Bakun: The hiker's haven

Bakun is one of the municipalities’ located in Benguet. Describe as a place of paradise and a hikers haven, it is one of the most stunning hiking destinations I had visited.

Poblacion, Bakun

We were a team of eight outdoor enthusiasts and the journey was a total of four days and three nights. Bakun is in the middle of all the beautiful mountains so the usual jump-off point for hiking is in the village itself. The usual hiking itinerary is a day hike for each of the open mountain destinations.  If not traversing to the neighboring municipalities such as Kibungan, bringing tents are not required since homestays are available in the village.

The group at the highest point highway system in the Country

Group photo along the road of Atok

Since Bakun is popular among hikers there are a lot of references and pictures surfacing the internet about it which made us more curious about the place. Although the road trip going to the village in the midst of the mountain ranges was long it was not boring because we let ourselves be mesmerized by the view along the way. Indeed the place is even more beautiful in actual.

A view of the mountain in Bakun during our Jeepney topload ride

Mt. Lobo is the usual first mountain destination when doing consecutive day hikes in the mountains surrounding Bakun. Its original name is Patullok which means clouds surrounding a mountain. True to its original name, during rainy seasons thick pure white clouds surrounds the whole mountain then comes clear during summer.  The popular name, Mt. Lobo was probably a misconception about the name of the mountain and the name of the village, Lobo, where Mt. Patullok is located.

Mt. Patullok

Hike heading to the mountain will either commence in Ada Village or Poblacion backtrail or traverse. Due to erosion and weather situation during our climb, we scaled from Ada Village to the mountain back trailing to where we started since it was prohibited then to traverse descending to Poblacion because of possible danger.

Ascend to Summit

From Ada, we finally hit the road to Poblacion which will be the main jump-off of our remaining days. The weather was forgiving when we were near our destination village because we were given by a good view of the towering mountains including the countless waterfalls all over the place. Getting a peak of  the mountains as the clouds started to clear out was like watching a movie climax scene, it was exciting! Regardless of how many times you visit the place, you will still be amazed of its endearing beauty.

The group at the summit of Mt. Patullok

Mt. Kabunian. A rocky mountain hidden behind Mt. Gedgedayyan. According to the Igorots, Kabunian and Tenglawan are rival gods which they believe inhabits the mountains named after them. And between the two gods, Kabunian is the kinder one. Thus these mountains are considered sacred among locals. Hikers who have been to the mountains in Bakun describe Mt. Kabunian as the most scenic compared to its neighboring mountains which I subjectively seconded.

The trail is mostly grassy environment and scattered pine forests. Many waterfalls can be seen along the way especially when rain pours heavily. Hike duration is subjective based on pacing but average time to complete the hike is 4 to 8 hours.

Mt. Kabunian

It was a foggy day when we scaled this mountain so we weren’t able to see the view of  Mt. Tenglawan and Kibungan mountain ranges which is visible on a clear day. The rain poured during our hike so rainbow appeared beside Mangta Falls. We took a moment to enjoy and take pictures.

 The outcome of heavy rainful - a precious view of waterfalls

A harsh but beautiful drop, overlooking Mangta Falls

Mt. Tenglawan. It is considered as the most difficult mountain to hike in Bakun because of the average duration of climb which ranges from 8 to 16 hours subjective to pacing. It is classified as a major climb due its trail comparable to Akiki trail of Mt. Pulag.

Mt. Tenglawan

One of the popular landmarks in this mountain is a monolith where a small cross stands firm, the Carrot Peak. It stands few meters away from the summit and both have almost the same elevation. On a clear day hikers in the summit and at the Carrot peak at the same time can see and hear each other clearly because of the close proximity of the peaks.

As hikers ascend pass the villages many waterfalls in different parts of the mountains can be seen. The Tres Maria Falls is one of the most noticeable among other waterfalls. Other waterfalls only have strong drops and are visible whenever rainy seasons.

The view of Tres Marias Waterfalls

Hiking in full pack is difficult especially when tackling this long all out assault all the way to the summit. So I recommend to just bring a light pack when scaling Mt. Tenglawan.

Our team spent some time to enjoy the peace in the summit and also to wait if the clouds would be carried away by the cold winds and clear the sky. There were struggles during our hike in this mountain especially when going down because the rain poured heavily. But our team was able to finish the hike few hours before it got dark because all woke up and prepared early and stayed with our planned pacing strategy. Although we weren’t lucky to have a clearing when we were at the summit our team was still contented for a safe and early finish for the third mountain in our four-day hiking adventure.

Carrot Peak of Mt. Tenglawan

Mt. Gedgedayyan. This is the enormous rocky mountain facing the village of Poblacion. It is called the crying mountain. During rainy days, there are a lot of waterfalls in different parts of the mountains. It’s as if tears are flowing from nowhere thus the mountain was given its name. The mountain features both pine and tropical forests.  Limatik is also present in the trails especially when raining.

The crying mountain of Bakun - Mt. Gedgedayyan

The start of the trail is in the rice fields heading eventually to bridge connecting the mountains to the village.Along the bridge te twin falls called Picao and Sacop falls are located. This can be visited either before or after trekking to the summit.

For this final mountain, it took our team a total of six hours of hiking to the summit and back to the village to do finally packing and head home.

Group photo at the summit of Mt. Gedgedayyan

Our side trip was at Tekip Falls. Believed by many as the most beautiful waterfalls in Bakun which stand at 50+ meters. 

Tekip Falls

It was a tiring yet enjoyable four day journey. All the hardships from waking up and trekking so early, getting drenched in the rain while hiking, running out of energy in the assaults and all struggles were worth it because of the scenic mountains of Bakun which satisfied our eyes and our thirst for adventure and relaxation from all city stress. 

A simple celebration of our climb before going back to Baguio

I would like to say thanks to my buddy Maan for the overwhelming support, and to those who was with us the entire climb. Thanks to mam Nenita for allowing us to hike the 4 mountains. And lastly, to big bro for guiding and making us safe. 

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