We were very surprised to see such a beautiful pine forest on this peak, as opposed to the usual jungle in the region. We all agreed that this walk reminded us of the Alps in Europe, although there were some differences, such as the leeches we found along the way. Fortunately I did not get…
Country: Philippines
Mount Labo
Mount Labo – interesting and remote Ultra mountain had no peakbagger reports and little information. So we got up early in Daet, met our trike driver and drove almost an hour to the trailhead near the village of San Isidro. After formal registration, we were introduced to the local guide and soon began our longish…
Mount Isarog
The only reasonable route we found from Davao to Naga was to fly via Cebu. It wasn’t bad, but we had to change airlines and recheck our luggage. There were no major delays and we arrived on time. Naga airport greeted us with bright sunshine and high temperatures, so some passengers used umbrellas as they…
Crocodile Hill
After our successful morning climb of Mount Matutum, we headed back to Davao. On the way, we looked at the map and spotted a small hill with a road leading to the top. Two things were intriguing about this hill: firstly, it is P100, and secondly, it was strangely called Crocodile Hills. Perhaps in the…
Mount Matutum
The second Ultra peak on our grand plan was Mount Matutum. The park is closed and it was hard to get permission, so maybe that is why the trail was overgrown and there were many obstacles along the way, but it was still passable. My GPS track started at 2.57am, quite an early start. First…
Puting Bato
Mount Matutum is not far away and we have all day to get there. We looked at the map and immediately spotted Samal Island, its highest point, and the marked path to it. Albert also confirmed that it was easy to reach the island and the summit. So we took a ferry, drove a bit…
Mount Apo
The highest point in the Philippines is Mount Apo on the island of Mindanao. It is the 99th most prominent mountain in the world and stands at an elevation of 2,954 metres. There are at least three reasons to climb it. The mountain is an active stratovolcano and is considered a sacred site by many…