Mountain Province is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital is Bontoc. A mountainous and glorious province where Mt. Amuyao is located.
Mt. Amuyao, also known as Mt. Finaroy, is situated between the provinces of Mtn. Province and Ifugao and is among the top ten highest mountains in the Philippines. The mountain is discovered by two prominent hunters named Amfusnun and Limipaw. The mountain serves as a hunting ground of Barlig ancestors and the people has claimed their ancestral right over the whole mountain. It has its own cave located at the base of its summit which is known as the Hunters cave.
Barlig is formerly named as Fialikia. Visiting foreigners and tourist in the town find it complicated to pronounce the name, so they officially changed it to Barlig.
The trail is narrow but established. It consists of ladders and stairs until the shed near the summit. The trails are now improved with the placing of wood steps but still can be very dangerous and slippery when wet, so be careful when it’s raining during the scheduled hike.
There are 2 cell sites located at its summit, first is ABS-CBN cell site which was built in the year of 1999 and secondly is the GMA cell site, created in 2011. The cell sites mark the highest point of Mt. Amuyao.
Registration area is at the Police Station, make sure to register and present an ID for verification. The authorized personnel will assign a guide depending on the number of hikers. 5 to 1 is the ratio of guide, although bargaining is possible. Most of the guides are locals from Barlig and there guide-ship will only depend on their availability. Despite the established trail that is easy to track following the electricity post until to the top;guide-ship is mandatory for first time hikers and optional for seasoned hikers who are already familiar with Mt. Amuyao's trail.
Starting from the registration point, you will be walking an initial pathways of the village that are cemented until the rice fields in which the expected hike will eventually commence. Upon venturing the mountain on your way up to the summit, pine trees are widely distributed along the trail. The electricity post will serve as your guide since it follows the exact trail until its summit.
Water is an essential need to be brought on the course of trek because the longevity of the journey will dry up your body if there is an inadequacy of liquid. Nonetheless, there is a water source that will be reach halfway to the summit.
At the summit, you'll be expecting a bunker which is an alternative shelter for hikers who will venture the mountain. Surrounding the bunker are the 2 cell sites of ABS-CBN and GMA.
Once you're at the summit, you can have a peek of provinces such as Benguet, Abra, Kalinga, Cagayan, Isabela, and Ifugao. When weather conditions favored you, you'll have a glimpse of the sea of clouds which appear early in the morning along with the sunrise and the mesmerizing attribute of sunset that come out in the sky before the night transpires.
Signature landmark of Mountain Province
BackgroundMt. Amuyao, also known as Mt. Finaroy, is situated between the provinces of Mtn. Province and Ifugao and is among the top ten highest mountains in the Philippines. The mountain is discovered by two prominent hunters named Amfusnun and Limipaw. The mountain serves as a hunting ground of Barlig ancestors and the people has claimed their ancestral right over the whole mountain. It has its own cave located at the base of its summit which is known as the Hunters cave.
Mt. Amuyao
Barlig is formerly named as Fialikia. Visiting foreigners and tourist in the town find it complicated to pronounce the name, so they officially changed it to Barlig.
The trail is narrow but established. It consists of ladders and stairs until the shed near the summit. The trails are now improved with the placing of wood steps but still can be very dangerous and slippery when wet, so be careful when it’s raining during the scheduled hike.
The shed
There are 2 cell sites located at its summit, first is ABS-CBN cell site which was built in the year of 1999 and secondly is the GMA cell site, created in 2011. The cell sites mark the highest point of Mt. Amuyao.
Cell site of ABS-CBN
Registration area is at the Police Station, make sure to register and present an ID for verification. The authorized personnel will assign a guide depending on the number of hikers. 5 to 1 is the ratio of guide, although bargaining is possible. Most of the guides are locals from Barlig and there guide-ship will only depend on their availability. Despite the established trail that is easy to track following the electricity post until to the top;guide-ship is mandatory for first time hikers and optional for seasoned hikers who are already familiar with Mt. Amuyao's trail.
Barlig Police Station
Starting from the registration point, you will be walking an initial pathways of the village that are cemented until the rice fields in which the expected hike will eventually commence. Upon venturing the mountain on your way up to the summit, pine trees are widely distributed along the trail. The electricity post will serve as your guide since it follows the exact trail until its summit.
