We visited Mt. Pinatubo Spa last November 2005 and vowed to go back to hike Mt. Pinatubo. After two years, I was able to fulfill that vow last January 20 2008!
I was flabbergasted with the awesome 2.5 hours trip to the top of Mt. Pinatubo. It was a combination of a one hour 4×4 ride, and a 1.5 hours leisurely hike up to the Mt. Pinatubo crater. Upon reaching the crater, you’ll be rewarded with the scene of blue green waters that you can dip in. We celebrated our conquer of Mt. Pinatubo with a Korean and Filipino lunch back at Mt. Pinatubo Spa. We indulged in a shiatsu-thai massage before heading back home to Manila.
Pictures will not do justice to the experience but this is a humble attempt to capture the Mt. Pinatubo Hiking Experience…. Enjoy!
We started off in Mt. Pinatubo Spa. The package which includes a hike to Mt. Pinatubo costs P1,500 inclusive of lunch. If you want to avail of the massage, you have to pay extra P500 pesos. Mt. Pinatubo Spa is 3 hours away from Manila. We would recommend that you take the Mabalacat road instead of the Concepcion route. Please read related post below:
9.35am
We started the trip with a ride on a 4×4. It would take a one hour ride through deserted lahar and mountains before reaching the Sky Way point.
9.53am
It was a nice sunny day and we recommend to go here in January when the air is still cool.
10.04am
How I wish I could have my own 4×4 to try out on these lahar roads… Beautiful scenery isn’t it?
10.12am
This is the Sky Way. This is the short cut and it made it possible to be able to hike MT. Pinatubo for one hour. In the past, after the 4×4 ride you have to hike for 3 more hours up to the top of Mt. Pinatubo.
10.18am
We made our ascent up to the sky way. It would take 40 more minutes before we reached the take-off point for the hike.
10.57am
After going down the 4×4, this is the sight that you will see before you start the hike up Mt. Pinatubo.
11.00am
We hiked down a slippery lahar slope.
11.05am
This is the base of the level grounds going up to Mt. Pinatubo. We saw different volcanic rocks, streams of water, and tints of sulphur along the way.
11.12am
Ivan of Ivan About Time, Lauren of Laurganism and my friend Maong joined me for the hike.
11.14am
Mt. Pinatubo erupted and created these huge Mountains of lahar. Landslide is still possible so we have to be very careful. We truly enjoyed the hike.
11.18am 
11.19am
At this point, I was feeling cold already and how I wished I brought my jacket! But it is cool, we love the weather in January.
11.23am 
11.30am 
11.33am
After the valley of rocks and streams, we made our ascent into the forest going up the Mt. Pinatubo crater. After 2 hours, we can’t wait to see how the crater looks like.
11.43am 
11.48am 
11.48am
It is common to see these rock signs along the way which serves as a marker for the guides that this is the right way.
11.58am 
12.04pm 
12.06pm
At 12.06pm, our guide said, yes we are a stairway away from the crater!
12.09pm
The hike is manageable for any individual. Because you gradually go up to the crater. 
12.10pm
Finally the Mt. Pinatubo Crater!!
12.12pm
Ivan was already shouting at this point on how beautiful the crater is!! 12.16pm
We were not prepared for the beauty that was in front of us. I cannot describe in words how beautiful this experience of reaching the crater. You have to experience it yourself!
12.17pm
At this point, we decided to swim in the blue-green lake. During the rainy season, the color of the lake is brown so the best time to go is January.
12.20pm
The most difficult part of the hike was descending / ascending down this steep stairs going to the summit lake.
12.40pm
The water is cold and it was raining. But these did not stop these brave souls from conquering the waters of Mt. Pinatubo crater.
2.29pm
The hike was about 80 minutes on average.
2.30pm
At 2.30pm, we are ready to ride back on our 4×4.
2.31pm
A souvenir photo for conquering Mt. Pinatubo!
3.46pm
In total, you have to allot 6 hours for your hike to Mt. Pinatubo from the Mt. Pinatubo Spa (which is 3 hours away from Manila). I would recommend to leave Manila before 6am so that you can also go back home early.
4.15pm
I tried the hot volcanic ash treatment last time we went here. I would not recommend this because this is an additional P500. If you want to do it just for the experience, then go ahead. 
4.26pm
This is the best part of the experience — dry shiatsu with combination of Thai massage!
5.15pm
There is a free mud pack facial that would cool your face. Ivan was happy.
