Mt. Paldingan (550m) Pangasinan | Off The Beaten Path Hike in Binalonan
Hiking Mt. Paldingan in Binalonan, Pangasinan was such a great solemn experience as I got the chance to hike it alone and visit the 14 Stations of the Cross at its foot.
Trail Notes
Mt. Paldingan
Binalonan, Pangasinan
Jump-off Point: Sitio Lubas, Brgy. Sta. Catalina
LLA: 550 MASL
Days required/ Hours to summit: 1-2 days/ 2-4 hours
Specs: Minor Climb, Difficulty 3/9, Trail Class: 1-3
Features: Rocky outcrops, scenic views of Pangasinan
Updated: April 05, 2022
Sitio Lubas
There are only a few articles about Mt. Paldingan when I searched the internet after finding it in Google Maps, most of the contact numbers are now inactive. Trail maps are not even available in my map applications, but luckily, I found its heatmap in Strava which I could use if there are no guides available in Sitio Lubas.
Arriving in Binalonan, I hired a tricycle at the Cili-Moreno Road along the Manila North Road to bring me to Lubas Valley Farm. Upon arrival at around 08:00 in the evening, I was hoping to find a Brgy. Outpost where I could register and hire a guide.
But to no avail, there was no one even at the farm except for a lady at sari-sari store who advised me that the trail to the Stations of the Cross is relatively safe and a group today just went down at 06:00 pm. I think we had a misunderstanding that I was going to climb the mountain and not just the 14 Stations of the Cross.
Oh, well, here it goes.
Atapang A Tao
Armed with just my flashlight and the heat map, I braved the trail alone at 08:45 in the evening, then the stations of the cross welcomed me with its large white crosses along the mountainside until I reached the start of Inxiong Trail after 45 minutes. Many locals have pilgrimage in this area during the Lenten season.
There is a wide clearing after 15minutes where you can rest but I didn’t take the liberty since I was all alone. Continuing the hike, the trail was well established along a woodland that started to get steeper by the minute with loose soil that can get slippery at times. After an hour I arrived at the Binalonan View deck (370 MASL).
From here, the ridge trail welcomed me with ascending then descending sections along a woodland replete with thorns and vines. Further, into the hike, I entered a narrow trail along the grassy ridge with a ravine on the other side, the pitch-black darkness caught up to me as I was having spooky thoughts.
Milky Way – 0, Sunrise – 1
Around 10:30 pm I arrived at the well-lit Pangasinan View Deck (410 MASL), which seems to have a store selling snacks and refreshments during the hiking season. But there was nobody there, But I was thankful for the solar lamp posts in the area.
But according to the heat map, the summit is still more than a kilometer from here, so I continued. The cogon grasses seemed untouched as the trail was not visible anymore. Also, it was then coupled with the occasional spider webs which means nobody got up here for quite some time.
Finally, at around 11:25 pm, I arrived at the summit of Mt. Paldingan (550 MASL), there was signage saying I was there. I set up the tent and waited for the milky way while having my midnight snack.
Unfortunately, at around 03:00 in the morning just as the core of the milky way is about to be visible from the horizon, thick fog cover accompanied by strong winds enveloped the summit. I just cocooned myself inside the tent hoping for the cloud cover to clear up. But to no avail, it only got clear again as the sun began to rise.
But this sunrise was something else as the grassy summit was saturated in faint hues of pink then orange by the sun peeking from the east.
Vertical Rock Face
I also took a step back after realizing that my campsite sits at the edge of a vertical rock face with a 200–300-meter drop.
The summit offers a sweeping panorama of the plains of Pangasinan in my west, the Cordilleras on my north, Caraballo Range on my northeast, and Mt. Balungao, southeast from where I am.
The rock face summit at around 510 MASL is also accessible, but I was not able to visit it anymore. Also, one can complete a traverse to the other sitio or visit the cave and waterfall on the other side of this mountain according to some blog entries.
How to Get There
- Paldingan is located in Binalonan, Pangasinan with its jump-off point at Lubas Valley Farm in Brgy. Sta. Catalina
- From Manila, take any bus bound for Manaoag, Pangasinan, and alight at Mcdonald’s, Binalonan Intersection (280php/pax, 198kms)
- From the intersection hire any tricycle to Lubas Valley Farm (350php/trip, 8.1kms)
- The guide is optional, while as of writing, no registration fees are being collected
- Ask the locals for the Stations of the Cross of Sitio Lubas. Moreover, the 6th Station is also the start of the Inxiong Trail (1.2kms from Lubas Valley Farm)
- No water source along the trail
- Data and signal reception is present throughout the trail
- The trail map is not available in Google Maps and Maps.me applications, I only used the Strava heat map to guide me through this hike
- The trail is fairly straight forward and there are no detours or forks:
- Trail Length: 4.8kms
- Total Elevation Gain: 624 meters
- Summit Elevation: 550 meters above sea level
- Three campsites: Pangasinan View Deck, Mt. Paldingan Summit, Rock Face Area
Itinerary and Expenses
Mt. Paldingan Night Hike
Sta. Catalina, Binalonan, Pangasinan
Day 01
2000 Arrival at Sitio Lubas, Brgy. Sta. Catalina
2045 Start hike
2100 Station 14
2116 Station 6 (170 MASL)
2130 Inxiong Trail Rest Area (Km. 1.7, 260MASL)
2200 Peak 1 (370 MASL)
2205 Binalonan View Deck
2230 Pangasinan View Deck, rest (Km. 3.5, 410 MASL)
2300 Resume ascent
2325 Mt. Paldingan Summit (Km. 4.8, 550 MASL)
Day 02
0530 Wake-up, breakfast, sunrise
0800 Start descent
0845 Peak 1
0900 Inxiong Trail Rest Area
0930 Sitio Lubas
Updated April 05, 2022