Barlig Rice Terraces
Water is an essential need to be brought on the course of trek because the longevity of the journey will dry up your body if there is an inadequacy of liquid. Nonetheless, there is a water source that will be reach halfway to the summit.
At the summit, you'll be expecting a bunker which is an alternative shelter for hikers who will venture the mountain. Surrounding the bunker are the 2 cell sites of ABS-CBN and GMA.
The bunker
Once you're at the summit, you can have a peek of provinces such as Benguet, Abra, Kalinga, Cagayan, Isabela, and Ifugao. When weather conditions favored you, you'll have a glimpse of the sea of clouds which appear early in the morning along with the sunrise and the mesmerizing attribute of sunset that come out in the sky before the night transpires.
Travel to Barlig
While on the verge of browsing the internet about a mountain to hike in the northern area, there was this stellar memory of mine about a picture of Amuyao posted on Facebook page, and there I am yearning and wondering for a couple of days when will I set foot on the mountain. I then conclude to hitch on an event rather than organizing a hike to Amuyao.
Chatted up a friend, Jover, who is an organizer/ hiker/outdoor enthusiast and asked if he had a scheduled event in the north area, he plunged a quick reply and veraciously said that he would schedule Mt. Amuyao if we'll surely join his event along with my hiking buddies.
We finally set the event to Amuyao and send out invites to some friends and hiking buddies. It was guaranteed that ten awesome people will surely participate to venture the mountain for 2 day journey after a month of the transaction.
Participants belong from different provinces, some came from the provinces of Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela, and Manila. We all met up in Banaue, Ifugao. Finally, after grouping ourselves, we commenced our trip to Barlig, Mountain Province together as a team.
When weather favors you and it’s a sunny day, make sure to experience top loading which will give you a different glimpse of different landmarks, and an overlook of homestead and their rice terraces.
After a 2-hour trip, we finally set foot in Barlig at the Police Station. We registered our names, present a valid ID for verification and secure a guide for our journey to Mt. Amuyao. There we met kuya RR as our guide who tag along to help us for our 2 day journey.
Ascending Mt. Amuyao
The trail was rated from moderate to difficult, starting a walk through descending and ascending cemented stairs passing several homestead, bridges and rice fields until the hill which is the indication of the trail-head. You will be sedated by the presence of Pine trees that covered most area of the hill. Also noticeable along the trail are the electricity post which is recently constructed by GMA & ABS-CBN.
Due to protracted hours of trip to Barlig, we started our trek at noontime which is considered late compared to our initial plan. Since the team was composed of experienced and newbie hikers, we transitioned to a gradual pace for us to be able to cope with each other.
As we leave the rice fields, the actual hike to the mountain began. The audacity of making it to the top was unified by the whole group which resulted to faster pacing on our start. Nonetheless, all of us were in high spirit given the fact that we just started to mingle with each other and shared irrelevant jokes that day.
Furthering the hike, we halted for a moment since most of us were already tired and hungry; we had our lunch and give ourselves a nice rest.
Afterwards, we continue our trek leaving the grassy part of the mountain, welcoming a forested part of the mountain. We described the trail as stairway to heaven which was described by my hiking buddies upon seeing it personally. Although, there’s no such complication on the trail like rappelling or river crossing, you’ll just have to endure long hours of hike in those never ending staircase and assault until to the top.
As the trek advanced along, we were divided into 2 groups. I was able to maintain the lead tagging along with our guide while the other group provided assistance to some of the newbie participants.
Halfway to the summit, we stopped-by at the shed to pleasantly wait for our companion to cope with us. While waiting, we picked some wild strawberry fruit and forcibly eat them all due to the arduous walk that blatantly starved us.
Our guide told us that the mountain has an abundant variety of wild fruits and has its own supplies of water which is enough for survival for a couple of days. Wild boars are still loitering within the premise of the mountain, no wonder the mountain was known as a hunting ground.
After waiting for our group to be complete in the shed, we engaged ourselves in a killer assault. Unexpectedly darkness came early so we experienced a cold, rainy and windy night trek.
