I’ll be honest with you. Mount Pulag was not on my Philippines bucket list. As a Filipino who has spent years traveling the country and photographing its coastlines, rice terraces, and underground rivers, I’ve always thought of the Philippines as a destination for sea and sky rather than summits. However, enough time in the Cordilleras — specifically Banaue and Sagada — and some hikes in my home province had me starting to see things differently. With Mount Pulag developing a reputation as the premier hiking destination in the country, I grew intrigued. When my girlfriend and I found ourselves in Baguio with a free window, an excursion to the mountain made its case.

Mount Pulag is the third-highest peak in the Philippines, towering above the Benguet highlands of northern Luzon at 2,926 meters high. It is most famous for its sea of clouds, a phenomenon where a thick layer of cloud sits below the summit at sunrise, giving hikers the surreal sensation of standing above the weather. It’s the image that’s all over Instagram and the reason most people drag themselves out of bed at 1 AM.

Whether the experience lives up to that image is a more complicated question. The honest answer depends largely on who you are as a traveler. Here’s mine.

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Is Mount Pulag Worth It?

Mount Pulag is one of the top destinations for hiking in the Philippines, but is that saying all that much? To be blunt, the Philippines isn’t particularly known as a trekking destination. Its most dramatic and alluring landscapes are found by the sea. As an avid hiker who has traveled to many countries, including lengthy stints of high-altitude trekking in the Andes, the Karakoram, and the Himalayas, I’ll level with you. If you have hiked in mountainous regions elsewhere, then no, Mount Pulag does not compare.

That might be why Mount Pulag is extremely popular with local tourists, while few international travelers make the effort required for the summit.

Logistically, it is the exact type of nonsense that foreign travelers despise about traveling in the Philippines. A lack of transparency in added fees, the simple turned complex, and an overarching belief that the whole thing could have gone so much more smoothly. The itinerary itself seems nonsensical and unnecessarily convoluted. Being picked up at 5 AM from Baguio so that we can reach the homestay in the early afternoon and do nothing for twelve hours? It was a surefire way to be even more sleep-deprived for the 1 AM trekking start so that we could reach the summit well before sunrise.

The additional surcharge for foreigners is also off-putting. While I understand and even encourage different prices for locals and foreigners, there is nothing straightforward about the foreigner tax. Companies I inquired with had no straight answer about what the cost was. Some quoted me 700 pesos extra and others up to 1500. My girlfriend and I ended up paying 700 pesos extra each, only for me to notice at registration that my guide had put me down as a local tourist and likely pocketed the 700 for herself.

Don’t get me wrong, Mount Pulag was a great hike, but overly complicated, and in Filipino fashion, everyone needs to get their cut of the pie each step of the way. If you’re looking to just drive up, start hiking, reach the top, then go home — as most hikes should be— then trash those expectations entirely. The actual hiking? Incredible. Everything else? Soured the experience.

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Finding a Group for Hiking Mount Pulag

Unless you have your own car or group, the best way to hike Mount Pulag is to find a “joiners” group. That’s the Filipino term for joining a pre-existing group, or being open to others joining yours. As two people, we would have had to pay much more for what would essentially be a private tour. Best way is to throw your hat in the ring and allow your guide or agency to find others to put you in a big van.

A few tour agencies in Baguio can help arrange this, but we just went to the Mount Pulag Facebook group. There, you’ll find other hikers looking for groups to join, as well as independent guides offering trips. Find a date that works for you and DM them. The Philippines is still a very person-to-person society, and the best way to get a good deal is to bypass third parties and go straight to the source.

We found a female guide, cross-checked her socials and found some recommendations on a Reddit thread, and decided to go for it. She asked for a 1,000 peso deposit which we transferred and agreed to pay the remainder the next morning. We took a taxi over to Jollibee at 5 in the morning, met with our group — five local Baguio college students and six older tourists from Zamboanga — and set off.

Agetyeng Travel and Tours was our backup agency in Baguio, offering a competitive price, but they didn’t have any departures until the weekend. They had a small office in an old shopping center. About a dozen employees were cramped in the small space but none of them were particularly eager or helpful. Still, it’s an option if you prefer face-to-face communication to set things straight.

