Angono Petroglyphs
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Y'all know of my love for Antipolo? Her Rizal neighbor, Angono, gave us quite the show with her 5000 year old petroglyphs last month. Just a short 40 minute drive from Pasig to Angono and bam, ancient drawings. This one stop isn't enough to fill up a whole day but we stayed for an hour and really enjoyed the space. This is definitely a trip that took only a little effort with a fun payoff making it an easy and short day trip. Here is a fun little paragraph from our friend Wikipedia:
The Angono Petroglyphs (Filipino: Mga Petroglipo ng Angono) is the oldest known work of art in the Philippines located in the province of Rizal. There are 127 human and animal figures engraved on the rockwall probably carved during the late Neolithic. These inscriptions clearly show stylized human figures, frogs and lizards, along with other designs that may have depicted other interesting figures but erosion may have caused it to become indistinguishable. The engravings are mostly symbolic representations and are associated with healing and sympathetic magic.
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The drive out there was fine but ends with a dirt road that has you guessing if you came to the right location; you did. Waze and Google Maps both took us there easily. As you approach the tunnel you will see road signs for the petroglyphs.
A five minute walk through a fun tunnel and trail and there you are. This walk was super easy with kids and they loved the tunnel!
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As you exit the tunnel and walk on a short trail you approach the one room museum. I was chasing the boys and forgot to do the walk through and hear the history but my husband did. A very nice woman who has been on site for twelve years will give you a rich lesson on how the petroglyphs were discovered and who created them. It wasn't until the 1965 that a Boy Scout troop happened upon them! In the last few years a very nice view deck has been placed on site to create a safe distance and nice place to admire. If I had planned more in advance I would have had the children bring a sketch pad and draw the petroglyphs they see and then make their own. I also would have brought binoculars just to zoom in on the detail. The boys found a turtle and a frog among other creatures.
The children loved getting out and enjoyed the open space as usual. This morning trip was almost effortless in terms of Manila travel. No traffic, out doors and dirt cheap. Hallelujah. I would love more of these. If you have any favorites please let me know.
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Things To Know:
Mondays-Fridays / 9:00 am – 4:00 pm; Saturdays, Sundays and holidays by appointment Contact Information: ASBMD, National Museum Central Office; 527-4192
Angono is only a 40 minute drive from Pasig area if you leave early enough in the morning.
Pack lunches as there is a nice picnic area with covered benches. Or you could visit Pinto Art Gallery and 14 Four Cafe. It is also near Taytay if you want to really go crazy.
