Hinulugang Taktak

Hinulugang Taktak sits inside Antipolo, a short ride from the hilltop cathedral that draws pilgrims from across Luzon, and it carries an outsized place in Filipino memory - the folk song about it is learned by schoolchildren, and generations swam in the pool below the fall on excursions from Manila. The twentieth century treated it badly: the river above became a drain for a growing city, the water turned foul and the site was effectively abandoned as a swimming spot. A long clean-up and redevelopment has given it back as a park rather than a pool - the fall drops around fourteen metres over a rock lip into a basin, with landscaped terraces, viewing decks, a boardwalk along the river and picnic areas around it, plus an events amphitheatre. Swimming is not the point any more and water quality still depends on what happens upstream, but as a green break in a crowded upland town it works, especially on weekday mornings.

History

Folk tradition says the falls take their name from a large bell, taktak, thrown, hinulog, into them in the 15th or 16th century because villagers found it too loud, and they appear in the hymn Antipolo composed by German San Jose in 1929. A small recreation area was set aside on 15 July 1952, the waters became polluted from the 1960s, and after national park status in 1990 and protected landscape status on 17 November 2000 the rehabilitated park reopened on 13 February 2020 (Wikipedia, Hinulugang Taktak).

What's there

• The fall - a fourteen-metre drop over the rock lip.
• The park terraces - decks, boardwalks and picnic ground.
• The song's setting - the place behind the folk standard.
• The river walk - the short path along the gorge.

When to go

November to May for the driest weather; weekday mornings for calm. Rainy-season flow is stronger but water quality drops after storms.

Good to know

Swimming is not permitted and the water is not the clear pool of the old photographs - manage expectations. It is compact, urban and best combined with Antipolo's cathedral and viewpoints.

Nearby

Antipolo Cathedral, the Pinto Art Museum and the Rizal ridge restaurants are all within twenty minutes.

Key facts