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How Much Does a Trek to Mount Pulag Cost?

Most joiners groups will cost 3,500 to 5,000 pesos. The price depends on departure point, inclusions, and whatever they choose to charge as the foreigner fee. Expect to pay in this realm for the entire trek.

Which Trail To Choose?

There are many different trails to summit Mount Pulag, from the beginner-friendly Ambangeg Trail to the more grueling Akiki Trail. This guide will cover the Ambangeg Trail, the typical one taken by joiners tours and trekkers hoping to get up the mountain as easy as possible. The other trails often require more experienced private guides and actual trekking and camping equipment. For a first summit of Mount Pulag, the Ambangeg Trail is the best way to go.

Guide to Hiking Mount Pulag via the Ambangeg Trail

Pickup from Baguio or Manila

Most Mount Pulag package tours will include pickup from your city. Although we decided to travel to Baguio, some will even depart straight from Metro Manila. This is a good option for those who don’t want to spend time in Baguio or are limited in time. Weekend warriors will find Metro Manila pickups more convenient.

However, Baguio is a favorite getaway of ours, and it is always nice to be away from the inescapable heat in Metro Manila. We ended up spending a few days in Baguio both before and after the trip. The after portion was much needed, as the funky sleep schedule, followed by a lengthy hike, leaves little time to rest.

We met up with our group at the Jollibee PNR at around 5 AM and left soon after. I really don’t know why the early start was mandatory, especially considering all the free time we had in the afternoon. It’s a tour group, though, so despite any complaints and confusion, you are at the mercy of their itinerary.

Stop for Breakfast and Medical Certificate

After about an hour of driving, we found ourselves at a small roadside restaurant. At the top of the restaurant was a station where we would get our mandatory medical certificates. It was literally just three women with stethoscopes and blood pressure cuffs. They took our vitals, wrote some stuff down, and we paid 150 pesos for the certificate. I mean, was it legit? Who knows, but it works, and it was more convenient than actually going to a clinic beforehand.

The views from here were nice, and we were able to take in our first mountain vistas of the journey. We grabbed breakfast where they had an assortment of meats, eggs, and rice. I sipped on a coffee until it was time to get back on the bus.

Other Stops: Babadek Sulfur Springs and Ambuklao Dam

Shortly after the breakfast and med-cert stop, we ended up at Ambuklao Dam. The morning light made for beautiful scenery. Although we were tired, this was a nice stop to sit down and take in the views for about half an hour. The next stop was the Babadek Sulfur Springs but only a few people actually went in. Still traumatized from the sulfuric fumes of Indonesia’s Mount Ijen hike, we didn’t enter. There’s not enough time to even use the springs, so you’d just be paying a fee to walk around a small trail with half-assed photo props.

Orientation Stop

Finally, we reached the entrance to the national park where we would go through the required orientation. “This could have been an email,” was what I thought for most of it. They show a hype video for Mount Pulag, followed by a timelapse video that sets people’s expectations far too high for what they’ll actually see. The Ambangeg Trail is what the vast majority of hikers will be doing, but over half of the video was from other parts of the Mount Pulag Protected Landscape that you never catch a glimpse of. The heavily-saturated timelapses of the seas of clouds and sunrises and sunsets also felt unnecessary. It was just there to set people up for disappointment.

Some basic information was shared regarding the trail length, difficulty, and general timelines, as well as hiker etiquette. Considering there were a surprising number of folks who had never been hiking before, I guess this part was mandatory indeed.

Lunch at Badabek

After orientation, we continued the final stretch to the ranger station in Badabek. This is where we were told we were free to have lunch, but nothing was open aside from a barbecue stand. We just wandered around aimlessly for an hour until our guide reappeared and boarded us onto a different vehicle. Like I said, fairly unstructured, and we didn’t know what was going on half the time. The village was nice, and it really reminded me of some of the smaller mountain towns in Nepal that we hiked through.

