Jessica Vasquez Gas-4

Taal Volcano Tagaytay

The Taal Volcano at Tagaytay is often described as ‘an island within a lake within an island within a lake’ because of its rather interesting geological formation.

The larger of the lakes is in the Taal Caldera, which was formed by ancient eruptions.

The mountain rising out of the middle of it is the active volcano. Water has collected inside its crater to form a new lake and there’s a small island popping up above the water surface.

This makes the journey a little different to the way you might normally approach a volcano hike (if there is such a thing as ‘normal’ in these situations). It’s certainly nothing like the time I climbed Villarrica volcano in Chile!

Taal Volcano tour

The first step is to take a boat across the large lake for about 20 minutes, landing on a sandy beach at the foot of the mountain. From here, the options are to either trek up the steep slope or ride a horse.

I opt for walking – partly because I quite enjoy this kind of trekking and partly because I feel sorry for the horses and am unsure of how well they’re treated.

Enjoying the Taal Volcano vista!

Whether the visitors here choose to trek up like me or ride on the back of a horse, the main attraction is not the journey but the destination.

Standing at the rim of the volcano, looking around the 360 degree panorama, the views catch you in every direction.

Whether it’s back out over the lake I’ve just come, across to the other mountains and green landscapes in the far distances, or down into the centre of the Taal Volcano itself.