Upon reaching the water source area which signals that we are nearing the summit, we collected all water bottles and filled it up while silently waiting for our companions to regroup with us. Subsequently, we continue the trek to pursue our journey to the highest point of the mountain.
We began to applaud and cheered altogether when we noticed a red light flashing in the sky which is the cell site. We then try to accelerate our pace to finally set foot at the summit. It was so cold that time when we reached the summit and some were freezing. When all the team members arrived at the summit, we headed to the bunker and temporarily stay for a while.
Despite our late yet successful ascend, we congratulated and complemented each other in the bunker. And mindfully cooked our food, pitched the tent, shared snacks, and had socials.
In the bunker, total random strangers bonded together like friends because of their passion – trekking/hiking mountains.
Mt. Amuyao Summit
While on the verge of browsing the internet about a mountain to hike in the northern area, there was this stellar memory of mine about a picture of Amuyao posted on Facebook page, and there I am yearning and wondering for a couple of days when will I set foot on the mountain. I then conclude to hitch on an event rather than organizing a hike to Amuyao.
Chatted up a friend, Jover, who is an organizer/ hiker/outdoor enthusiast and asked if he had a scheduled event in the north area, he plunged a quick reply and veraciously said that he would schedule Mt. Amuyao if we'll surely join his event along with my hiking buddies.
We finally set the event to Amuyao and send out invites to some friends and hiking buddies. It was guaranteed that ten awesome people will surely participate to venture the mountain for 2 day journey after a month of the transaction.
Participants belong from different provinces, some came from the provinces of Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela, and Manila. We all met up in Banaue, Ifugao. Finally, after grouping ourselves, we commenced our trip to Barlig, Mountain Province together as a team.
Subsequently, we rode a hired jeepney from Banaue to Barlig Police Station, which is the registration point. I personally requested to top load and was allowed by our driver, and along the way furthering our ride, I was able to witness the different and unique landmarks of Ifugao and Mountain Province and able to pass through the famous Banaue Rice terracces which is popularly known as one of the 7 natural wonders of the world.
A statue of Mama Mary in Mt. Polis
When weather favors you and it’s a sunny day, make sure to experience top loading which will give you a different glimpse of different landmarks, and an overlook of homestead and their rice terraces.
Great landmark of Mtn. Province that we pass through
After a 2-hour trip, we finally set foot in Barlig at the Police Station. We registered our names, present a valid ID for verification and secure a guide for our journey to Mt. Amuyao. There we met kuya RR as our guide who tag along to help us for our 2 day journey.
The trail was rated from moderate to difficult, starting a walk through descending and ascending cemented stairs passing several homestead, bridges and rice fields until the hill which is the indication of the trail-head. You will be sedated by the presence of Pine trees that covered most area of the hill. Also noticeable along the trail are the electricity post which is recently constructed by GMA & ABS-CBN.
Due to protracted hours of trip to Barlig, we started our trek at noontime which is considered late compared to our initial plan. Since the team was composed of experienced and newbie hikers, we transitioned to a gradual pace for us to be able to cope with each other.
As we leave the rice fields, the actual hike to the mountain began. The audacity of making it to the top was unified by the whole group which resulted to faster pacing on our start. Nonetheless, all of us were in high spirit given the fact that we just started to mingle with each other and shared irrelevant jokes that day.
Furthering the hike, we halted for a moment since most of us were already tired and hungry; we had our lunch and give ourselves a nice rest.
Afterwards, we continue our trek leaving the grassy part of the mountain, welcoming a forested part of the mountain. We described the trail as stairway to heaven which was described by my hiking buddies upon seeing it personally. Although, there’s no such complication on the trail like rappelling or river crossing, you’ll just have to endure long hours of hike in those never ending staircase and assault until to the top.
As the trek advanced along, we were divided into 2 groups. I was able to maintain the lead tagging along with our guide while the other group provided assistance to some of the newbie participants.
Halfway to the summit, we stopped-by at the shed to pleasantly wait for our companion to cope with us. While waiting, we picked some wild strawberry fruit and forcibly eat them all due to the arduous walk that blatantly starved us.