Check in to Guesthouse, Free Time

Since our van couldn’t make it up the hill, we boarded an offroad truck and drove another kilometer or two up to the Cloudgazer homestay. This place was rustic and cozy. Our tour was a budget version so the shared accommodations were to be expected, but you can get a private room if you pay a bit more. On a clear day, the homestay offers spectacular views of the countryside and mountains. However, the afternoon fog had already engulfed us, and it wasn’t long before the rain started to fall. We decided it was a good time for a nap, borrowing some of the stuffed animals to cuddle up with and subsequently passing out for a few hours. I woke up around 4 PM, courtesy of the torrential rain, made even louder by the tin roof above our heads. It was some of the loudest rain I’d ever heard, which did not bode well for the upcoming hike in just eight hours.

7:00 PM: Dinner, then Sleep

Eventually, we were summoned for dinner, which was surprisingly good. A huge cauldron of sinigang was the highlight, along with heaps of chow mein and rice. I drank an ill-advised coffee to counter the creeping cold, but fortunately, I was still able to sleep at an early time. The rain continued to pour, and part of me wondered if it would even be worth making the trek up tomorrow. Oh well, can’t stress about what you can’t control. I dozed off around 9 PM.

1:00 AM: Wake Up and Light Breakfast

Despite the very little sleep, I was actually feeling quite awake. Perhaps the silence of non-rainy weather lit a spark under me, but I was feeling good. I got dressed, popped over to the dining room to see the breakfast of hot dog soup, and settled on a cup of coffee instead. I still had plenty of snacks anyway, and I would just munch on those along the way.

At around 1:30, two local guides met up with our group and gave us a short briefing. One of them would take the lead while the other would take the back. We would have a few designated stops to regroup, and they encouraged us to let them know if we weren’t feeling well or if anything was wrong. Our starting altitude was about 2,400 meters and the summit was at 2,926 meters. While I typically wouldn’t consider this to be a dangerous height for any altitude-related problems, it is definitely high enough for sea-level folks to be huffin and puffin and struggling more than usual. Our group was all over the place in terms of age and fitness levels, so it was good to have two guides.

The guides asked someone to lead us in prayer, and one of the college students delivered his sermon. I liked the part about having the presence of mind and attitude to enjoy the journey, as well as the destination, and be grateful about the beauty of his creation regardless of what we saw. Although my girlfriend and I aren’t religious, and did chuckle a bit about the corny prayer at the orientation video, it’s always good to have intentionality and a clear mindset when taking on anything challenging.

1:30 AM: Begin Hiking (The upcoming are approximate timings)

After the prayer, it was time to roll. Not much to talk about on the way up as it is completely dark, so make sure you pack a headlamp or flashlight.

At around 2:30, we arrived at camp one. Even on a Wednesday, the mountain was jampacked with hikers. It seems like sunrise is the most popular time to do Mount Pulag, with most people coming in hopes of seeing the famous Sea of Clouds. It makes the mountain feel a lot more crowded than it is. If you don’t care too much about sunrise or the sea of clouds, it might be good to wait even an hour after sunrise and you’ll likely have the mountain to yourself.

With everyone having designated stops at these campsites, it made for big logjams once people started hiking again. We would constantly get stuck behind slower hikers, but with lines of sometimes 100 hikers long, it would have been impossible to pass. Occasionally, some of the hike leaders would tell their group to let us or another group pass, which was nice. However, we’d face the same problem once we’d reach the next camp, anyway. These parts were fairly gradual in incline. Any steep stretches were a maximum of 5 minutes before they flattened back out. Expect a lot of gentle ups and downs for the first two hours of the trek. After the nonstop rain, we had feared the worst in terms of washed out terrain, and to be slip and sliding on a muddy trail the whole way. There were a few wet parts, but for the most part, the trail handled the poor weather very well.

It was another hour or so to camp two, and from there, a final 2.7 kilometers to the summit of Mount Pulag.

To The Summit

The final stretch of the Mount Pulag hike will take you out of the mossy forests and to the rolling grasslands. It’s such a fascinating terrain. Of course, you won’t see it until the sun rises, but even in the dark, I enjoyed this section. Since the trail opens up a lot more, you can see the trails of headlights on the different ridges and a smattering of stars peeking out from behind the cloud cover. There was no moon, otherwise I might have been able to save some headlamp battery and let the moonlight guide me the rest of the way.

