Walkin’ on Air… at Mt. Ulap, Itogon, Benguet

It used to be known by locals (and by that, I mean, those in Benguet) as “Philex Ridge” until, on October 31, 2015, it was officially launched with its new name, Mt. Ulap. Before that official launch, and before massive numbers of local and foreign tourists descended on the place with their day-hikes and trail runs, I was able to tag along a group of friends and check it out.

It was another one of those spontaneous things. Plan today, hike tomorrow. One good thing about this one was that there was no need to bring any hiking gear. It was, after all, just a bit outside the city limits, and won’t even take the whole day.

So the group met up at 6:30am and had breakfast at Jollibee-Magsaysay. We also bought some food for lunch to be eaten at the Ridge. We rode on the jeep plying the Baguio-Samoyao route at 7:15…

…and arrived at the turnoff to Brgy. Ampucao at 8:05. From the waiting shed at the turnoff, it was another 3-minute walk on the road to the jump-off point.

The first stage of the hike was quite refreshing. Combine the brisk air and slightly chilly morning breeze, and it was quite leisurely.

As for the level of difficulty, for me, it was around 4 or 5 out of 10. The difficulty mostly stemmed from the fact that there were parts that were slippery because of morning dew. Now, I heard the trails were quite overused due to lots of foot traffic, that some parts are dry and crumbly.

And you get views like this, and you cannot help but stop awhile and check it out. And catch your breath in between.

At one point, we passed through a wooden gate, purposefully set up to keep livestock in (or out, depending on where you are standing). Sure enough, one hour after we started hiking, we came across these cattle grazing.

And we passed right in their midst… and they did not care at all. 🙂

I liked how, one minute you’re walking among undergrowth, and beneath a canopy of trees, then you surface on a clear meadow, and see rolling hills on all sides. Makes you want to twirl with your skirts and sing “The hills are alive~ with the sound of music~”

OR imagine you are in Teletubbyland. Haha!

I liked this part of the hike the best. We weren’t following any trails, we just walked all over the hills and climbed until our lungs were about to give out. One problem about it, though, there was cow dung everywhere. 🙂

Two hours after we started hiking, we caught a glimpse of this, which means we are close to the Ridge,

There was one group of visitors (we are presuming from Manila) who were taking photos. We passed by them and directly headed to the Ridge, or where the Gungal Rock formations are.

Here’s our CD sleeve photo, haha! Yep, we are going to have a world tour soon. *flips hair*

By this time, too, fog was already descending. And it’s only 10am!!

At exactly 10:20, we arrived at the Gungal Rock. There was another group there already, busy taking photos. We waited for a good 15 minutes before they cleared out of the rock… and we pounced.

Sitting on the edge, it was quite a long fall, but what’s scarier is how mangled you will be by the time you reach the bottom.

It was quite tricky taking photos, because the fog was such a tease, but it was a lot of fun nonetheless. We were fooling around, sometimes getting close to the edge that Ge, our lone guy and our guide, at one point took out his hiking stick and brandished it towards us, telling us to be careful and stay the hell away from the edge~ (cuz he doesn’t want to have to pick up body parts afterwards. Yep. Sweet guy.)

Again, if you have vertigo, think twice. Thrice. Just… think.

 

At 11:30, we took up spot on the rock beside THE rock, and had our lunch. Of burgers and gummi worms. We’re low-maintenance like that.

We rested for a bit and some of us spotted the other rocks surrounding us…. and since we had nothing else to do, climbed them. It was also a chance for the other group who came after us (the first one already left) to have their turn at the rock.

Here’s the view from the top. Some of my companions were already napping. 🙂 The other group, who were all speaking in Tagalog, had their turn taking photos on the Rock.

I am going to be eternally grateful that I do not have a fear of heights. Otherwise, it would be really frustrating to go to places such as these, and not be able to do these things. Sure, I get called out on it sometimes, and I even got an earful from the parentals once they see the photos, but hey….. carpe diem, eh? With both hands. And feet.

One thing I appreciate about my group of friends is how we are on the same wavelength when it comes to stuff like these. No risk of me becoming a lone wolf because, well, in actuality, they are way crazier than me.

In fact, next to some of them, I seem to be one of the saner ones. Haha!

Here is another album-cover-worthy shot. In my honest and not so humble opinion.

We spent around 2 hours on the Ridge. Napped a bit. Then, at a little past 12 noon, we made our way back, taking the same path that we took when we came. Another option is to do a traverse and come out at Santa Fe, but obviously that’s not what we did.

On the way back, this tiny friend took up residence on my pants, staying with me the whole time, and I just let it be.

….until I sat down and absentmindedly laid my arm on my leg… and crushed it to death. I… didn’t mean to, honest!

Of course, after this, the place “boomed”, and now I hear the locals are working as guides. According to my friend, from 20 guides in the beginning, there are now 200 guides. And there is a long queue to get to the rock for some photo-taking.

….kinda reminds me of what I hear about Pico de Loro…. Hmmm.

I’m just glad that I was able to check out Mt. Ulap before all that madness. Will I go there again? Maybe, when there is not a crazy crowd. When I walk around Baguio lately, I see groups of local tourists with hiking backpacks, and I am willing to bet that 80% of them are headed to Mt. Ulap.

Closing this entry with this photo taken by our “guide”, Ka Ge. Thanks!

Some (hopefully) helpful notes:

How we got there: we rode on the Baguio-Samoyao jeep. Their terminal is located between Jollibee-Magsaysay and Baguio Centermall, right in front of Orion Drugstore. Fare is around Php30,00, if I remember correctly.

What time to go there: I suggest going there early. Fog sets in early, so if you are late, you might not be able to see an unobstructed view. There is also the fact that so many people are hiking there now, so you’d have to wait your turns to get on the rock.

Do you need a guide? From what I heard, it is mandatory for people going there to have a guide. Even if one of you knows the way. When we went, no one met us to offer guide services or even make us pay for any environmental fee. A friend went there recently, and they paid Php400.00 to the guide, for a group of 6-8 people, I think, and I assume that it already includes environmental fees.