February 7, 2015

This was our first dayhike for the year (Yes, Benguet day trips are possible!). We left Manila at around 12:00 MN of Sunday, and got back in a little over 24 hours.

The Mt. Ulap Eco-Trail was launched just in October of last year. The jump-off point is in the baranggay hall of Ampucao, Itogon, Benguet, which is just a 45-minute jeepney ride (P50 fare) from the terminal in Petron Harrison Road, Baguio City. We spent seven long hours to complete the Ampucao-Sta. Fe Traverse, and got to visit the Ambanao Paoay Peak, Gungal Rock, and the summit of Mt. Ulap. Registration fee is at P100 per person.

It was very cold. News reports say that the temperature dropped to 11.5 degrees Celsius in Baguio City. Fortunately for us, we got to experience Mt. Ulap (which means “cloud” in Filipino) in its literal form as we incidentally climbed on a cloudy day. However, we didn’t get to see some parts of the picturesque view as they were covered with again, clouds. At least there’s a reason for us to go back.

P.S. Thank you to our new friends, who shared the tour guide with us (P400 per group of 10), and gave us free lunch!