This section of the trail is also mostly gentle and gradual, but more noticeably steep in some parts. While you’d get stretches of flat or downhill when you’re hiking through the forest, this is more of a constant uphill battle.

Reach Summit, Wait for Sunrise, Spend One Hour Here

We reached the summit about 30 minutes before sunrise. All in all, it took about 3 hours of actual hiking to get up here. Take your picture with the summit marker before finding a place to plop down and watch the sunrise. Keep in mind that the summit is very exposed. Even though 3,000 meters isn’t all that high, being here in the early hours means that it can still get pretty cold especially when you’ve stopped moving. The high winds don’t help. Bring a windbreaker and warm layers to tide you over until the sun comes up.

Since Mount Pulag is a protected natural landscape, nothing has been built up here, so don’t expect shelter or a place to buy snacks or hot drinks. The closest thing to cover you’ll find up here are denser patches of grass and shrubbery. Huddle for warmth with your fellow hikers if you need to.

Other than that, just enjoy the sunrise. We had some clouds during our sunrise, but it definitely didn’t compare to the orientation timelapse or some of the videos we’d seen online. The famous sea of clouds is probably some combination of luck and heavily edited footage, but even without the sea of clouds, it was beautiful being up here. And despite the big crowds all congregating up here for sunrise, the atmosphere was still very peaceful.

Descent from Mount Pulag (2-3 hours)

The descent was actually my favorite part of the trek. While some trails are dull on the return trip, this felt like a victory lap. Since the trail was fairly easy, our legs were still fresh and we could take in the scenery that was shrouded in darkness for the entirety of the way up. With the early morning lighting still in full force, it made for ethereal scenes. The golden mountain grasslands are among my favorite of the Philippine landscapes, and it made me feel like I was on my home mountain of Balinsayaw on Aklan.

Packing List for Mount Pulag

One thing most guides won’t tell you about the Mount Pulag hike: the summit at sunrise is extremely exposed and wind makes the effective temperature significantly colder than the actual temperature. Whatever you think you need to stay warm, bring one more layer. The rain on my trip was also relentless, so it’s important to be prepared for any weather conditions.

The essentials:

• A proper waterproof jacket (not a rain poncho, which will make you miserable)
• Thermal base layers + a solid outer jacket if you’re someone who runs cold
• Gloves and a warm hat
• Hiking boots with ankle support (the trail handles rain well but the grassland section can be slippery)
• A reliable headlap or flashlight with spare batteries
• Snacks for the trail since food at the homestay is limited and the 1 AM breakfast situation is dire
• At least 1.5 litres of water
• Trekking poles if you have them for the descent. We were able to rent some from our homestay, but availability may differ homestay to homestay.

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Closing Thoughts on Mount Pulag

Mount Pulag is worth doing, with the right expectations firmly in place. The hike itself is beautiful — the mossy forests giving way to rolling golden grasslands, the descent in the early morning light, the sense of standing above the clouds even when the sea of clouds doesn’t fully cooperate. That part delivers.

What doesn’t always deliver is the experience surrounding the hike. The disjointed itinerary, the opacity around the foreigner fees, the orientation video that set expectations no ordinary weather will meet, the long afternoon of doing nothing before a 1 AM start — these are frustrations that a bit of better organization could easily solve and that Filipino tourism infrastructure hasn’t quite gotten around to yet.

If you’ve trekked extensively in mountainous regions, go in knowing this is a fundamentally different kind of experience. It’s a community trail, a cultural hike, a sunrise pilgrimage shared with hundreds of Filipino hikers of every age and fitness level.

If you’re a local or a first-time trekker, Mount Pulag might be one of the best hikes you ever do. And for international travelers who find themselves in Baguio with a few days to spare and the flexibility to embrace the chaos — it’s still worth the alarm at 1 AM.

Just don’t trust the timelapse videos.

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More on the Philippines

• The Complete Travel Guide to Baguio
• Guide to the Batad Rice Terraces
• Sagada, Mountain Province Travel Guide