January is the best time to go to Mt. Pinatubo crater.
Mt. Pinatubo Spa Contact Numbers:
+63 45.4930031
Warning: Please don’t book it through Jovi who would charge you P1,750 instead of the usual P1,500/head.
wow! ganda naman!
hi anton! can i get the contact details of those in charge of arranging this hike? i am very much interested in hiking up mt. pinatubo and have been wanting to do so for a very long time. this particular hike can be managed by newbie-hikers such as myself diba? thanks so much!
i did this hike in high school(admittedly, this was more than a decade ago. LOL), i was a junior and at pisay, we had to pick a summer internship and i picked to join PHIVOLCS. we were stationed at clark air base and one of our activities was hiking through the sand dunes and flying over the main crater. really cool, one of the moments that i thought going to pisay was worth it. HA!
all i can say is WOW!!!
Wow! Thank you for writing about this. I don’t think I’ll ever go here so I’ll live vicariously through your pics. *L*
Hey Bro, ganda naman dyan. Promise ko kay Riza, galain namin ‘pinas next time, tapusin ko lang SoutEast Asian list ko, then pinas, na lapit na.
Regards to you family.
that’s the new route you really took. when i did that it was 3 hours uphill and 1.5 hours downhill but we spent the night there at the crater
Having survived the wrath of Mt Pinatubo’s eruption in 1991, it’s unbelievable to see through your eyes the beauty of this volcano. I still vividly remember Subic Bay being rained with lahar and people going through the nightmarish “end of the world” experience. The morning after provided hope to its residents and life went on. Thank you for sharing your experience.
I really enjoy reading your entries. It suppresses my feelings of homesickness. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us. The pictures are so beautiful. Hopefully, I will get to hike Mt. Pinatubo the next time I visit the Philippines.
Take care!
He,he… that sounds fun.
And I definitely need a mud pack facial! 😉
my friends and i are planning to go to a trip.. and pinatubo is one of our options..:D
I would love to go there. Such a spectacular place! Can I ask if the package price is for one person only? thanks!
Hi. Can I have your contact and their number?
Im interested to visit pinatubo. 🙂
tnx
aimee
we went to the pinatubo spa in feb 2008. it is no longer korean-owned. we booked everything through jovi (cellphone number posted by anton above). here are their latest rates.
4×4 – P2500 (good for 4 tourists)
4×4 contribution – P350
local guide – P500
skyway fee – P500
conservation fee – P50/person
food – P250/person for pinoy food, P350/person (i think) for Korean food
shower – P100/person (includes smelly bamboo soap, towel, locker, but no shampoo)
beware of jovi’s package rates. she quoted us P1750/person for everything included above, but when i broke it down for 4 persons, it turned out to be just P1360+/person.
if you’d like to see more pictures of pinatubo (taken feb 2008), click here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/69407685@N00/2304297231/in/set-72157603845603845/
Hi. We went to Pinatubo a few weeks ago. I think you should remove Jovi’s contact number as it will reflect very poorly on your blog. Jovi is no longer connected with Pinatubo Spa (since early February 2008) although she was trying to give the impression that she still was. She is a scammer and a liar. First she told us to meet her at Chowking Capas as the spa had an office just across the road (where we were supposed to pay). When we got there (10 minutes before the appointed time) she told us by celfone that she left already and would meet us at the dropoff point instead. She was supposed to meet us along the road where we would pay her. We got to the spa by ourselves and paid there, finding out that Jovi was overpricing!
Anyway, you might want to change the directions in your blog entry about going to the spa: From Chowking-Caltex Capas (Chowking on your left and Caltex on your right) go towards the Capas munipical hall (about 500 meters). Just before the hall there is a road going left. Take that road for about 1 km until it reaches a deadend. Turn right at the deadend and follow the road all the way to Brgy Juliana/Pinatubo Spa for about 16 km. You will pass the Capas Shrine and a few barangays (Arunguren, Camp O’Donnel, Sta Lucia) on the way.
hi anton, i called up the cell number listed above (+63 9283410402) and apparently it’s still jovi. she also quoted us PhP1,750/person. good thing i read your blog entry — and the comments were really really helpful. i tried calling the landline number listed above but nobody’s answering (probably because it’s quite late already).
The spa personnel showed us the usual notice to the public, that Jovi was no longer connected there, and any transaction with Jovi will not be honored by the spa, etc etc.
