That time when I used to climb #04 | Mt. Manghilao

Another mountain worth visiting if you opt for a quick getaway from Cebu City is Mt. Manghilao! Located in Danao, Cebu, it would only take an hour but not more than 2 hours to get here. You can take a bus or hire a van just like what we did. This adventure was still way back in 2016 but I'm glad I was able to keep these memories because most of the mountains nowadays have been commercialized losing their natural beauty.

This was the time I already graduated college and we were on our way to take the board exams. The pressure of studying took a toll on us so one of our friends invited me and the others to quick overnight camping with her other group of friends. So we happily obliged. There was nothing else to do since at this point I was no longer able to absorb the things I was trying to study.

We considered ourselves joiners and so we can't demand anything on this specific climb. All details were relayed to us and we planned and prepared what we needed to bring before the actual climb. The rest of the group already went ahead of us however we had to wait till our review classes were over before we were able to catch up with them.

It was already nighttime when we got to Mt. Manghilao. Our guide chose the shortest route possible so that we can reach the campsite asap. Hiking during daytime is one thing but hiking during nightfall is different. It's something even I avoid even if the trail is super easy. So in 30 minutes, we were able to get a glimpse of our fellow hikers. We quickly pitch our tent and ate our ready-made meals. Don't judge us. It's going to take us more time to cook and we were damn hungry by the time we got there. We ended the night by getting to know the rest of the hikers and sharing stories and a little bit of booze. We slept early that night since we planned to climb the peak at 4:00 am.

We woke up to the sound of a loud alarm from a neighboring tent and caught ourselves fighting the cold that morning. It was still dark and only half of the crew were still up. Nonetheless, our guide decided to push through with the short hike to Mt. Manghilao's peak. The trail was steep with a lot of tall bushes along the way. So it was wise to wear pants and jackets.

Mt. Manghilao sits at 600MASL, most have called this the highest point in Northern Cebu. Over the next years, Mt. Manghilao has already become known to other hikers all over the country.

Upon reaching the top, we were greeted with a huge cross made of wood. It was a bit of a surprise since it was my first time seeing one up in a mountain. No one knows when this cross was built here but it has been replaced a couple of times throughout the past years recently in 2019. Also, our local guide informed us that this place somewhat became a pilgrimage site for locals.

The peak was surrounded by mountain ranges and on one side we were able to see the coast where the sun was expected to rise. We waited for 30-40 minutes for the sun to finally show up and for me, it was breathtaking in its own way. The mountain ranges were starting to show their vibrant colors and beautiful curves too and our hearts were just glad that we were able to admire nature from our 4 months of continuous studying.

We headed back to the campsite and had our breakfast. We packed up around 8:00 am and made our way back to the jump-off point. I was expecting to go through a longer route but the crew decided to end our adventure with a refreshing dip at the nearest cold spring. So we ended going back to that short trail. We walked about 30-40 minutes. We were picked up by the rented van and proceeded to our next destination: Durano Ecofarm and Spring Resort. The spring resort was about 30 minutes drive.

_{Narrow trail to the peak.}

_{The campsite was surrounded by tall grass and bushes.}

_{From left to right: Hive account@indayclara, Cham, & Kenny}

_{Photo Ops before leaving the mountain}

_{The trail consists of a lot of bumpy rock formation and tall grass.}