Skip to Part 2: Mt. Pulag Climb: 11-Hour Mt. Pulag Summit Hike! (Part 2) #NaPulagsaGanda
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Mt. Pulag is the third highest mountain in the Philippines, standing at 2,922 masl (meters above sea level), after Mt. Apo in Davao (2,954 masl) and Mt. Dulang Dulang in Bukidnon (2,938 masl).
The government no longer allows camping during weekends in the mountain and promotes homestay instead for those who want to climb to the summit. There are plans to close the Ambangeg trail next year to let the mountain recover.
Here’s a photo essay of our Climb Mt. Pulag adventure with Jeron Travel and Trail Adventours last March 4-6, 2016…
En route to Mt. Pulag
We took the Victory Liner bus that leaves at 10.00pm on a Friday night from Victory Pasay bus station.
Arrived in Baguio around 4 am to meet up with our fellow hikers.
Breakfast at Banao’s Stopover
We stopped for breakfast at Banao Stopover & Eatery, which serves freshly prepared home-cooked turo-turo dishes.
My breakfast: red hotdog, egg, rice, nilagang baka, and Benguet coffee.
Sightseeing Tours
After 45 minutes, we made another stop at Ambuklao Dam, which supplies electricity in the region.
A closer look at the dam. It was closed when we visited in the morning.
Next stop was Jang-Jang Hanging bridge, 30 minutes away from Dmbuklao dam. Other tour groups would stop here for breakfast.
Jang-Jang is the longest hanging bridge in the Philippines made from steel.
It can only accommodate 10 people at a time, so make sure to arrive early for a good selfie or group photo.
Next was the Daclan Sulfur springs, another 30 minutes away from Jang-Jang.
You can see the sulfur water furiously boiling while emitting a fart-like smell.
DENR Station
We arrived at the DENR Station at around 9 am for the registration and a mandatory hiker’s orientation.
A fit-to-climb medical certificate is required because there have been casualties before, with hikers experiencing asthma and hypertension.
Those who survive the Mt. Pulag climb can leave a memento after logging out of the DENR Station.
The orientation can only accommodate 90 people at a time and lasts for an hour. We waited for 2 hours for our session.
The most popular trail is the Ambangeg trail, which is a 4-hour hike to the summit.
Lunch at Country Road
After the DENR orientation, we stopped for lunch at Country Road by Ate Gina.
Lunch was good–chopsuey with sweet, fresh vegetables and Cordillera’s signature dish, Pinikpikan.
After lunch, we made our way to our homestay while seated on top of the jeep to enjoy nature.
Baban’s Homestay
We stayed at Baban’s, which is one of the best homestays in Mt. Pulag.
(For reservations, call or text Baban’s Homestay: +63 936 653-4008, +63 948 357-7154, +63 930 363-1218)
It has an eco-friendly water refilling station and…
…its own farm where you can buy watercress, carrots, and other vegetables in season.
The best thing about homestay is you have time to chill before your climb.
This is my room for the night, with two pillows and one blanket (make sure to bring your own towel).
We had dinner in the main house at around 5.30 pm so we could sleep as early as 7.00 pm.
Dinner was freshly harvested watercress and…
…sinigang na baboy.
Meet our Trail Adventour guides Eugune, Justine, Jasper, and JP, who prepared us well for the early morning Mt. Pulag jump off.
To be continued… Part 2: Mt. Pulag Climb: 11-Hour Mt. Pulag Summit Hike! (Part 2) #NaPulagsaGanda
Live an Awesome Life,
Founder, www.OurAwesomePlanet.com
Disclosure: We paid for our Mt. Pulag Experience. I wrote this article with my biases, opinions, and insights.
P.S. This is the Climb Mount Pulag package we availed from Jeron Travel.
Climb Mount Pulag
March 04-06, 2016
P 4,800/pax
Package Inclusions:
– Round trip transportation Manila-Baguio
– Chartered Jeep Baguio-Mt. Pulag
– Registration fee, Environmental and Cultural fee
– Full board meals
– Expert Mountaineer guides
– Jeron Travel Coordinator
– Stay at Baban Homestay
Contact: Jeron Travel at +632 854-1813 / activejerontravel@gmail.com
I think I saw you on your way down sa mossy forest. 🙂 You guys took your breakfast sa Camp 2, di ba?