Article by Desa Desiree Tayting | Photos by John Paulo Sium| Graphics by Salie Agustin
Heavy traffic, rush hours, large crowds, the feeling of suffocation because all you see daily are buildings and infrastructures… Manila can be wicked at times. There are moments when we pause and wish to escape the urban life, wanting to go somewhere far away and take a breather.
If not only for the meantime, we dream of having a resting house that we can escape to anytime we wish to get away. When choosing where to go for that, Sandari Batulao is one of our top choices. Why? We give you reasons why opting to live in this place will leave you with zero regrets.
(READ: 6 Tips for a Successful Spontaneous Solitary Getaway)
4 Reasons Why Sandari Batulao Is the Perfect Home for You
4. It peacefully lies close to nature.
Sandari comes from the Sanskrit words ‘zaanta’, which means peaceful; and ‘dhari’, which means ‘valley’. True enough, the only noise that you will hear here is the distinct sound of the whistling wind in the trees. Imagine yourself coming home to Sandari Batulao: you come out of your house and prove that this is the ultimate escape from the city because all you’ll see is greenery. Trees and mountains are everywhere, and the air you’ll inhale is nothing but the freshest.
Mt. Talamitam is one of the closest mountains to Sandari Batulao.
This place has an exclusive community with 50% of the area dedicated to green and open spaces, making it perfect for parents who want their kids to have fun without their gadgets and to enjoy the outdoors.
You don’t even need to go far to experience this because this community is only around 2-3 hours away from Manila. It’s really a quick escapade!
3. It provides both relaxation and a bit of adventure.
Fun fact: people often think this place is a resort, but it’s actually not! It’s a residential community in Nasugbu, Batangas at the foot of two well-known mountains near Manila: Mt. Batulao and Mt. Talamitam. These two are popular hiking destinations for beginners and for people who are just looking for a quick hike.
A view of their main clubhouse from one the cabanas, also showing the kiddie island with white sand
Sunbathing is a lot cooler here.
What probably looks like a resort on the Internet is their superb clubhouse, Club Ananda. We can’t blame you; this clubhouse resembles a world-class setup! It has a 25-meter infinity lap pool, a waterpark, a lounge spa pool, a kiddie island with white sand, island cabanas (perfect for your IG shots), a river pool, and a garden. They also hold weddings and other events inside their beautiful and classy main clubhouse.
Club Ananda at night
This river-like waterpark is something you should be excited for!
Ahhhhh, going home to a clubhouse like this after a hike really sounds wonderful!
2. There’s a pizza place nearby.
Instagram-worthy interiors
Their best-selling Margherita and Mushroom pizzas
When we say ‘nearby’, we mean a mere 5 minutes away! It’s not common to have a pizza place close to your residence, but even before you enter Sandari Batulao, Crust will catch your attention and solve all of your hunger pains. They offer several variants of pizza – all brick oven-baked, affordable, and yummy!
1. It’s a health and wellness community.
The Sandari Batulao community promotes health and wellness. For the last few months, they have been holding events for yoga, hiking, healthy cooking, vegetable planting, and more to evoke a place where the health and wellness of its people are valued. For the last month of 2017, they held a ‘Wellness Day’ with a Mt. Talamitam trek, which promoted wellness through the three core principles of Move, Eat and Sleep.
The participants of the ‘Wellness Day with Mt. Talamitam Hike’
Halfway through Mt. Talamitam
A day full of just being well started with an early hike to Mt. Talamitam. It wasn’t very sunny and the wind was cool.
The weather was perfect for a hike.
After that nice release of sweat, a boodle feast and fresh buko welcomed the participants.
Aside from that, there was also a relaxing head and foot massage available for everyone while others took a dip in their pools.
Teacher Menchie, a yoga teacher, demonstrates how to make an alternative to mayonnaise and scrambled eggs using tofu
Looks like scrambled egg, right? But no, this is actually made of tofu.
To cap it all off, a cooking demo presented healthier food alternatives that can replace the usual ingredients that we use for food.
Without a doubt, health is wealth, and Sandari Batulao clearly believes in that. While we cannot avoid stress, we can at least find ways to get rid of it, right? This community is for people who share the same belief and want to start a healthy and well lifestyle. If these reasons don’t convince you to choose Sandari Batulao, I don’t know what will.
Sandari Batulao
Km 77 Batulao, Nasugbu, Batangas
https://www.facebook.com/official.sandari.batulao/
