Mount Pulag is the 3rd highest mountain in the Philippines and the highest on the island of Luzon. It’s renowed for it’s beautiful sunrise and incredible sea of clouds.
It’s a relatively relaxed climb, with the most popular path (the Ambangeg Trail) taking between 2-5 hours, depending on your fitness level.
If you’re planning to visit the island of Luzon in the Philippines, I’d definitely recommend adding Mount Pulag to your itinerary. I hope this blog post is useful for planning your trip!
Is Mount Pulag hard to climb?
Mount Pulag is considered a relatively easy mountain to climb, particularly via the Ambangeg Trail.
The Ambangeg Trail is the best trail for beginners thanks to its gentle slopes and well-marked trail. This is the trail that most of the tour groups use and takes between 2-4 hours to summit.
If you want more of a challenge, there are some harder trails you can tackle:
1. Akiki Trail – Known as the “killer trail,” this is a challenging and steep route with an 10km ascent and 1800m elevation gain. It takes about 2-3 days and passes through pine forests, mossy forests, and grasslands. It’s considered the hardest trail and is for more experienced hikers with a very good fitness level.
2. Tawangan Trail – A remote and less-traveled route, this trail is known for its thick mossy forests and river crossings. It takes about 2-3 days to complete and is considered quite difficult.
3. Ambaguio Trail – The longest and least common route, starting from Nueva Vizcaya. It takes about 3-4 days and offers a mix of forests and grasslands.
When is the best time of year to climb Mount Pulag?
The dry season is between November to March, with cool temperatures and the best chance of seeing the famous sea of clouds. We climbed in mid-March and had perfect conditions, but of course the mountain is unpredictable and weather can change suddenly.
The worst time to climb is during the rainy season between June to October as trails are dangerously muddy and the summit is foggy.
It’s better to climb on weekdays if you can as it gets very busy at the weekends with domestic tourists, especially on the Ambangeg Trail. Parts of this trail are very narrow so you have to walk quite slowly and wait for people.
Climb Mount Pulag with a tour
The easiest way to climb Mount Pulag is to book with a tour company. This saves the hassle of finding your own transport and accomodation and sorting out the fees and permits. However, if the tours are sold out or you’d prefer to do it yourself, it is possible to do it without a tour group.
Here are two well-reviewed companies we found offering guided trips to Mount Pulag from Baguio:
• Agetyeng Travel and Tours
• Trek Earth Travel and Tours
I’d recommend contacting the companies at least a week in advance to secure your spot, especially if are going on a weekend. Weekends on Mount Pulag are very busy as there are a lot of domestic tourists.
The tours vary in price from around 4,500 pesos to 6,000 pesos (they cost more for foreigners). The price includes all your transport, accomodation, food, guides, fees and permits.
The only downside is that we noticed they were very large groups, so climbing the mountain took them a lot longer as they made regular stops and walked more slowly. This is fine unless you are a keen hiker and don’t want to be tied to someone else’s pace.
You can book private tours for around 9-10,000 pesos if you don’t want to go with a big group. However, with a little more planning, you can do a D.I.Y tour for about half the price!
Climb Mount Pulag without a tour group
As all the tours were sold out on our dates, we decided to do it ourselves. It ended up costing us approximately 4500 pesos, so cheaper than most tours.
1. Secure a climbing permit from the Mount Pulag National Park Office
Before you can climb, you must call the Mount Pulag National Park Office to secure a climbing permit. We called the day before we intended to climb and luckily secured two permits, however I’d recommend calling further in advance if possible. As of March 2025, the number to call is 0966 260 2938 (Globe simcard) or 0907 120 2412 (Smart simcard). You will then collect and pay for your permit once you arrive at the office.
2. Arrange transport to the Mount Pulag National Park Office
From Baguio, you can go to Dangwa Terminal and ask when the minivans are going to Mount Pulag. There doesn’t appear to be a fixed schedule so it’s best to go in person to confirm. You can ask them to drop you off at the National Park Office. We went on an 8:30am minivan which took around 2.5 hours and cost 250 pesos.
3. Book a homestay near the trailhead
There are several homestays right near the start of the trail to Mount Pulag, which is where you need to stay the night before as you’ll be starting your hike around 2am. We stayed at SMR Homestay for 1500 pesos (for 2) as it was the only place available, but there is also Banans Homestay, Cloudscrapers, and 5Js Homestay.
4. Medical Certificate
When you arrive at the National Park Office, you will be asked to take a short medical examination for 150 pesos. This is nothing to worry about and only takes 5 minutes. It consists of a quick blood pressure test and some health questions. You then receive a medical certificate which is mandatory to receive your permit.
5. Collect climbing permit and pay environmental and cultural fees
Once you have you medical certificate, you can collect and pay for your permit (850 pesos) from the front desk. You then pay an environmental and cultural fee of 300 pesos and a seperate environmental fee of 200 pesos (remember to bring plenty of cash as there are no ATMs!)
6. Orientation session
Next, you’ll be ushered into a room with all the tour groups to watch a video about safety and behavior on the mountain. This lasts about half an hour and is essentially just to say don’t litter or disturb wildlife and monitor for signs of altitude sickness.
6. Take a jeepney/motorbike to the Rangers Station and get your guide
Once you have finished all the bureaucracy at the National Park Office, you can take a 30 minute jeepney or motorbike to the Rangers Station, which is where you get your guide. The journey costs 500 pesos each and is a very windy mountain road with stunning views.
Once at the ranger station, you’ll be assigned a guide who will meet you at your homestay. The cost of the guide is 1500 pesos.
7. Check in to your homestay and stock up on snacks
From the Ranger Station, all the homestays are within a 5-10 minute walk. There are plenty of shops to stock up on snacks and warm clothes if you need them. We got a pair of (fake) North Face gloves for 200 pesos as we were already too cold!
For dinner, our homestay cooked us rice, eggs and vegetables upon request for 180 pesos each. Our guide, Jona, came to our homestay and we agreed to meet at 2am the next morning to begin our hike.
Climbing Mount Pulag
We woke up at 1:45am to have a quick coffee and snack. We all set off at 2.15am, beginning with a 20 minute walk to the trailhead. It was very busy and we had to queue for a while at the checkpoint and entrance to the trail.
The trail was easy to moderate, with some short steep sections, especially near the summit. There are two campsites along the way where there are toilets and water refill stations.
It took us just over 3 hours to reach the summit, walking at a relaxed pace. The sun was just beginning to rise when we arrived and it was definetly one of the most beautiful sunrises I’ve ever seen. We were lucky enough to see the famous sea of clouds below us which were stunning.
It was absolutely freezing at the top so we didnt stay too long before making our descent. Now in daylight, we could enjoy the beautiful views around us. We walked through rolling green hills and thick mossy forests, taking about 2 hours to get back down.
Getting back to Baguio
Once back at our homestay, our guide helped us organise a motorbike ride back to the National Park Office, where you have to check out. From there, you can walk a few minutes down to the main road where the minivan originally dropped you off to take a minivan back to Baguio. We had to ask a few locals but eventually found one.
Climbing Mount Pulag – final thoughts
Climbing Mount Pulag was a great experience and I’d highly recommend it if you enjoy hiking. It can feel like a lot of faff to organise yourself, but everything actually went surprisingly smoothly and locals are always willing to help you out. Once at the national park office, the officials will guide you through the necessary steps so it’s not too stressful. Overall, it’s definitely worth it!