The smallest active volcano in the world is located 45 - 60 minutes away by car (depending on the traffic situation) from where I grew up as a child. Although I have viewed the volcano from different vantage points of my town which is Batangas, I have not physically been to the island until the time of writing this article.
I will be sharing the experience of my journey to Taal Volcano, giving information on the tour rates, tips on how to make the trip worthwhile, what to expect, and some stories from the locals.
But first, here are some facts about Taal Volcano. The major eruptions of Taal volcano in the years 1754, 1911, and between 1965 to 1977 resulted to the formation of
Lake Taal,
Vulcan Point, and
Binintiang Malaki. The latter has always been confused as the Taal Volcano, when in fact, the whole island is the volcano itself with several eruptive centers. Since 1572, the Taal Volcano has erupted 33 times from 33 different eruptive centers.
Lake Taal is a fresh water lake occupying a caldera that has been formed by major eruptions mentioned above.
view of Lake Taal from the base of Volcano Island
Later eruptions after the formation of the caldera led to a new formation of an island within the caldera. This is called the Volcano Island where I horse-back ride to get to the main crater of Taal Volcano.
Scenery on Volcano Island
In the Volcano Island lies the main crater with a small lake, thus called the Crater Lake.
A photo of myself sitting on the rim above the Crater Lake
Within the Crater Lake protrudes a rock called the
Vulcan Point.
Vulcan Point is known as the "world's largest island within a lake on an island within a lake on an island". Allow me to articulate that with the names: World's largest island (Vulcan Point) within a lake (Crater Lake) on an island (Volcano Island) within a lake (Lake Taal) on an island (Taal Volcano).
Vulcan Point within the Crater lake within the Volcano Island
Another formation that resulted from major eruptions of Taal Volcano is the
Binintiang Malaki. It is a dormant volcano that is most photographed by tourists and mostly pictured in post cards. Thus,
Binintiang Malaki is usually mistaken for Taal Volcano. But as mentioned previously, the whole island is Taal Volcano. This means that
Binintiang Malaki is a part of Taal Volcano.
Binintiang Malaki taken from Lake Taal
I hope I have made a clear description of Taal Volcano. In Part 2 of this article I will narrate the journey itself.
