LEAHTRAVELS: MT. SAWI – A DAYHIKE WITH THE “UN-SAWI” COUPLE

It was 4:45am on May 5 as we started walking towards the summit of Mt. Sawi. I was intrigued with its name, “Mt. Sawi.” The locals didn’t give a lot of information, but as the old story goes, the mountain was named after the suicide story of a girl who was heart broken. Damn! I heard a lot of stories similar to that, but she got the mountain, dude, and that was crazy! So I did my research about this mountain and saw the “Myth of Mt. Sawi”.

Photos taken by my boyfriend! So artsy! Good job, love! 🙂

Myth Of Mt. Sawi

There’s this myth in Nueva Ecija about a woman who lives near the Dupinga river found at the foot of this mountain. She loves to play by the river and is usually seen climbing the mountain.

On the summit, there is a prominent Balete tree.

One day, she saw a man, who looked tired and hungry, lying near the Balete tree, while she is climbing the mountain. The woman helped him. She even brought the man in their house and introduced him to everyone.

He then felt attracted to this woman who helped her.

When he has recovered, he told the woman that he has to go back home and tell his family that he is fine. Then, he left with a promise that he will come back for her.

The woman kept on waiting, holding on to his promise. But days passed by, and no one comes back.

Until one day, she heard that there was a celebration happening nearby. To her surprise, she found out that the feast is for the wedding of her man with another woman.

Little did she know, that the man she was waiting for was already promised to marry a woman from a prominent family.

Her heart was broken with what she has found out. She then decided to climb the mountain once more, and hang herself on the Balete tree, found on the summit.

Thus the name, Mt. Sawi (Mt. Bigti).

Despite the heart-wrenching story, this was one of the easiest hike we’ve done. I love how the trail going to the summit is mostly treeless, which gives you a better view of the surroundings and is easier to have long walks. There is only one kubo along the trail where you can rest and no stores where you can stop to buy food or drinks, unlike the other mountains we’ve hiked. So you better bring a lot of snacks and fluids!