Mount Kalugong and Mount Yangbo is a two in one climb with two distinct identities. Mount Kalugong has several rock formations while Mount Yangbo has wide open green open field on top. Both gives you a splendid view of La Trinidad Valley.

#TaleOfTheTrail

Mount Kalugong and Mount Yangbo (Jumbo) are two mountain trails in La Trinidad, Benguet. Mount Kalugong is known for its rock formation while Mount Yangbo had that large track of brownish greenlands with an overlooking view of La Trinidad. We did a two in one hike and started with Mount Kalugong.  You can reach the trail starting point either by taxi or jeep from Baguio going to La Trinidad where you can alight at KM 8 in La Trinidad beside Benguet Memorial Services.

The Map and Elevation

The route starts at the foot of Kalugong Road. It starts with a steep climb on paved roads for about a kilometer with an elevation gain of 120 meters. After a kilometer of climbing, you know enter Mount Kalugong Park, which has a lot of rock formations as well as picnic grounds. The trail resumes on a slightly rolling terrain for the next 3 kilometers to reach Tawang area. There’s a short strip of road before the climbs resume at kilometer 5. There’s a steep climb to Mount Yangbo of about 500 meters with an elevation gain of 160 meters. It takes another kilometer of descent to exit the trail to Ambiong – Lubas – Tawang Road.

Trekking Mount Kalugong and Mount Yangbo

Mount Kalugong is a fast and short trek as it’s just about a kilometer away from Kalugong Road. The tricky part is that it’s really steep with an elevation gain of 120 meters.  It leads you to Kalugong National Park.  Take it slow as the steepness and high altitude can really challenge your lung power.

Kalugong National Park

Along the road you can already see some rock formation. There’s a registration fee when you enter Kalugong National Park at P50 per person, which allows you access to the facilities of the park.  If Baguio has its Camp John Hay, La Trinidad has Kalugong National Park. It’s a family friendly location where you can hold picnics and kids can play at a cooler climate and a higher altitude.

There are two aspects of Mount Kalugong, one is the rock formations and the next is the park. If you take the road on the right, you get to see the different rock formations. The formations were really impressive and gives you an overlooking view of the La Trinidad. It’s risky going from one rock formation to another but if you can brave that part you’re in for an awesome view and photo.

The Rock Formations

Seeing formations like this is just impressive. It tells you so much of the story how the mountains and the rock formations were formed through the years. The area gives you a really good vantage point of La Trinidad. It’s a bit congested area since a lot of the lands are now residential but you still get a view of the mountains.

You have all the variety of rock and ridge photos around Mount Kalugong.  It’s rock climbing without a harness. By the way, it’s called Mount Kalugong because one of the rocks is shaped like a hat (hat is Kalugong in ilocan0). This area has also a trail area heading to the park area but if you want a safer option then just go back the previous route and enter the entrance of the park.

Family Friendly Site

The park is the perfect family friendly spot. It has swings, picnic tables, huts, hammocks and other facilities. It also has a canteen though they only have snacks and a few drinks. It’s like Camp John Hay picnic grounds at a different location and altitude. It’s not a long hike to the park so it’s perfect for family with kids to hang out for a good bonding time outdoors. We had lunch at the picnic grounds.

We also were told that there was an access point from Mount Kalugong to Mount Yangbo. So when you see an uphill trail from the park. Yes, that dreaded uphill climb you hate to take. Well don’t take that road, it’s not the trail heading to Mount Yangbo but it can give you a different vantage point of La Trinidad after 200-300 meters climb. There’s a trail parallel to the that uphill climb and its flat so that’s the right road.

Heading to Mount Yangbo

The trail is about 3 kilometers heading to Tawang area. The trail is rolling but it’s run-able. It’s actually fun running this part with the softer surface and the rich scenery. There’s different surfaces you get to experience from mud tracks, rocks and grass. There are also a few technical part of the trails.

We’ve blitz the first part of the trail which had a moderately rolling terrain. After about 2 kilometers, the trail goes on a short ascent. There was a view deck towards the tail end of the climb. It gave another view of La Trinidad. You can also see Mount Yangbo from the trail since it has a relay tower on top of it.

Entering Tawang Area

After the climb is the descent to Tawang area which is the entry point of Mount Yangbo. There were steep parts but it’s generally a safe trail.  There was a small cemetery along the route. We excited Tawang Area.

There are several entry points from Tawang Area. We walked around a short 500 meters in Lubas – Tawang – Ambiong Road and saw an entry point. There’s also another entry point about a kilometer away too. We took the first entry point we saw, which was the steeper option in the climb. It is just about 500 meters to the peak but you had to take on about 160 meters of vertical ascents. That’s a lung busting climb in my books.

Climbing Mount Yangbo

I always take a steep climb a chunk at a time. I would take about a 50-100 meter of climbs then rest a bit and do the drill until I reach the part. The good part with the rest break is that you get to see the view from atop La Trinidad as well as see the nearby mountains.

The view of the mountains gets better as you go higher. There were rocky cliffs that gave you a view of La Trinidad too.  The top area is a large brownish-green track that you can explore and appreciate.

Mount Yangbo

It has panoramic views from the one overlooking La Trinidad to the different mountains around the area. There’s a registration fees of P30 for the area. There were also available horses if you want to do horseback riding around the wide mountain range. There were a lot of spaces where you can have picnic mats and enjoy the place. You just get mesmerized by the different sights around.

There are so many alternatives going to the area with different trails and different looks. The place just humbles you and makes you feel that the you are just a tiny speck in this awesome world and that nature in its raw form is just beautiful.

From the top, we saw several options as our exit points. We wanted to try a new trail that would lead us to the lower part of the road but we ended up taking the easier exit point, which is around 800 meters to call it an adventure.