Getting to the iconic Gungal Rock of this mountain is the main goal of climbers visiting Mt. Ulap. After all, the view is undoubtedly worth the hike.
🇵🇭MT. ULAP ADVENTURE PRIMER🇵🇭
✈🛳🚌 How to get to Mt. Ulap, Benguet:
⏺ Ride a bus from Metro Manila to Baguio City (e.g. Victory Liner in Cubao or Pasay; travel time is 5 – 7 hours depending on traffic condition and number/duration of stop-overs).
⏺ Charter a taxi to get to the terminal of jeepneys bound for Ampucao, Itogon.
⏺ Ride the public jeepney bound for Ampucao Barangay Hall (travel time: 45 minutes to 1 hour)
⏺ Register and secure guide/s.
Philex Ridge. That was the name of this place. I learned about it when I met a trail runner in 2014. She said it was part of TNF 100’s route so only a few people know about it. It’s also a training ground for climbers and runners from Baguio. She showed me photos of its protruding rock formation and my itchy traveler’s feet wanted to see it right away.
⏰⏳ SAMPLE DAY HIKE ITINERARY:
DAY 0
10:00 PM Assembly
11:00 PM ETD for Baguio City
DAY 1
5:00 AM ETA Baguio City / early breakfast
6:30 AM ETD for Ampucao
7:30 AM ETA Ampucao Barangay Hall / register
8:00 AM Commence hike
10:00 AM ETA First Peak
11:00 AM ETA Gungal Rock
12:00 PM Summit
1:00 PM Start descent
1:30 PM ETA Campsite / lunch
4:00 PM ETA Sta. Fe / wash up
5:00 PM ETD for Baguio City
6:00 PM Dinner
7:00 PM ETD for Manila
💰💶 ESTIMATED BUDGET (for a solo traveler): Php 2,000 – Php 2, 500
***Expenses may vary depending on personal consumption of food and other necessities. If traveling alone, you will solely shoulder the guide fees.
Months passed and I still had not hiked Philex Ridge. I just couldn’t get ahold of someone who would guide me. There were no existing blogs as well. Rainy season of 2014 came and I had to postpone my plans of exploring its trail.It was already 2015 and I have sort of forgotten about Philex Ridge. Then I searched Instagram and saw a profile who posted some photos of her hike in Mt. Ulap. She hails from Baguio which was great news. When I messaged her, she offered her service to be my guide. Unfortunately, she also added right away that she would invite her friends to come with us. She asked me to treat them to a boodle fight in exchange for them guiding me. Okay, so I would be climbing solo yet I would be treating how many people? I am willing to pay but I didn’t need a battalion to guide me to a beginner-friendly mountain.I decided to postpone my plans again to visit Mt. Ulap. I just continued joining some hiking events then I met Rai, the founder of the mountaineering group Sanggala. I showed him photos of Gungal Rock during our Bakun Trio climb. I asked for help if he could find a guide from Baguio City. Luckily, he was able to find one.It was a hiking event spearheaded by Rai. Together with my friends and members of Sanggala, we explored Philex Ridge in July 2015.We took a breather by this spot after walking through the refreshing view of Cordillera’s pine trees.We had to wait for our turn to get our solo shots against this lush greenery as our background.Back then, I thought to myself that we had to take advantage of this moment because this might be the only time that we could have this place to ourselves. After all, tourist attractions get famous in just a fillip because of social media.This hike wouldn’t be complete without an awesome selfie by this cliff.We continued our ascent and I couldn’t help but admire the curves of Ulap’s grasslands. Too bad I was not able to get photos of the rolling hills. There’s always a next time, I reckoned.It was a weekend but during that time, we were the only people here at Gungal Rock, although we met a few trail runners from Baguio City who took the route via Sta. Fe.The first thing I noticed was the image drawn on this protruding rock which looked like a modified pentagram. Damn, vandalism was already present here even if this place back then was not yet a mainstream hiking destination.I was one of the joiners in our group who arrived first at Gungal Rock. I had a hunch that our good clearing would soon be enveloped by fog. I thanked the gods that I was finally able to see this place in the flesh. The remaining hikers in our group arrived but the clouds started covering our surroundings.The remaining hikers in our group arrived but the clouds started covering our surroundings. Whilst the rest enjoyed taking photos atop Gungal Rock, the early birds including me decided to descend back to the jump-off. We traced the trail that we used to get to Gungal Rock. Even if it was still before lunch time, clouds had gathered to devour the landscape which is evident in this picture.One of the most unforgettable parts of our adventure was the number of cows blocking the trail on our way back. They looked like they were about to attack us. We changed our course a few meters away from the trail so we could avoid this group of cattle. They were not leashed so they could chase after us. Good thing they didn’t. By the time we were near our rented jeepney, it started to drizzle. We proceeded to Baguio right away to have our lunch. When we started posting our photos atop Gungal Rock (just like this picture), our Facebook friends started messaging me right away where it is. That was pretty much expected.
📜✏️ Tips/Reminders:
📌The hike takes about 1.5 – 3 hours to get to the mountain’s Gungal Rock depending on your pace.
📌This mountain is recommended for beginners.
📌You may opt to traverse the mountain to Sitio Sta. Fe.
📌Bring enough hydration. Don’t forget your raincoats and windbreakers as it usually rains in this mountain due to its high elevation.
📌Inform the staff of Barangay Ampucao beforehand of the dates of your climb.
📌Expect rain during monsoon season (June-February).
📌You can join organized hiking events online to save on time and cut on costs.
📌Always observe the LNT principles.