The charges posted by dex are the usual expenses. You may want to just go straight to the barangay office in Sta Juliana. As long as you’re early you shouldnt have any problems getting a 4×4 and guide. I suggest bringing your own lunch instead and eat at the crater site itself. This way you wont be in a hurry to go back and take the spa lunch, which by the way was heavy but mediocre. Drinks (P70 per softdrink! 5-star Hotel prices!) not included. We just had a little water with lunch, then crossed the street and had softdrink in the sarisari store for P12.
bukas anjan andun heheheh
Hi. We just came from Pinatubo last April 8 and it turned out to be a really great experience. We opted to take the longer trek though, about 3hours each way. It was more challenging and had so much beautiful scenery to take pictures of.
The lake in the crater looks really deep, and after about 3 meters from the edge of the water, one can no longer reach the bottom. I guess that’s ideal for good swimmers, but for those who are not, I suggest they bring a lifejacket, as there are none available at the crater. Some of my companions used bamboo poles (single and not tied together) as floating devices. There were also several small outrigger boats in one of the corners of the lake but they were padlocked. The guide informed us that to be able to use the boats, one has to coordinate it at the pinatubo tourism office. The water was neither too cold nor too warm, and was very calm. Really great for swimming. As we went there on a weekday, there were only two small groups aside from ours.
I plan to go back to pinatubo maybe late this year, but the next time, I’ll probably suggest that we take the skyway going back, which requires just about 1hour of trekking.
is it ok to bring my daughter (8 yrs. old and physically fit) going to the crater? there will about 20 of us, will there be enough 4×4 to take us to the crater at the same time?
Hi Anton, love your blog, we went there last april. Unfortunately, the skyway was closed for construction so we took the old way. The hiking to the crater was 3 hours, rather than their said 45mins no stopping.
here are some of my pics for the trekking 🙂 thanks for the advice, it helped a lot. though we didn’t do the wellness spa. We went straight to Wendell, the president of the 4×4 club. Was a bit cheaper hehehe.
http://primnproperonline.blogspot.com/search/label/Trekking
Way to go Anton! Another fab-find place!
Hey guys,
In case anyone is interested: June 14, 2008
Independence Day trek to Mt. Pinatubo.
Please contact me at 0920.952.5285 or info@e-philippines.com.ph. Thank you.
Great Blog Anton !! Good Job.
I wanna go there in July. Is it a good time to be there ?
hey!! this is amazing!!!
im planning to go on january! do you know who can i contact? like do you know any email address or cellphone number?
thanks!!
Wellll had an interesting day today. I went to the trek centre departure point with Jovi the previous day. Let me say that she acted in a very professional manner and is in fact associated with them. I was there with her on Saturday but due to complications arising from my late arrival on Saturday I didn’t get to go then but returned the next day and did all the arranging myself. The last departure is 9 am, you will see why as you read. I went on a tour of the Death March memorial and Clark duty free to use up the day.
The previous posts have not mentioned that the Skyway no longer exists. It was washed out in April 2008 so they drop you off in the riverbed a long way from the rim. They sent a bulldozer from the local Barangey to clear it out but it got stuck and they abandoned it. Work is progressing on another route but there is no completion date set. Soooooo………….
The 1 hour 4×4 trip is correct but verbally they told me the walk would take about 1.5 to 2 hours, well no way. It took us 3 hours of go go go. I checked on Google earth and it is 8.9 kms from the drop off to the rim and a rise of nearly 2000 feet. Stopped there only for a short stay because I knew we had a long way back. The return trip was about 2.5 hours because it was downhill.
I am in pretty good shape but I feel like I have been in a street fight and lost. Started the trip at the departure centre at 8:15 AM and got back at 16:45 and had lunch which was included. My recommendation is DON’T do this until they have the new road built, that would cut off about 75% of the trip I took. But if you do, you can book with Jovi. She can assist with getting you from Capas to the departure centre as it is a bit tricky getting to it the first time.
for interested parties, we have a scheduled trek on dec 20th. for more details, pls. visit the link: http://tripinas.multiply.com/
i was there yesterday!!! and until now… im still awed by the whole experience… as in super ganda…. the first time i saw the lake i cant believe its really real… i could still remember your pic above of the lake… and its just so surreal that im actually seeing it for real… para pa rin syang picture lang…. super as in super ganda….
thanks for this post anton… this helped me a lot in organizing the trip with my friends… i was able to bring a group of 18 and they were all so happy about the trip… 😀
we enjoyed the trek part din…bonding and camwhoring moment! hehe
cant wait to post our pix… 😀
You’re Welcome Charmie! Please put the link to the photos in the comment
section 🙂
hi anton. can you give me the contact number for the pinatubo trek. thanks!
