Tagaytay Loop

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Tagaytay is famous for its cool weather so a lot of tourists come here on the weekends.  This is also a usual destination for most southern cyclists.  There are various places and routes cyclists take when going to Tagaytay but one thing is sure, all of them goes through a hell of a climb.

Tagaytay is located south of Manila. There are two major roads you can take to reach the Tagaytay proper; Santa Rosa route or the Aguinaldo Hiway route.

Last weekend, we tried to climb Tagaytay after a long break from our weekend biking routine. The familiar feel of your thighs burning during the climb all came back to us.

Our starting point was at Jollibee Pacita in San Pedro, Laguna. From there, we took the national hiway up to Pavillion Mall in Binan. From there we took the inner roads going to Nuvali. As we reached the intersection of Nuvali, we turned right to Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay road then the uphill battle begun.
fog covered road ahead
After some 16 kilometers of uphill climb, we reach the Tagaytay-Calamba road where we turned right to reach the Tagaytay Rotonda. The road was covered in fog when we reached the rotonda. We took breakfast at Dunkin Donuts before heading down.

It's downhill fun from Tagaytay Rotonda up to Governor's Drive. Nearly 21 kilometers of downhill riding takes all the fatigue from climbing away. Going down we were able to go 60 kph based on Endomondo. We took Governor's Drive to reach Southwoods where we finish our Tagaytay loop.
Taal volcano(not pictured) covered by clouds and fog
The sun was well up in the sky by the time we reached San Pedro. We started riding 5am and finished the loop in less than 5 hours. It was a fairly fast ride compared to the other times we did this loop.

For newbie cyclists planning to take this loop, here are some tips.

  • Pace yourself. The hardest part of this loop is going up to Tagaytay. Don't rush it. You have a long climb so it is best to go at a pace that you are slightly exerting effort but not uncomfortably tiring.
  • Bring lots of water. Hydrate often during the climb.
  • There are lots of stores along the way. You can take a break to recover energy.
  • Watch out for trucks and cars. The road up is a 2-way road. Take the almost gutter lane for safety.
  • Bring a backpack so you can take home some "pasalubong" when you go down.
You can check out my endomondo entry for this ride here.

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