The first part of the trail was relatively flat, through the local village. We took a few short minutes to see a local attraction, a cave, but to be frank, it wasn’t much to look at and after about five minutes of taking obligatory photos of the cave, we crossed a shallow stream (which is supposedly a river during the wet months), and we entered a more wooded trail.
The forest trail had the aforementioned steep sections, and from a part of the trail midway up was – in my opinion – one of the better views of a “sea of clouds”. Mt. Batolusong is not a big mountain by any standards, but the geography of the area meant that it had a valley and this was where low-lying clouds get trapped during hot days. Thus, we were treated to a misty, almost mysterious view of clouds obscuring the village below, and I felt that this was one of the highlights of the trip. I was lucky to be able to snap people-less photos as the trails were very crowded, owing to Mt. Batolusong’s proximity to Manila and friendliness to newbie hikers.
We then proceeded to the highest point of our destination, Duhatan Ridge. While we can see the summit a short way away, the local guides did not recommend heading there as the trails were unsafe during this time. Also, it supposedly did not afford any spectacular views. Instead, we took most of our photos in the open – and exposed – Duhatan Ridge. One of my favorite panorama shots of the ridge trail was taken here! We also played around some of the big boulders in the area.
After the customary photo-op session, we headed down for a side trip to Kay-ibon Waterfalls, touted as one of the main attractions in the area. Unfortunately, it was a huge let down as the “waterfalls” were composed of a bunch of heavy streams of water falling down 10-15 feet. The “pool” area below it was also tiny, looking crowded with just half a dozen swimmers. As the water was murky and the surroundings full of trash, we quickly took photos and went our way. To be fair to our Trail Adventours guides, they did their best to secure us a quiet spot near the waterfall but the density of visitors meant we were never going to stay long there.
After the waterfalls, it was a straightforward 20-minute hike back to the main road, where our vans picked us up shortly after.
Mt. Batolusong has a difficulty rating of 3/9, meaning it’s a good first hike for most people. Please make sure you’re wearing proper clothes like technical or athletic shirt (no cotton tops and bottoms), adequate sun protection (hat and sleeves plus sunblock), proper shoes (trail runners are great here, but hiking shoes are even better), and of course, plenty of water and snacks. I personally will only recommend the hike (and only if you’re prepared to be around crowds) and skip the farce that is the Kay-ibon Waterfall.
Get in touch with Trail Adventours and book your first hike with them at Mt. Batolusong!
All photos and footage by me. Follow my adventures at @jsncruz on Instagram!
License – CC: Attribution, non-commercial.
Transparency disclaimer:
This hike was generously sponsored by Trail Adventours.
