Cebu Osmeña Peak: Two-Hour Trek to the Peak

We arrived at the Mantalongon Market and asked the townsfolk for directions to Osmena Peak in Cebu. The locals advised to go straight and just turn left on the first intersection. Afterwards, they said we only needed to follow the path to get to the destination. We didn’t have a difficult time understanding the instructions as it is an easy climb.

Cebu Osmeña Peak: Two Hour Trek to the Peak
November 12, 2011

cebu-osmena-peak.jpgOsmena Peak Cebu

Osmeña Peak is a popular climb for mountaineers. These mountaineers normally traverse to Kawasan Falls after setting camp on the site. But you don’t have to be an expert to climb this mountain as it is a fairly easy climb even for beginners like me.

climbing osmena peak
with other travel bloggers in Cebu

Beautiful Backdrop

We started the trek and I could see a change of atmosphere. The more obvious one was greenery. Vegetable farms are aplenty and I could see pine trees and other plants surrounding the path. Along the way, we saw plantations which has become a source of livelihood for the townsfolk.

osmena peak
change of scene

It only takes an hour of walking if you’re in a hurry. But we stopped plenty of times to take photos of the place. It was a beautiful weather and the sun did not hurt which made the trek so easy for the eyes. How the rays of the sun complemented the background of green plants and blue & white sky.

trees osmena peak
trees

Occasionally motorcycle drivers would pass by and ask if we would hire them to take us to the base of Osmena Peak. We would turn them down as we preferred to walk. You have the option to hire a motorbike so you can reach the base in a few minutes. From the base, you can simply climb about 20 minutes to reach the top.

osmena peak climb
climbing osmena peak

We would stop and see how the locals would go about their daily routine.

Daily Life in Mantalongon

Women carrying heavy baskets of vegetables and crops, old men with bolos (knives) for their farming duties, kids playing and sometimes joining us in the trek. The best part are the people who would respond with a smile when we would acknowledge their presence. Just a simple raising of the eyebrow or nodding of the head to greet each other a pleasant day. The people here are very friendly!

cebu peak osmena
Osmena Peak – town in Mantalongon

I noticed so many fresh vegetables; huge ones too! Clothes hung on barbed wires for them to dry, and the occasional sari-sari store for those in need of a quick snack. We continued the the walk as the sun was still up high.

osmena peak cebu trek
clothes hung dry

Edwin and the Cow that Could Not be Moved

Edwin was leading the trek and we’ve gone past a few hills already. I think it rained the other day as the soil was wet in some areas. While walking, we didn’t expect what was about to happen. We encountered a cow that was blocking the way. We tried to get past it by just walking from the side. However, it would also move to our direction so we couldn’t pass through. All the time the cow was swinging its head from left to right repeatedly.

My initial reaction for the head swing was that a part of its body was itchy and it needed to be scratched. Edwin was even trying to communicate with it by alien sign language (lol). But the cow stood firm where it was.

cow in cebu
The cow who was telling us we were in the wrong path.

Its owner came by and we asked him how to get past it as we wanted to reach Osmena Peak. The owner then informed us that we were going the wrong way. He pointed us to the same direction to where the cow was pointing. It felt strange that the cow was signalling us how to get to the correct path. Mas bright pa ang kalabaw! hehe

Knowing that we were a little lost, one of the farmer’s told his son to take us to the top. How nice of his gesture to help us get to our destination. It seems that the people here are accustomed to travellers. For us hikers, we were lucky enough to have an instant guide to accompany us.

climb osmena peak
hiking in Cebu Osmena Peak

Doi’s Leg

The walk became challenging as we were on our last steps. The sun’s colors deepened which signalled that it was setting. A few more treks and we were almost there. We were almost at the peak!

rural life cebu
almost at the top

However, another unexpected thing happened, particularly to Doi. She suddenly couldn’t walk. I thought it was a minor case but she had difficulty with her leg. She felt a nerve popping and she had to sit down for a long time. She was even upset why her travelling feet gave up on her that she kept slapping them and nudging them to get well fast. We all took a break then.

Breaking Bread

We were getting tired from the climb so we stopped for awhile. Good thing we bought Pan de Coco bread from a bakery back at the intersection so we ate them while sitting down. The bread tasted so good! We downed them with water.

osmena peak breakDom eating pan de coco and a kid who accompanied us

Afterwards, we all continued our trek. Unfortunately, Doi was still in pain that she told us to get going as she still needed to rest. Dom and Edwin went ahead and brought my tripod while I accompanied Doi for a moment.

After a while, I realized that the tripod plate was still attached to my camera. Doi advised me that I should get going since Dom needed the tripod for his sunset shots. I proceeded and told her that I would come back.

To be continued…

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Check out this Cebu Osmena Peak Travel series here:


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soloflightEd.com is a travel blog by Edcel Suyo. He enjoys performing headstands and crazy stunts during his trips in the Philippines, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. Now based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and working to earn a living, he takes time to enjoy the city and travel during weekends.
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8 thoughts on “Cebu Osmeña Peak: Two-Hour Trek to the Peak”

  1. nice climb Sir Ed!
    from airport, malayo pa ang south terminal?
    First time ko sa cebu at 3 days kami. On our first day aakyat kami dito then traverse sa falls,
    Any advise na magandang puntahan after Osmeña Peak at falls?
    Thanks and more power

    Reply
    • @ken: Thanks a lot Ken! The airport is about a 30-minute taxi ride to the South Terminal given that there’s no traffic. It’s not that far. 🙂 Try visiting Basdako beach in Moalboal afterwards. or you can visit historical places in the South such as Boljoon, Argao and Carcar.

      Reply
  2. Even if you’ve never climbed a mountain in your life, you will want (and be able) to climb Osmeña Peak, Cebu’s highest mountain, whose raw and rugged beauty arguably rivals the better known pastoral charms of Batanes and even evokes — dare I say it — JASPER MADRID CEJUDO

    Reply
  3. It’s unbelievably easy to get to Osmeña Peak, which is located in Mantalongon, Dalaguete; the trip there and back is entirely doable in half a day. From the Cebu South Bus terminal, take the bus going to Bato/Oslob (or just inquire which bus passes by Dalaguete) and ask to be dropped off at the intersection of the main highway and the road going to Mantalongon. The bus fare from Cebu City to Dalaguete is PHP 105 for air-conditioned buses, PHP 100 for non-aircon. The moment you step off the bus, you will be greeted by a swarm of motorcycle drivers asking you if you’re going to Osmeña Peak. Any one of them can take you to the base of the mountain, wait while you climb, and take you back to the center of Dalaguete, all for PHP 200. Alternatively, if you have a car, you can take the Mantalongon road and drive up to the Mantalongon market, where you can then engage a motorcycle driver to take you to the mountain base and back for PHP 100. Or if you have a 4WD, it’s possible to drive all the way up to the base of Osmeña Peak. At the base, you can hire a guide — many of the “guides” are children looking to earn lunch money — and from there, it will take you less than an hour to climb to the summit.

    Reply

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