The team in the shed
A wild strawberry
Our guide told us that the mountain has an abundant variety of wild fruits and has its own supplies of water which is enough for survival for a couple of days. Wild boars are still loitering within the premise of the mountain, no wonder the mountain was known as a hunting ground.
After waiting for our group to be complete in the shed, we engaged ourselves in a killer assault. Unexpectedly darkness came early so we experienced a cold, rainy and windy night trek.
Upon reaching the water source area which signals that we are nearing the summit, we collected all water bottles and filled it up while silently waiting for our companions to regroup with us. Subsequently, we continue the trek to pursue our journey to the highest point of the mountain.
We began to applaud and cheered altogether when we noticed a red light flashing in the sky which is the cell site. We then try to accelerate our pace to finally set foot at the summit. It was so cold that time when we reached the summit and some were freezing. When all the team members arrived at the summit, we headed to the bunker and temporarily stay for a while.
Despite our late yet successful ascend, we congratulated and complemented each other in the bunker. And mindfully cooked our food, pitched the tent, shared snacks, and had socials.
In the bunker, total random strangers bonded together like friends because of their passion – trekking/hiking mountains.
Mt. Amuyao Summit
We all woke up early in the morning and were in complete awe upon witnessing the sea of clouds; we vehemently peek the wonderful creation of our dear Almighty for hours and documented it using pictures and videos.
Here are our Pictures:
The perks of our difficult climb is the view from Amuyao summit hovered by fogs and clouds that painted a perfect scenery. The summit pays-off our difficult trek with a 360 degrees overwhelming view of the mountain ranges of different province such as Mtn. Province, Ifugao Province, Isabela, Cagayan, and Nueva Vizcaya including Mt. Polis. We also have the chance to overlook the resounding view of the forest including the town of Barlig and Batad.
Despite the short hours of stay, we were able to capture and relive the moment in the summit. Afterwards, the team breaks camp, tidied and finally descended back to Barlig.
Descend to Barlig
Banaue Rice Terraces
Itinerary
Day 0
0900pm Assembly at Ohayami Bus Station (Sampaloc)
1000pm ETD for Banaue, Ifugao (P450)
Day 1
0700am ETA Banaue/ Breakfast
0900am ETD for Barlig, Mountain Province, via rented jeep
1100am ETA Macalama, Barlig. Lunch before trek.
1200nn Start Trek
0500pm ETA Barlig Viewpoint
0600pm ETA Summit. Either camp outside or stay at bunkhouses.
0700pm Dinner / socials
Day 2
0700am Wake-up Call / Breakfast
0900am Start descent
0945am Back at Barlig Viewpoint
0100pm Back at jump-off point; lunch. Take jeep to Bontoc/Banaue.
0330pm Back in Banaue
Manila (P450)
|| End
Here are our Pictures:
The perks of our difficult climb is the view from Amuyao summit hovered by fogs and clouds that painted a perfect scenery. The summit pays-off our difficult trek with a 360 degrees overwhelming view of the mountain ranges of different province such as Mtn. Province, Ifugao Province, Isabela, Cagayan, and Nueva Vizcaya including Mt. Polis. We also have the chance to overlook the resounding view of the forest including the town of Barlig and Batad.
Despite the short hours of stay, we were able to capture and relive the moment in the summit. Afterwards, the team breaks camp, tidied and finally descended back to Barlig.
We only ought for back trail instead of traversing to Batad, we descended back to the same trail.. The thing is you have to put up your balance and control the pacing to normal.. It’s not about the speed of your pacing; but your endurance will matter on the course of your journey especially when trekking the trail of Amuyao.
I find my knees hurting after our trek upon arriving at the rice field while nearing the registration point, keeping a steady and a calm pace which will be needed on the rest of the journey.
Along the trail, we were greeted and welcomed by the people we meet. They appreciated our stay in the mountain and requested us to come back within this year. What a nice gesture coming from the people of Batad. We quickly responded and answered “Yes” while contemplating if we’ll surely be coming back for real.
Along the trail, we were greeted and welcomed by the people we meet. They appreciated our stay in the mountain and requested us to come back within this year. What a nice gesture coming from the people of Batad. We quickly responded and answered “Yes” while contemplating if we’ll surely be coming back for real.
