Benguet, a province in Cordillera Region in the Philippines is blessed with scenic views of countless mountains. Some of the most popular mountains like Mt. Pulag, Ugo and Ulap don’t need introduction but there are still a lot of underrated mountains and trails waiting to be discovered. One of those is a trail lying in the municipality of Kibungan. The municipality has a lot of trails scattered throughout and somewhat connected with nearby provinces. One safest and simplest trail is Tacadang Circuit. This trail can be done by both beginners and professional since the pathway is paved decently. Using this trail will give you opportunity to pass by rice paddies, blue mountains, waterfalls and hanging coffins. Unfortunately, for us, it was summer when we were there so the waterfalls gone dry or the others don’t have enough water.

DAY 1

We started the journey upon arriving in Municipal Hall in Poblacion, Kibungan, Benguet for the registration and breakfast. The view deck greeted us with a scenic view of the untouched steep slope mountains and rock formation. The trail starts in Sitio Tanap where we pass through Tanap Rice Terraces which was such a good start. The way is decent with narrow but cemented pathway. However summer heat, lack of air and consistent assault trail are the biggest challenges. We marched for four hours until we reached Buga campsite for our lunch and water source. Luckily until here, cellphone signal is consistently strong.

After lunch, we rest and nap for a while. At one thirty in the afternoon, we continued to hike up to Mt. Tagpaya. Unfortunately in the middle of the hike we were greeted with quite heavy rain. We had some rest along the hike because the heavy fog continued to block our way and our view until we reached the summit. I guess we were not that lucky at that time. Our guide joked that our photos resulted to i.d picture with white background. (LOL)

After the summit we trek down to Tacadang where we will spend the night in our homestay. The place is used as a multi-purpose hall. It is not a room with bed that you expect so it is advisable to bring your sleeping bag. For toilet and bathroom you will be guided to houses nearby. Just ask permission if you can use their bathroom and toilet. The people there are nice, they would allow you to use their resources so make sure to always say “Thank you.” They don’t even take payments even if you insist so just be nice and be sure to clean as you go. Don’t litter, the locals are very responsible on their trash so as you. Also there’s no network signal here.

DAY 2

For our second day, on our way back to Poblacion we trek and pass through Barangay Polis going up to Barangay Poblacion where we started our hike from yesterday. The view in this trail is much better or maybe because the weather is calmer than yesterday. But the biggest challenge to us is the summer heat especially the trail is not shady, more exposed, and lesser wind compared to our trek the other day. The path is always decent with enough size to walk and mostly cemented too. There’s not many loose soil but expect a lot of assault which is personally my weakness plus the heat. When we reached Barangay Polis the cellphone signal comes to life again. Overall, it took our team ten hours to finish the hike for this day including our rest from the heat, exhaustion and lunch.

Personally, I would recommend this hike for everyone beginners and experienced. What I like in this trail is that, it may be long but the pathways are decent, cemented and has enough size to walk with two feet. There’s no cliff to deal with and not many loose soil to worry about. As a person that has issues with heights these are the factors that weigh me down during hikes.

ITINERARY

Day 1

6:00 AM: Kibungan Municipal Hall (breakfast, registration)

8:00 AM: Sitio Tanap jump off (start of trek)

11:30 AM: Buga Campsite (water source, lunch)

1:30 PM: Resume trek

4:00 PM: Mt. Tagpaya Summit

6:00 PM: Tacadang (homestay)

Day 2

8:30 AM: Start trek

1:30 PM: Polis Bario School (lunch)

3:00 PM: Resume trek

6:30 PM: Poblacion (end of trek)

Expenses:

Registration Fee: Php 160/ person

Guide Fee: Php 850/ day for 7 pax

Porter: Php 850/ day (15 kilos)

Homestay: Php 30/ person

This post is in partnership with Team Ladaw. For more hiking activities in Benguet and inquiries visit their facebook page and follow their instagram. (links below)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teamladaw/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teamladaw/?hl=en

Back in the year 2016 when Mt Ulap is on the rise, making noise on social media filling my feeds with scenic views of the mountains, clouds and people enjoying the hike. It was my first time to hike this mountain when my friend beep me up and invited me for a day hike. I didn’t hesitate and welcomed the challenge. After 2 years I came back and I saw a huge difference with that short span of time. This 1846m high mountain in barangay Ampucao Itogon, Benguet is for beginners according to a group of professional mountaineer group, back then I would say  “I DON”T THINK SO”. But now I would say “YES!” because the trail is made easier and wider. According to our guide they changed some routes and made them easier because of the flock of tourists and hikers that rave this place. However, I still suggest you to be ready with loads of chocolates or trail food, liters of water and energy that would last for at least 5 to 6 hours.

