Laiban Botanical Gardens & Nature Reserve

Last year (March, 2023) I made a decision to “buy” a parcel of land on the Mayton River on the western slopes of the southern Sierra Madre Mountains. Even though it’s only 80 km. east of Pasig City it can take more than two hours to drive. The trip is in three sectors. Traffic from Pasig through the outskirts of Antipolo is usually a long and painful part of the journey. The longest stretch involves climbing into the mountains along the Marcos Highway that changes names to the Marikina-Infanta Hwy. At a point high up in the mountains you turn onto a “country road” that descends along an often precarious path to the Mayton riverbed. Along the way your vehicle must cross streams 8 times to finally arrive in the village of Laiban, population about 3-400 people. My piece of land is another 500 meters after the village.