The Dalupirip Trails is a rolling course with a mix of paved roads, river trails and rough roads. It turns into a vertical kilometer heading to Bantik. The beauty of the route is it goes you a view of the Cordillera mountain range and the Agno River.

#TaleOfTheTrail

Dalupirip is around an hour away from Baguio City.  It gets you started at a lower elevation giving you an appreciation of a low land view of the mountains.  It has a steep vertical ascent the will leave you awed by the difficulty and the view of the nearby mountain range and the Agno river.

Map and Elevation

The route starts at Dalupirip and goes straight to the hanging bridge to the other side of the Agno River in the first 2 kilometers. It then goes on a steep climb on the next two kilometers. The route goes rolling of the next 2 kilometers before the descent to the rivers at kilometer 6. You then traverse by the side of the river for the next 1.5 kilometers before crossing another hanging bridge. It then goes on a slow ascent over the next two kilometers before you get the steep vertical kilometer heading to Bantik for the u-turn slot.

Trekking Dalupirip Trail

It’s about an hour away from Baguio and you get there by following the Baguio – Bua – Itogon Road. It’s also searchable via waze.   The Dalupirip road ends before a small bridge which can only accommodate human traffic or motorcycles. We started by the bridge and followed the road heading to the Agno River. It was about two kilometers from the road to the first hanging bridge. It was already a hot morning since the area lies on a lower region.

The hanging bridge led us to the other side of the Agno River. It had a mix of single track paved roads and trails. The area was a mix of residential and farmlands. It’s about a 100 meter climb over the next 2 kilometers but since it was on paved grounds, it was faster to move in the area.

The first part of the single track area was a bit shaded. The continuous accent can be a bit of challenge especially since we were still warming up. It’s run-able but it’s better to starting slow while warming up for a long course like this.

It was easy to follow the trails but we also got to ask some locals. The single tracks then went on to be a main road after around 2 kilometers. It was a mix of paved and rough roads. It’s an open road/trail so you have to bear the heat.

As we shifted to the wider roads, we had the view of the mountains. Bantik is towards the farther end of the mountain range. It was a rolling trail for the next 2 kilometers. We walked on the ascents and cruised on the descents.

We followed the road. It was really hot at this time since we started a bit late. I was just amazed as when you look to the side you get to see the mountains and when you look down, you’ll see the Agno River.

By the 6th kilometer, we started our descent to the river. This is a residential area so there where store if you want to buy some refreshments.. The mountains is on the other side so we had to pass by the river and eventually find a passageway to the other side. There were also locals who gave us directions.

After being on mostly concrete, it was a welcome part to be on the soft trails. It started with a mix of soft sands and stones along river trails. Being on this side, you could already see Agno river up close. We were basically moving by the strip of land beside the river.

After seeing the Agno River from the top, it was nice to see it at a lower perspective.  We followed the trail by the side of the river. It led us to a wider trails with a view of the mountains. I really enjoyed running this part. Since the Bantik climb was towards the end of the mountain range, we got to pass several mountains by our side.

After around 7 and a half kilometer, we had to cross another hanging bridge towards the mountain side of the route. The first hanging bridge was walking on metal sheets and this one was a combination of metal sheets and wooden planks. The wooden planks added more stability to our steps.

After the hanging bridge, we were now running by the side of the mountain. We went ahead and got our directions from the locals. We had to follow the trail, which had a mix of loose soil and rocks. The trail was rolling with mostly ascents.

After about 2 kilometers of the rolling trails, we are approaching the start of the vertical kilometers. The landmark was to find a house by the side of the road. Once you see the house, look for the single track trail and proceed there instead of the road. We decided to just try a bit of the climb before heading back.

The single track trail was a really steep one and would really make you huff and puff on each step of the way. We went on to do it 20-30 steps at a time and would rest on the shaded part. It was a really tough climb and it was also really hot at this time of the day. Of course, the big incentive of stopping for a while to rest was the view that surrounds you.

After a kilometer’s worth of climbing, we decided to head back. It was a kilometer worth of crawling and also our slowest kilometer. It’s always awesome to be at this vantage point because of the rich nature view that surrounds you.

Since it was a bit steep, we took our time going down the steep part. Then it was our trek back to Dalupirip area over the next two hours. We also had drinks at the stores before heading back. It was an exhausting trail because of the heat and elevation but it’s also a beautiful one.