Climbing Mount Babag Part 3: The Long and Easier Route and the Falls

In part 2 of this series, I told you about the short and yet very steep trail that we took going to the top of Mount Babag. Well, in this third and final article about climbing that mountain, I will relate the experience we had in the long and less steep trail.

Turn Left After the River

As we reached the creek again, we took the left trail. As expected, this is a little easier compared to other trail that led us to the rose plantation that is inclined to about 70 degrees. This trail though is longer with many twist and turns. But the good thing is that the terrain is mostly flat or slightly inclined.

The Hidden Falls of Mount Babag

This is the reason that we came back and took the other trail, the falls.

The hidden falls can be found  about 30 minutes after you crossed the creek and turned to the left trail. It was "hidden" in the sense that it was located downhill from the trail and the pathway is covered with bushes. The path is also very steep and it seems as if there's just few who visits the place. We even had to ask a local just to know the where it is.

The beautiful falls in Mount Babag

The falls is just a about four to five meters high and the volume of flow is not huge. Still, it was a  beautiful sight. The body of water at the base of the falls is just four feet deep. Upon arriving at the place, some of us didn't waste time and immediately swim in the cold running water. We also took that chance to rest a bit and take in snack. We are careful not to eat a lot to stay light because it's still a long way to go towards the peak. So after spending almost an hour at the falls, we climbed back to the trail and continued our trek.

Landmark: Chapel

The next landmark that we reached was a small chapel. We reached that after about 15 minutes of walk from the falls. There are benches outside the building so you can rest up a bit if you like. The trail continues to the right facing the chapel. This time though, the path will be a little steeper. From what I remember, it took us about another 15 minutes before we saw a flat ground.

As we continue to walk, we saw a house and asked an old lady to show us the way. After that, it became a hard climb because the trail is already steep with bushes and tress along the way. Again, from what I remembered, it took as another hour to two climbing a very steep trail. Green lushes of vegetation surround us and an overlooking view of the city began to emerge in the horizon. We felt a little colder by then indicating that we are already near the peak.

Crossing Our Previous Trail

About an hour or more after the chapel, we noticed that the trail is already going to the right. It appears that we are about to cross the trail that we took previously. And indeed it happened at about an hour after the chapel. Now we are on the way to the spring and to the hut where we rested in our previous journey. The air is cold and the hillsides afar start appearing blue because of what appears to be a layer of fog. The view of the city is already filling the entire horizon. On the right, facing up to the mountain, we can now see the RCPI towers making us feel a little excited because we knew that the peak is already very close.

Steep Trail

Reaching the Peak of Mount Babag Again

After another hour after we reached the intersection of the two trails, we finally reached the peak. Once again, the feeling is awesome, even though this is second time around.

View from the Peak of Mt Babag

We started our journey from Brgy. Napo at around 8AM and we reached the peak about 2:30 PM - more than six hours of journey with periodic rests. At the peak, we took our lunch and walked until Mountain View Park. Then we ride habal habal going down to JY Square in Lahug. That concluded our adventure with Mount Babag. Are we planning to go back? No. Do we want to climb Mount Babag again? Definitely!

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