Mt. Pulag (2,926 MASL), Benguet | Experience the Wrath of Tawangan Trail

July 27, 2022March 27, 2023 Rex Lim Lim 2022, ADVENTURE, BLOG, BUDGET, GUIDE, HOW TO, ITINERARY, MOUNTAIN

Reading Time: 9 minutes

Kabayan, Benguet: Nobody ever talks about Mt. Pulag’s Tawangan Trail, the bloodiest, one of the longest, and yes you heard it right, the core kingdom of Kabayan’s blood leeches.

Come and join us in this exciting adventure inside Mt. Pulag’s bloodiest trail!

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Table of Contents

PULAG (TAWANGAN TRAIL)
Kabayan, Benguet
Major jump-off: Sitio Labang, Brgy. Tawangan, Kabayan
LLA: 16°34’58″N 120°53’15″E, 2922 MASL
Hours to summit / Days required: 10-11 hours / 3 days
Specs: Major Climb, Difficulty 6/9, Trail class 3
www.pinoymountaineer.com

Our Mt. Pulag via Tawangan-Ambangeg Day Hike. (11 hours, 21.80 kilometers)

Tawangan in a nutshell is one of those mountain trails that will keep you cursing but will leave you wanting more once all of it is over. It took us almost twelve hours to reach the summit of Mt. Pulag before exiting down to the Ambangeg Trail.

Mt. Pulag via Ambangeg Trail : Cloudsurfing at the Playground of the Gods | Mt. Pulag (2,926+)

Mt Pulag (2,926+) Travel Guide 2023 – Into The Playground of the Gods

Limatik Kingdom

After a series of extremely curved and winding roads, we finally reached Brgy. Tawangan in Kabayan, Benguet. We signed up to reach hike Mt. Pulag via the Tawangan-Ambangeg trail in a day, yep, here goes nothing!

A few minutes before three in the morning, we started the hike. The Milky Way was just over our heads, pitch black darkness engulfed us with just our headlamps blazing the trail we were treading on.

Four hours into the hike, morning light caught up with us, we are still doing okay, but not until we entered the kingdom of blood-sucking leeches.

The trek started to get even harder, with ascents getting steeper, shrubs getting more thorns than before, and trees starting to sport their mossy jackets.

Tawangan Trail is rarely visited by mountaineers even before the pandemic, then as the coronavirus hit the tourism industry, the trail was left untouched for several years. Moreover, the once visible path is now shrouded by thick vegetation half of the time.

Exuberant

Six hours into the hike, we had to go above and under several fallen logs, and phantom pits because of the roots and vegetation overgrowth along the trail.

Our group stopped every now and then to flick off numerous hungry Limatiks. Moreover, it is as if they were ravenous after years of not seeing people inside their slimy kingdom.

Tawangan is notoriously long but I would not trade it for what it is now since that is the essence of finding adventure outside your comfort zones.

Then from here on, an effervescent display of emerald-colored mosses decked all of the gnarly trees along the way. I was simply mesmerized by the view. Tawangan trail is one of Luzon Island’s most beautiful mossy trails, fight me.

Vecna Awaits

The trail visibility gets better inside the mossy forest as we go higher up the mountain. Seven hours into the hike, we entered a fake grassland which is called by the locals as Mt. Pupulag.

Furthermore, climbing Mt.Pulag via Tawangan, hikers will pass by Mt. Ludok and Mt.Pupulag before reaching the grassland area of Mt. Pulag summit.

From Mt. Pupulag, we again entered a cloud forest that stretches on and on. Then as we neared Km. 11.50, fatigue now setting in, arms and legs bleeding from all the limatik bites and thorns, the Mind Lair stood out.

The biodiversity on this side of Mt. Pulag is vibrant and teeming with life. Twisted and knobbed-looking tree branches covered in thick layers of fuzzy moss sprawled out into the air.

It is as if taken straight out of Vecna’s Mind Lair from Stranger Things wherein dark tentacles from the upside-down crawled out in all directions.

Pulag, At Last!

It was past lunchtime when we entered the grasslands of Mt. Pulag. Honestly, just touching this dwarf bamboo was already awesome compared to the incessant leeches and thorns of Tawangan.

We finally arrived after more than eleven hours at the summit of Mt. Pulag (2,926 MASL), the highest mountain in Luzon, at 01:30 in the afternoon. This feat deserves a triumphant score of jubilant music for a job well done!

Mt. Pulag summit using my Merrell Moab 3 Beluga

Unfortunately, there’s not much to see since the afternoon clouds started to sweep the landscape in its white canvass. After an hour at the summit, we started our descent via the six-kilometer-long Ambangeg Trail.

Merrell Moab 3 Hiking Boots

On this day hike, my Merrell Moab 3‘s waterproofing feature was tested in the damp and forested Tawangan Trail of Mt. Pulag and it did keep my feet dry for the whole day. Moreover, the Vibram sole kept its promise and provided reliable traction all throughout the extreme Tawangan Trail.

