Bataan's best kept secret

Stretch of white sand beach at Quinawan Point I didn’t know Bataan has so much to offer beyond the Mount Samat and Tarak Mariveles mountain...

Stretch of white sand beach at Quinawan Point

I didn’t know Bataan has so much to offer beyond the Mount Samat and Tarak Mariveles mountain range as well as its historical markers. Last week, I got a chance to explore an off-the-beaten path destination, known only to local explorers and mountain bikers of Bataan. Thanks for the invitation from my friend M at Total and his wacko of a group of budding explorers from his office led by a member of Bataan Trailriders and Boss J from their Bataan Terminal office.

Amazing view of the South China Seas and cliffs during the trek to Quinawan Point

After at least 3 hours drive to Bataan, we were shuttled of to another vehicle and drove less than a couple of hours to our jump-off point in Bagac. Unfortunately I can’t tell you where this place is since most of the trail we passed by here are Private Property. But not to worry I will tell you how to get to our end destination by another means.

Rich forest cover at the trail.

I must say that the longer trail we passed through is one of the most scenic I’ve seen just a few hours from Manila. The trail is quite easy actually but long, passing by high cogon grass on open fields, then through Rich forest covers and amazing view of Bataan terrains with the majestic backdrop of Tarak-Mariveles mountain range. But the best is when you’ve reached the trail with the open view of the South China Sea. Reminds me very much of Itbayat’s Port of Paganaman in Batanes.

Ingeniuos Fisherman’s lamps at one of the boats at the beach.

The trek took about 2-3 hours as we have reached the Quinawan beach by 5 in the afternoon. And the place is an absolutey nice beach cove. It has fine white sands and a very scenic environment. And best of there’s no tourist crowd aside from the locals living there. So we basically have the beach to ourselves. And we where able to sample their fresh catches that night. Truly gratifying.

Our own private beach with fine white sand.

There are no accommodations in this cove, but there are basic shower room and a rest room on Victoria Resort. Which is not really much of a resort because there’s no rooms here, only cottages so if you plan on staying for the night you must bring tents. Though visitors are allowed to pitch in their tents, this is still a privately owned resort and much respect is needed for the caretakers and other local residents nearby. I was able to converse with the caretaker here and learned that this is owned by a Filipina wed to a German National. They don’t have plans on turning this into a full blown resort (Amen to that). But they do have plans to develop the place more. Though this place is not known to many, there have been popular artist/celebreties who visited the place and had an overnight stay.

More white sand beaches and resorts at the coast of Bataan facing the China seas with the majestic backdrop of Mt. Tarak-Mariveles.

Going home the next day on a boat, I found out there are more white sand beaches facing the South China Sea. One noticable public resort I saw with a very long stretch of white sand is Quain Beach. A resort said to be owned by a congressman. Just taking a boat back, you’ll be rewarded with amazing view of the Bataan coast and the towerign Mount Tarak-Marivels along craggy cliffs and stretches of white sand beach.

If you ever wish to visit any of these resorts you must get yourself to Bataan, either you drive or commute via Genesis bus to Bagac. Then head off to Porto Beach where a line of boats there can take you to the different resorts. Travel time by boat is much shorter, around 30 minutes to an hour.