Trail Difficulty – 8/10

Duration - 3 days


Climbing the Philippines highest mountain was not a joke with an elevation of 2,956 metres above sea level, scales of 8/ 10 level of difficulty (not advisable for beginners) you need to be fit and healthy to be able to conquer the almighty Mt. Apo. There were three trails that you can choose from. The Sta. Cruz trail located at Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur, Kidapawan trail located at Magpet town in North Cotabato and the Bansalan trail located at Bansalan, Davao Del Sur.

Climbing Mt. Apo belonged to my ultimate bucket list, I remembered my high school days wherein Id dreamt to experience the beauty of Mt. Apo and truly after 13 years, I had seen and step a foot to the majestic Mt. Apo.


We traveled around 05:00AM from Davao to Kapatagan, Digos and arrived around 06:30AM then had our breakfast. Do not worry because there’s a carenderia that serves breakfast at the kapatagan. The van cannot travel to the jump off area because of very rocky road (muddy at times) that you will endure for about 30 minutes (the longest 30 minutes of my life. The road itself was so challenging that I think I hold my breath for quite a few times) by the habal - habal and you will be delivered (Thank God!) scratch free at the foot of Mt. Apo.

By 9:00AM (our bags took too long to arrive because of the road condition) we started our climb to Sitio Colan to log our names and be briefed for the dos and don’ts upon climbing. They specifically stated that wipers are not allowed if you had your “call of nature” because it is not decomposable so bring with you your tissue papers. 




Upon entering the forest, the trails are a bit muddy even in summer because the sun cannot easily penetrate the forested area which is a good sign that the environment has been preserved. We ate our lunch along the trail, had a break for 30 minutes and continue the trek until we reached Tinikaran campsite 1 (5.45kms. to summit) around 4PM. It is where we spent our first night and socialize with other climbers. It is also where the last water resources is located. 




The next day we started our climb around 9:00AM going up to the fearsome boulder face. You need to climb the huge, steep and sharp rocks and can also smell the sulfur in the air. Actually, you can see smoke that comes underneath the surface. Some areas has a yellowish stones even the path because of the sulfur (Mt. Apo is a large dormant volcano). There are also wild berries that you can eat while climbing. We arrived at the campsite 2 known as the white sand around 12:20PM have our lunch then start our final assault at the peak (the peak was only 40 minutes from the base campsite 2) and you will now step foot in the highest peak in the Philippines.


Here are some pictures taken during our time at Mt. Apo.
The famous Mt. Apo crater

We are blessed to witness the sunset

Sea of clouds