☎ Contacts:
📌Tour Guide: Ate Gina (09464324067)
📌Facebook Page for reservations – Mt. Ulap
Rai is also a blogger so he documented our trip and disclosed the location of the place. Up until now (as a joke though), we were blaming each other for what happened to Mt. Ulap because of the uncontrollable number of tourists frequenting this place.If we look at the brighter side, at least we have given the locals livelihood since they are now working as tour guides, but somehow, the trail of the mountain keeps getting abused. The best thing the LGU could do is regulate the number of hikers visiting, especially during weekends and holidays.I wanted to see the changes that happened after Ulap became famous so I went back with my friend in January of year 2018. Besides, the photos taken using my cheap action camera aren’t that great so I wanted to get quality shots this time, hence this photo-heavy blog. My bad.My former workmate together with her college friends organized a hiking event and I easily grabbed the opportunity to join. I told my friend about it and she was more than willing to go.We left Quezon City by 11:00 PM and arrived at the jump-off in Ampucao by 4:00 AM the next day. Since it was January, the cold temperature felt unbearable.There was already quite a number of people at the registration area. I was not surprised at all, considering Mt. Ulap’s recent inclusion in the tourism map.We commenced our trek by 5:00 AM. We never really intended to finish the climb quickly. After all, most of the hikers in our group were first-timers.The cold morning winds chilled me to the bones but the breeze turned out to be extra refreshing by the time I was already sweating.We leisurely took our time to get to Gungal Rock and the summit. It was Friday so relatively, there were only a few visitors hiking with us during that time. Compared to the number of hikers visiting Mt. Ulap every weekend, our visit was not so crowded.It was my second time in this mountain but I was still amazed by the landscape of Mt. Ulap shaped by the contours of its lush grasslands.We were lucky that the slightly overcast weather protected us from the heat. After all, the majority of the trail is open so better cover yourself if you will be hiking in the middle of the day.We would stop from time to time to take pictures. What I really love about Mt. Ulap’s is its scenic trail, which is quite obvious in the number of photos I took for this blog.It actually felt as if it was my first time here. Based on my 2015 hike, I could no longer search in my memory some of these views my eyes saw along the trail. At least I didn’t get bored and it seemed like a new exciting experience for me.Due to Mt. Ulap’s wide trail, you could get solo shots like this without any photobombers at all in your frames.I was feeling more and more elated by the minute as we were getting nearer Gungal Rock. Luckily, we didn’t even have to fall in line to wait for our turn and have our picture taken at the iconic rock.It felt so extremely good to be back after a couple of years. The first thing I noticed was the missing pentagram(ish) marking. It was already gone.There was no group behind us so we took our time capturing our shots. There was also no fog covering us unlike my first hike here.We waited until everyone was done with picture-taking before continuing our journey.This second leg of our hike was new to me as we would be traversing the trail to reach Sta. Fe.It seemed as if we were on a leisure trip to the mall as we advanced towards the summit.Cordillera Region never disappoints when it comes to awesome views like this. No wonder why it’s one of my most favorite regions in the country.We continued admiring the grasslands which made me feel like we were looking at photos in orange and teal preset.It’s a great thing that the trail of Mt. Ulap is not just beginner-friendly but also spacious enough for a huge number of hikers. The only downside is waiting and falling in line before getting your solo shot at Gungal Rock if you decide to hike on a busy day.We were greeted by quite a number of people when we reached the summit of Mt. Ulap. It turned out that the majority of mountaineers hiked way earlier than us. We already reached the jump-off early but damn, these people were way ahead of us.The magnificent 360-view at the peak was worth the lack of comfortable and sufficient sleep for this day hike.While my former workmate and her companions decided to have lunch at the summit, my friend and I continued our picture-taking along the way as we descend to the stores below the peak where most of the hikers rest.This is one of the last set of images we took before heading to the area of stores selling refreshments.Some cute jumbo puppies owned by one of the locals welcomed me and I played with them first before my friend and I decided to have our lunch.The place was busy with all the mountaineers eating and taking a breather but at least there was still a vacant table for us where we could munch on our packed meals.The rest of the gang arrived and chilled out at one of the tables before we all agreed to continue our journey and traverse the trail to Sta. Fe.Since I wasn’t able to traverse the trail during my exploratory climb, traversing the mountain was a new experience for me.The first phase of the hike from the jump-off to the summit may be relatively easy but the descent to Sta. Fe turned out to be actually challenging.Luckily, the trail going down is no longer that exposed to the sun so the hot weather was manageable.My friend and I decided to go ahead while the rest of the group took their time descending. Most of them were newbies and dealing with loose rolling rocks along the trail made the trek quite difficult for them so they had to be extra careful.Once all of us were done washing up, we went right away to Baguio City to have our dinner at Good Taste. Boy were we so famished.Before heading back to Manila, we agreed to spend about an hour to roam around and buy souvenirs and delicacies.We left for Manila by dusk. We all slept in uncomfortable positions inside the van. Doing a day hike in Cordillera will zap out the energy in you. Although my day hike in Mt. Masaraga in Bicol still holds the top spot as the most exhausting of all considering I had to travel for roughly 12 hours from Manila to Ligao City, climb for 8 hours, then go back to Manila for another 12 hours.Our travel time was relatively quick, thanks to expressways linking Manila to the northern provinces. We were already back in Quezon City before midnight.Our hike was perfect. No crowded trail, no long waiting time at Gungal Rock and the somehow overcast skies coupled with the cold temperature sheltered us from the scorching heat of the sun. After all, hiking in Cordillera without any cover under the harsh sun would definitely toast your skin considering its altitude. You won’t feel the heat because of the cold weather but once you get home, you’re in for a big surprise.It was indeed a fun climb. After almost three years, it really felt good to be back at Philex Ridge. I would probably camp out and enjoy the night skies of Benguet when I go back for the third time.
***For other destinations in Benguet and Cordillera, you may visit this link.