Hi Jeanne,
It changes na over the years and I’m not anymore sure. I usually contact Mt.
Pinatubo Spa.
Anton
hi, anton. our group are also planning to go to mt. pinatubo this coming may. can i ask for the contact details of the person in charge for this package?
I don’t have the updated contact number. We would usually contact Mt.
Pinatubo Spa because we want to get a massage after.
anton
SABITMountaineers is a leading tour organizer of Pinatubo Trekking activities. We handled and organized corporate climbs (Hewlett Packard, Bayantel, Azeus, Procter and Gamble, Solar Sports) as big as 70 pax. We had organized a total of 25 Pinatubo Treks to this date and counting. With 100% fun, success rate and no accidents. Your safety is paramount to us.
CLimb Fee is 1,700 per head.
Inclusive of
2 way private aircon van transfer
2 way 4×4 jeep rental
local guide fee
pinatubo skyway toll fee
conservation fee
If you have any questions regarding the climb, please feel free to contact me.
Thanks.
Jay Hernandez
Expedition Leader
09278745864
SABITMountaineers is a leading tour organizer of Pinatubo Trekking activities. We handled and organized corporate climbs (Hewlett Packard, Bayantel, Azeus, Procter and Gamble, Solar Sports) as big as 70 pax. We had organized a total of 25 Pinatubo Treks to this date and counting. With 100% fun, success rate and no accidents. Your safety is paramount to us.
CLimb Fee is 1,700 per head.
Inclusive of
2 way private aircon van transfer
2 way 4×4 jeep rental
local guide fee
pinatubo skyway toll fee
conservation fee
If you have any questions regarding the climb, please feel free to contact me.
Thanks.
Jay Hernandez
Expedition Leader
09278745864
we been there last sunday. and im mesmerized by its the beauty until now. i posted my priceless photos at face book for my friends delight. Mt Pinatubo is truly a piece of heaven on earth. i can rest my soul there forever. love it!
Anton, I went to Mt. Pinatubo last Sunday…what a great experience! Thanks for the tips you gave when we talked in iblog:)
You’re welcome, Ongai! Ang ganda ng Pilipinas no?
anton
SABITMountaineers offers mt. Pinatubo trekking services
Php 1,750 per head for a group of 9pax
Inclusive of;
2 way private A/C van transfer (Manila – tarlac – manila)
2 way 4×4 rental
local guide fee
permits
pinatubo skyway toll fee
for inquiries
Jay – 09278745864
hi anton can you also give any cellphone number of the company that arranges the hike? i’d like to call them up. thank you!
gladys
May maganda po na beach/camp area sa Tambobong, Pangasinan. Hindi pa siya commercialized kaya sobra ganda ng beach at mababait ang mga tao. There is a new resort there, just starting. Its called PANTALAN BEACH RESORT in Tambobong. Bawal ang maingay na karaoke, cemented parking for 10 cars(50/night), kubo rental at only 1.5k per night and maintenance fees at only 50/head for use of cr and bath kung gusto niyo mag tent lang sa beach!!! Pero very very basic facilities lang. They even offer set meals for groups. Or if you want them to cook merong minimal fees lang. The kubos are built right on the pantalan (port) so GREAT view of the ocean talaga. Maganda yung kubo and can fit 8 to 10 yata. Meron din built in tables made of bamboo lang. Rustic. Its owned by the Bobises so just call nanay Precy bobis or Deo Bobis at SUN#09227154685 or SUN#09236685401 or SMART#09075183062 for reservations and arrangements. I understand they can even arrange transpo to/from manila na rin now. Pls call or text for rates nalang. Thanks.
TAMBOBONG FACEBOOK PAGE
TAMBOBONG THINGS TO DO/SEE
TAMBOBONG/OSMENA BEACHES/CAMPING: COLIBRA ISLAND
TAMBOBONG/OSMENA BEACHES: KABAKUNGAN CAVE,BALINMANOK WRECK, BALAKI ISLAND HOPPING
TAMBOBONG/OSMENA BEACHES: FRESH WATER CAVE