• Ride a bus (Victory Liner Cubao/Pasay) from Manila to Baguio City
• From Baguio City, ride a taxi to Dangwa Terminal. It’s also an option to rent a jeepney here if you’re in a large group.
• Take a bus from Dangwa Terminal to Bontoc
• At Bontoc, take a jeepney or trike up to Golden Farms Resort

(Option 2)

• Ride a bus directly from Manila to Bontoc (Cable Tours or Kasilen Transport). Terminal is in front of Trinity College of Quezon City, in front of St. Luke’s Medical Center
• At Bontoc, take a jeepney or trike up to Golden Farms Resort

• From Manila, take NLEX and drive North to Solano, Nueva Vizcaya
• Take the route to Banaue
• Go further north until you reach Bontoc Mountain Province proper.
• Drive to Golden Farms Resort and park your vehicle here
• Still confused? Follow the drop pin here

Well if you’re with a medium sized group or you would like to try being a joiner, it’s best to have a tour which would ease your headache on how to get here. It’s also cheaper and a lot more fun having new guys around. Contact Gregg Galicia below of BaseKamp to help you on your tours. You could also visit any Basekamp stores and inquire upcoming events.

Greg Galicia
Facebook: @greg_galicia
Mobile: 0929 127 0892

The Budget

• Manila to Bontoc: 800php (via Kasilen transport)
• Bontoc Town Proper to Golden Farm Resort: FREE (via walking), 40php (via trike including heavy baggage)
• Porter Fee: 2000php per day (max 15kg)
• Guide Fee: 2000php (1 guide to 5 hiker ratio)
• Golden Farm Resort Pool and Shower: 60php
• Golden Farm Resort Shower: 50php

Contacts

• Greg Galicia (Basekamp tour/organizer): 0915 054 4930
• Golden Farm Resort (Sir Garman): 0935 665 1239,
• Golden Farm Resort FB: goldensuccess24
• Bontoc Tourism Office (Elizabeth): 0929 127 0892

I have received emails/comments saying that I need to place the difficulty level for hikes rather than just point them to Pinoy Mountaineer. Here’s my best take on it.

I have to admit this hike is not recommended for beginners; not that they can’t do it, but it’s more on the safety side. Since difficulty increases or decreases depending on certain factors like route to take, nights of stay, weather, humidity, and season; the best I could do is describe the trail and let you guys decide how difficult it is.

There are 3 different routes to take: The traditional backtrail, the circuit, and the traverse. All have their own pros and cons, but let’s just focus on the traditional trail.

• The distance from jump off to summit is probably around 10km (just my estimate). That is a long distance to take on foot especially if you do it full pack and without porters.
• There is only one main water source that is located midway camp 1 and camp 2; which means you should be taking all the water you need to survive the ascent to Camp 2 plus the summit. That includes your cooking water as well for those who plan to camp on the summit or at Camp 2.
• After Camp 1, the next sections are mossy forests; meaning they are always damp and wet which results to slippery slopes. The dense forest also makes hiking limited to a single file.
• There are leeches along the mossy forests (90% of the time) especially during rainy season.
• It almost always rains during the afternoon/night; so knowledge on proper layering, camp setup, and emergency know-hows are a must especially if you don’t have a group.
• The climate is always cold so either boost your immunity to cold (like guides do) or simply add more layers.
• No rope mastery needed. No technical climbing gear needed.

With the above premises, the difficulty is just a matter of how you prepare and how you set up your mind. I rate it around intermediate (whatever that measures to you).