would accompany us on the boat ride from Talisay to Taal. We had to drive down to Talisay from our hotel close to the Tagaytay rotunda then boarded the boat for the 20 minute boatride to Taal. Upon reaching Taal, we registered at the visitor center. To get to the crater, you can either walk or go on horseback. I had wanted to go on foot but since we were pressed for time we decided to take the horses instead. It turned out to be a good decision since the trail is sandy/rocky and gets quite dusty at times especially when you are trailing behind the horses. The horse I was on was quite aggressive and always trotted on ahead of the others. Of course each horse had its own guide so I felt quite safe, but my butt did hurt afterwards!
Upon reaching the top (after about 40 minutes), the horses and their guides had the chance to rest while we climbed the remaining steps to the viewpoint. Wow! You can see the crater lake that seemed to be boiling in some places; there was steam rising from the sides of the lake and you could smell the sulfurous fumes (rotten egg smell). There were some stalls selling refreshments at the top and not surprisingly there were also souvenir items (mostly T-shirts).
it was on the news that taal volcano has started to act up over the weekend (april 8) and that alert level 2 has been raised. people in nearby towns have voluntarily evacuated. and to think that we had gone up to the crater on april 3!
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