HOW TO GET THERE

Take a jeepney to Ampucao, Itogon Benguet from Baguio City. The first trip leaves at 7:30 am. Get down to Ampucao barangay hall for the registration, orientation and for your tour guide.

*Note: We first did our reservation through a google document on their facebook page. Three days before the hike I received a text message saying our reservation was approved. However, when I talked to my guide he told us that if we are less than 10 people (we are a group of 4 people) it is not really necessary because those are for travel agencies who are booking a huge number of visitors. In 2016 it was not like this. There’s no reservation needed now it is advisable to message their facebook page first.

Mt. Ulap has 6 stations. These are Totombek, Ambanao Paoay, Gungal and Mt. Ulap (summit), Pong-ol Burial Cave which is currently closed and Sta Fe. This is the usual trail. Other hikers use the reverse one or the backtrail which ends in Mt. Ulap summit and skips Sta Fe.

AMBANAW PAWAY

The first peak and the most challenging, since the trail going there is purely assault. Starting from the barangay hall to Totombek, the entrance and gateway of the hike, is a decent cemented way. However, from Totombek to Ambanaw Paway is a steep ascending path. On our way, I noticed some changes on the trail. The pathway going to the peak is not what we used to pass by 2 years ago. I thought that the new path is wider and easier. Nearby is a camping site for overnight hikers.

GUNGAL

This peak has the best view and mostly seen on social media. The nerve racking location of the rock hanging by the cliff amazes every visitors and tempts them to challenge themselves to stand on it. It is advisable to start the trek early to get here early. The guide told us that starting at 2 pm the clouds starts to go down and cover the view. We went there in the month of April which is summer but still the clouds didn’t cooperate with us LOL.

MT. ULAP: The Summit

An hour hike from Gungal, is the highest peak among the three. With the view comparable to some epic drama on television, all the long tiring trail is all worth it when you see the 360 view of Cordillera mountain.  Nearby down the summit is another campsite for overnight hikers and stores for souvenir, drinks and snacks.

The Campsite

Santa Fe

The mark that states you made it to Mt. Ulap! The traverse route states you will end here. Along the way getting here you will pass by some burial caves and stores that sell souvenirs, snacks and drinks. The trail getting down is very steep as seen on the trail map. From here there are jeepneys you can take to go back to Baguio. Although be aware that the last trip of jeepneys to Baguio is at 4pm.

End of hike! Shopping for some souvenirs.

Expenses

Jeep to Ampucao from Baguio: Php 30

Registration Fee: Php 100

Guide Fee: Php 600 maximum of 10 people

Jeepney from Philex trail to Baguio: Php 50 (if the jeepney is not full, the driver might negotiate with you to add a little for the jeepney to leave or wait a little longer)

“Pigingan” in one of Cordillera’s local dialect means slanted, which describes the shape of the summit. It is not as popular as its neighboring mountains, Mt. Ugo and Mt. Ulap but it is really worth to give this a mountain a shot especially its main highlight, its beautiful sunrise. The hike to the summit may take 3-5 hours depending on your speed. The trail is friendly even for beginners in hiking since it is paved and sculpted. However the biggest struggle is the hot afternoon sun especially if you start the hike at midday. Pigingan is located in Barangay Dalupirip in Itogon, Benguet near Pangasinan so the temperature is warmer than other mountains of Benguet (we went there in the month of May). Plus the fact that the pathway doesn’t have much trees to shade the trail that slows down the hike. Day hike and overnight hike are both possible however the schedule of jeepneys going to the Sitio Balococ, the jump off is a big conflict so having a private vehicle is strongly recommended. I never heard of Mt. Pigingan before until my friends from Team Ladaw, a travel group on facebook introduced me to this mountain. They invited me to join their first Hike for a Cause event to raise funds for their upcoming outreach program. Of course, I packed my weekend bag and just go.