During our brief stay at Barlig, I did witness a “Tayaw” performed by the locals after a feast was celebrated and a “Batang” that was served as their food.
We bid farewell to all the people who happened to be at the registration point and to our guide who help us conquered Mt. Amuyao.
Banaue Rice Terraces
Our ride come to a stop and the driver diligently pin point us the view point of rice terraces, and ask us if we are still willing to visit it. Our excitement redeemed ourselves to see and personally witness the beautiful terraces as our side trip.
The Rice Terraces is a National Cultural Treasure of the Philippines and are considered to be the 8th Natural Wonder of the World by many Filipinos. The terraces are carved in the mountains of Ifugao and were most likely done by hand.
The Rice Terraces is a National Cultural Treasure of the Philippines and are considered to be the 8th Natural Wonder of the World by many Filipinos. The terraces are carved in the mountains of Ifugao and were most likely done by hand.
The Team
The team was composed of experienced and newbie hiker residing from different provinces. The Amuyao survivors are Darvin, Olen, Ejay, Brook, Jayson, Jaspher, Dennis, Maan, Laica, and our event organizer Jover.
Video
Here is a full video documentation created and edited by our companion - Jayson Ferrer, a chef, photographer and fellow hiker/outdoor enthusiast.
The team was composed of experienced and newbie hiker residing from different provinces. The Amuyao survivors are Darvin, Olen, Ejay, Brook, Jayson, Jaspher, Dennis, Maan, Laica, and our event organizer Jover.
Video
Here is a full video documentation created and edited by our companion - Jayson Ferrer, a chef, photographer and fellow hiker/outdoor enthusiast.
Concerns
Contacts
|
Jane Buyao (Chairperson of the Banaue Tourism Council) - 09196142266
Juliet Mateo (Information Officer) - (+63 74)3864010 (landline) Kuya Joel - 09362924890 (Jeepney driver from Ifugao to Mtn. Province) |
Guides
|
Required.
Fee: P1000 (Dayhike),
P1500 (Overnight/Traverse)
|
Sidetrip
|
Banaue Rice Terraces
Mt. Napulauan
|
Water source
|
Near the Campsite
|
Registration
|
There are 2 Registration Point:
1. Barlig Police Station: P50/head
2. Banaue Tourism Registration Point: P20/head
|
Traverse
|
Barlig - Batad
|
Rattan
|
Some
|
Limatik
|
None
|
Signal
|
None
|
River Crossing
|
None
|
Dayhikable
|
Yes
|
Budget
|
P2500 – P3500
|
Itinerary
Day 0
0900pm Assembly at Ohayami Bus Station (Sampaloc)
1000pm ETD for Banaue, Ifugao (P450)
Day 1
0700am ETA Banaue/ Breakfast
0900am ETD for Barlig, Mountain Province, via rented jeep
1100am ETA Macalama, Barlig. Lunch before trek.
1200nn Start Trek
0500pm ETA Barlig Viewpoint
0600pm ETA Summit. Either camp outside or stay at bunkhouses.
0700pm Dinner / socials
Day 2
0700am Wake-up Call / Breakfast
0900am Start descent
0945am Back at Barlig Viewpoint
0100pm Back at jump-off point; lunch. Take jeep to Bontoc/Banaue.
0330pm Back in Banaue
Manila (P450)
|| End
... me and my cousins went their too.. just April 9, 2016.our 9 hours of hiking from Maga, Mayoyao to the summit of mt amuyao. is really worth it, especially the sun rise!!! woot woot.. we did not see the sun set..yun lang.. And we did not slept in the bunker... ABS-CBN let us slept in their cabin.. so warm their's a heater... hoping for the next adventure!...
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you had a great adventure in Amuyao. keep it up. :)
Deleteim not a pro when it comes to climbing but was able to finish the climb from batad to cambulo to peak of amuyao descending to barlig for 2 whole days, worth it especially if you reach the peak and witness the sea of clouds though i got a minor accident, it was a one on one climb with my tourguide friend kuya gesler who lives in viewpoint banaue, very reliable and he's known in his town, you can look and ask for his service and i assure you that he's not gonna ripped u off, hope to climb amuyao again, as the saying goes, walang aayaw sa mt amuyao"
ReplyDelete