Lake Caliraya is a man made lake, I think originally made by the Americans as a water reservoir to create electric power. Now it is a recreation area with couple of private homes around the lake and a resort: Caliraya Recreation Center Resort. We went there three years ago with some speed boat riding, masaya.

To go to the resort you have to park your car along the shore and then the resort is a short boat ride from the shore [the parking area]. When we got to the other side of the lake at the resort side. It’s a nice walk to the garden, a well manicured lawn then you pass by some of the recreation facilities like the basketball court, some cottages and then there’s some horseback riding at the resort.

(photo courtesy of Karla)

Up at the resort good facilities for a group, team building or some conferences. A variety of rooms; some for families, some dorm-like rooms and then the recreation activities.

Of course they have swimming pools and I think basketball, volleyball and the feature would be the water sports available at Caliraya. They have the speedboats, we have the jet ski, some wind surfing and then kayaking, what else?…the swimming pool.

You can go fishing and there’s also a new wall climbing … wall . They say it’s the highest outdoor fiberglass wall in the Philippines, you have to check that out for yourselves.

We went on a speed boat ride there. On the speed boat ride went around the lake for one hour. I think it cost us about Php1200 for a one hour speed boat ride and then we took our turns driving the speed boat, that was exciting, that was fun…that was fun!

Contact Caliraya Recreation Center call these numbers:

Manila: +63(2) 632-1010
mobile phone: 09285010480
Telefax: +63 (2) 637-7027
E-mail: reservations.crc@asbgroup.com.ph
Website: www.asbgroup.com.ph

Have fun at Caliraya. Enjoy the ride!

Related: Caliraya Lake – previous entry Karla on PinoyTravelBlog
Podcast permalink: Lake Caliraya Recreation Center

EdXcribe

10 August 2007
PinoyTravelBlog

I went to Avilon Zoo in Montalban. It’s awesome! I felt so at home with my animal relatives, I didn’t want to go back to the city!

I can compare Avilon Zoo to Sydney Aquarium and Featherdale Wildlife Park in Australia, compare it to Underwater World in Singapore. I can say Avilon Zoo is a world-class zoo and the best in the Philippines! (if you know of a better one in the Philippines, do share!)

Avilon is a 7.5 hectare zoo that hosts hundreds of exotic animals in a clean environment that kids and adults will enjoy.

They have a wide collection of exotic animals from big cats (leopards, pumas, lions, tigers), big fish (huuuuge ARAPAIMAS!), nocturnal animals, primates, birds (ostriches, Kalaw, eagles), tapirs, hyenas, kangaroos (soooo small, the smallest in the world, I hear) and animals endemic to the Philippines (Palawan mouse deer, bearcat (?), tarsier and others).

It takes around two and a half hours to explore the entire zoo. After the tour, there are activities you can do like go fishing, boating, eating, sleeping, snoring before you head back to the urban jungle. You can also feed the arapaimas! I felt kind of queezy seeing such big fish eating chicken! There’s also a bird show, some pets for sale, chance to touch a python (photo op! have you got the balls?). By the way, don’t miss chatting with the super kwela talking Mynah (see Mynah video)!

Avilon zoo continues to develop the property. I see some exciting structures behind the cordoned section. Are they building a cage for King Kong? Expect more animals and activities in the coming months.

Read: More Avilon stories on Pinoy Travel Blog. Suki na ang Avilon sa PTraBlog!

Contact Avilon Zoo:
Bo. San Isidro, Rodriguez, Rizal
Tel. Nos.: (632) 941-8393 * (632) 948-9866 (63917) 899-5126
Fax: (632) 941-8530 * Email: info@avilonzoo.com.ph
web: www.avilonzoo.com.ph
Entrance Fee: Php208.00 or $5.00/person

Also Contact Sarah of El Trinidad Tours: 09178804722 (tell her you got her number from ka edong of Pinoy Travel Blog).

ka edong
me, myself and mynah

I had a client call at Laguna earlier and I can already feel the heat of summer already especially everytime the sign “Private Pool” was flashed on us. On the official website of the local government of Laguna, I’ve found some useful information for the soon-to-be chlorinated citizens and tourists alike.

The said site come up with a list of resorts accredited by the Department of Tourism and by the local government units in Laguna. However, the list coming from DOT that is posted on the said website is outdated by almost 5 years. On the other list provided, only a few resorts have contact numbers listed on them. Still, the best way to enjoy swimming there is to rent a house with a private pool.

However, you should do that one month ahead before the actual day since this is the peak season and you should expect that everyone wants to have a taste of chlorine. If staying in a swimming pool bores you, try shooting the rapids at Pagsanjan Falls or try other activities like the ones listed here.

Apart from Zoobic in Subic, Avilon Zoo is probably the most travelled zoo and a must see destination here in the country especially for children since it opened a year or so ago.

My husband and I took our children to Avilon last May and boy my children ages 4 and 2 respectively had a blast! Because the zoo is only in Montalban, Rizal, travel time from Quezon City is only 45 minutes maximum. Driving there is pretty straight forward and commuting easy.

We left the hustle and bustle of Quezon City at around 8:30 am and we arrived in Montalban an hour later. As expected, the place was already packed with buses with Japanese and Korean tourists. There were also groups of parents with their children in tow. Entrance fee was P240 each and we were informed that our tour would last 2 hours . The visitors are divided into 20 and tour guides were assigned on each group.

The organized tour took 2 hours and to my surprise, it wasn’t at all boring and the pacing was good considering there are children walking with their parents. In between tours, there is a 15 minute pit stop in a breezy pavillion with refreshment stands selling water, hotdogs, sandwiches, icecream, sodas and souvenirs which will tempt you and your children!

I have been to the Australia Zoo in Brisbane and to me, except for the vast size of the empire built by Steve and Terri Irwin, the Avilon Zoo looked like the Aussie Zoo in the making. The owners of Avilon must have spent millions and millions of pesos just by the structures alone! The zoo is suprisingly vast and full of full grown trees. The cages and species of animals are arranged artistically, creatively and not at all crowded. The Avilon Zoo is still 80% complete. It has no giraffes and elephants yet. But the zoo have Bengal Tigers, jaguars, leopards and quite a number of birds. One of the most memorable part of the tour was the bird show, wherein we were allowed to pet the owls and eagles! The Avilon Zoo have a good selection of serpents too.

For all of you who intend to go to Avilon Zoo, please bear in mind the following: If travelling with children bring, iced juice drinks . The bottled water in Avilon cost 25 pesos a pop, so I was quite pleased that I bought my own iced bottled water and juice for the kids. Wearing hats and umbrellas would be nice since some parts of Avilon have not so fully grown trees. Also, Avilon is not stroller and wheel chair friendly, since one have to take some stairs and steps to go around the zoo.

For more information about Avilon Zoo, click here or you may contact Stef at
Telefax# 634-5550 or 0917-8995126.