HOW TO GET THERE

1. Jeepney to Dalupirip

• Jeepneys leaving from Baguio to Dalupirip starts from 10 a.m. – 12nn and vice versa is at 6 a.m. – 7 a.m. However, if the jeepney is full it will leave immediately without following the schedule so to be safe, be at their terminal in front of Shopper’s Lane at 9 a.m. Fare is ₱60 and travel time is 2 hours.

2. Private Vehicle

• Strongly recommended since the schedule of jeepneys going and leaving Dalupirip is a conflict to day hikers and overnight ones. To get there take the Loakan Road to Virac, Itogon until you reach the twin river. From there you will see two separate roads, take the left road going to barangay Dalupirip then follow the road going up to Sitio Balococ, the jump off of the hike. Signs are visible so there won’t be much problem driving or getting lost.

WHERE TO STAY

There is no any type of accommodation here so camping will be your only choice unless locals will offer their place for you to crash.

THE JOURNEY

We departed Baguio City at 9:30 am and reached Sitio Balococ at around 11:45 considering the battle of traffic in Baguio. We had our registration, hiring of guide and porter and lunch. By 1 p.m. we started to walk. The first hour of our hike is a decent path with cemented road, crossing Agno River thru a long suspended bridge and purely straight flat trail. However the struggle here is the hot afternoon sun that makes the hike a bit slower and tiring. The next 2 hours is where the hike starts to be challenging, gradually as we ascend, the trail becomes steeper and the heat becomes stronger. We passed by some shaded part of trail to rest and refill our empty water bottles from their natural spring water sources. There are three water sources along the way before reaching the campsite. The trail in this part of the hike is mostly composed of soil and some loose sand.

When we reach the junction we saw a signage of different trails to take. It also has a store that sells snacks and cold drinks. Starting this point was another one and half hour tougher and steeper trail to the campsite. Some parts of the trail are composed of loose soil but mostly are sturdy decent path. And again not much trees to protect us from the harsh sun but the views are more stunning with surrounding mountains.

We reached the campsite at around 5:30 pm so that was a 4 ½ hour of hiking with a normal pace and a lot of rest (LOL). Maybe if it wouldn’t have been because of the heat we could have reached the campsite earlier. Anyway 5 minutes from the campsite are the water source and toilet.

From the campsite is another 30 minutes trail to the peak of Mt. Pigingan. The trail going to the summit is easy but the peak is quite difficult since it was too steep. The highlights of this mountain are its generous sunrise and picturesque mountains surrounding it. On the right side you will find the sunrise while on the left are smaller but high definition resolution (HDR) mountains view.

ITINERARY (by TEAM LADAW)

Overnight

Day 1

8 am: Assembly (Slaughter, Magsaysay, BC)

9 am: Departure to Balococ

12nn: Arrival to Balococ (Lunch, Registration, Prepare to trek)

1 pm: Start trek

5 pm: Arrival at campsite (Tent set up, dinner, socials)

9 pm: Lights Off

Day 2:

3 am: Wake up call (Coffee)

4 am: Start trek to the summit

8 am: Back to the campsite (breakfast, pack up)

10am: Start to descend

1 pm: Arrival to Balococ (Lunch, Shower, Prepare to go home)

4 pm: Arrival in Baguio City

EXPENSES

Registration Fee: ₱100/ person

Guide: ₱ 500/ day max of 7 people

Porter: ₱ 500/ 15 kg (₱50/ 1 kg excess)

Shower Fee:  ₱25

For more inquiries contact their barangay captain, Mr. Joel Bauson at 0947 521 2627 or person in charge Ms. Lanie Pastor at 0998 233 7994.

For guiding service contact Raven Pili (totally recommended) at 0950 145 8485

• Note: Signal is a big problem in Sitio Balococ so it may take a while before they could respond to your messages and calls.

For more hiking events visit Team Ladaw’s Facebook page.