The Merrell Moab 3 is famous for its out-of-the-box comfort, durability, and all-purpose versatility. Moreover, its predecessors have enabled 25 million people to step further outdoors. For over a decade, the Merrell Moab has been the choice of hikers when a choice needs to be made, making it the best-selling hiker in the world.

Moab 3 Key Features

Pigskin leather and mesh upper
Bellow’s tongue keeps out debris
Protective toe cap
Kinetic Fit TM ADVANCED removable contoured insole with reinforced heel cushioning for medium support
Molded nylon arch shank
Lightweight EVA foam midsole for stability and comfort
Lug depth 5.0mm

GET THE MERRELL MOAB 3 HERE!

How to Get There

The jump-off point of Tawangan Trail is also at Brgy. Tawangan in Kabayan, Benguet, a few kilometers from Brgy. Ballay which is the drop-off point of Lake Tabeo and Mt. Tabayoc

Tawangan Trail is one of the few known trails leading to the summit of Mt. Pulag. The other trails are Ambangeg, Akiki, Ambaguio, Lusod, and Tinoc.
You can combine Tawangan Trail with other trails as an exit point, but this depends on how physically fit you are – like the Tawangan-Akiki and the Tawangan-Ambaguio.

To add, the easiest way out will always be the Tawangan-Ambangeg Trail which is one that we did and took us around 21.80 kilometers over 15 hours.
Public Transportation (From Manila)
- From Quezon City, take any Baguio-bound bus, and upon arrival, proceed to the Dangwa Terminal
- At the Dangwa Terminal in Baguio City, ride a bus bound for Kabayan, Benguet, and ask to be dropped off at Brgy. Ballay. Please take note that the last trip of Kabayan-bound buses is at 12:00 noon.
- Travel time going to Kabayan is around 5-6 hours via the Halsema Highway
- At Ballay, charter a habal-habal to take you to Brgy. Tawangan.
- If you missed the bus going to Kabayan, ride the Bontoc, Mountain Province bound bus and alight at the junction of Abatan in Buguias, Benguet. At the junction, rent a habal-habal to take you to Brgy. Tawangan

Permits should be secured from the Park Superintendent, Ms. Emerita Albas, first if you plan to climb Mt. Pulag from any of its trails
Please prepare accordingly and note that there are several water sources along the trail.

Sample Itineraries

Mt. Pulag Day Hike
(Tawangan-Ambangeg Trail)

Day 01
1700 Meet-up at Eton Centris, Quezon City
1800 Depart for Kabayan, Benguet
2200 Arrival in Baguio City, dinner

Day 02
0230 Arrival at Brgy. Tawangan, Kabayan, Benguet
0245 Start trek (1,474 MASL)
0530 Rest area (1.970 MASL)
0655 Creek/Water source (2,020 MASL)
0730 KM 07, the start of mossy forest ascent (2,000 MASL)
0830 KM 08 Mossy ridge (2,350 MASL)
1245 KM 12.40 Grassland (2,678 MASL)
1330 Summit Mt. Pulag (2,922 MASL)
1500 Start descend via Ambangeg Trail
1700 KM 19.40, Camp 1 (2,494 MASL)
1730 KM 21.80, Ambangeg Ranger Station, rest, tidy-up
2200 Depart for Manila

Day 03
0700 Arrival back in Manila

From Pinoy Mountaineer
Mt. Pulag 3D2N Itinerary
(Tawangan-Ambangeg Trail)
Day 1
0400 Early breakfast at Baguio City
0430 ETD to DENR-Ambangeg/ Registration*
0830 ETA DENR-Ambangeg / LNT briefing*
0930 ETD to Poblacion, Kabayan
1100 ETD to Brgy. Tawangan. Jeep will proceed further to Taaw River.
1600 ETA Taaw River / Start trek to Sitio Labang.
1800 Sitio Labang Campsite. Water available.
1900 Dinner / socials

Day 2
0400 Wake-up call / Breakfast / Prepare packed lunch / Break camp
0600 Start trek. Prepare for Limatiks.
1200 ETA Water Source (Grassland) / Lunch / Load-up water 4L/pax min.
1700 Mt. Pulag Summit for the Sunset viewing
1830 Arrive at saddle campsite
1900 Dinner / socials

Day 3
0430 Wake-up call
0500 Assault summit
0530 Mt. Pulag Summit / Sunrise viewing…
0700 Back to campsite / Breakfast / Break camp
0900 Start Descent
1100 ETA Ranger Station
1200 ETA Ambangeg, DENR (Log-out)
1230 ETD Ambangeg / Lunch along the way
1700 Back in Baguio City

*As of Jan. 2008, DENR-PAO discourages climbing from this trail.
**note that Day 1 may be spaced in two days for a less hectic schedule