One of the hardest mountains in Mt Guiting-Guiting. the climb aside, another challenging thing is simply getting there itself. As a tourist, it was quite hard to find information on getting there on the internet. I was very lucky i found a random group to tag along with. 1) Getting there: I flew to Manila Airport, and then made my way to Pasay bus terminal, where i found a bus to take my to Batangas Pier. Buses leave regularly (around ~ 15 mins?), and you make payment on the bus itself so just board first. bus ride was comfortable with TV and air conditioned, took around an hour half and only cost around ~150-200 php. Once you get there, make your way to the ferry terminal (should be terminal 2) and look for a provider to get to Sibuyan. Warning: the ferry takes SEVENTEEN hours in total. Ferries leave at designated time. If i'm right, it usually leaves at 4pm, but you've to get there early to get a ticket (i reached around 1pm and boarded around 3pm). The provider i took allocated every person 1 bed so it was ok. Not much food provided on the ferry except cup noodles, so advised to pack your own food. no showers are provided as well. Upon reaching Sibuyan, you can take a motor tricycle to the lodge for your briefing. Would advise to grab a bite, takeaway some food, and then stock up on water and food supplies for the climb. 2) Prep: At the lodge, there is a compulsory briefing to attend and signing of a few forms plus making payment (can't remember how much, but think its a few hundred php). Thereafter, you will go to your guide's house for final prep where you can leave some stuff behind and only bring what you need. there is an estimated guideline of 1 guide to 3 hikers (i think). Specifically to water, would recommend to bring more because it is HOT. and the water points along the way are subject to rainfall. there might not be any water source on the mountains. i was lucky there was still water remaining but its depends on your luck. 3) Climb. The climb itself was tough but doable. just note that it is not a gentle walk in the park, but at times its scrambling and lots of climbing up rocks. walking poles are advised, but i made do without it. there are also different methods - you can either do a traverse or just a walk up and back. Hammocks are advised instead of tents, due to the limited space at the rest points. Day 1 was around an 7 hour walk from my guide's house to Mayos peak. Day 2 started around 7am, i reached the peak by 11/12 noon, followed by another 5/6 hours to camp 2. Day 3 started around 9, and i finished the hike at 1pm. Post climb: the ferry leaves around 1000, so be sure to get there early. After that, its just another 17 hour ferry ride back again. Overall: great climb. i met a very nice group of Filipinos who were very nice. Climb was challenging but fun. i especially enjoyed the scrambling because i wanted something more than a normal walk. Admittedly, the "getting there" part was a big turn off. but i'm glad i went with it still it adds to the overall experience i guess. i wanted something off the beaten track and this was it. if anyone needs any tips or help, i would gladly help. Strongly recommend anyone who is up for an adventure to go for this.

Straight from a ferry trip from Batangas, we arrived in Sibuyan in the morning of Thursday. With a guide and 3 porters, we started our ascent right after lunch after we registered at the DENR. I have climbed a lot of mountains before but Mt. Guiting Guiting stands out as the most virgin with a lot of foliage ....such diverse varieties of weeds, trees and plants. An article in an inflight magazine of Philippine Airlines wrote an article that this mountain has been the source of medicinal plants for many pharmaceutical companies all over the world. For the first two hours, the trek was easy after Camp 1 though, the terrain change to a continuous 45 degree ascent. The trail was difficult with the roots of trees and plants intertwined along the path. I almost suffered a heat stroke due to the very humid and hot weather. Two full containers of water was dosed over me and returned me back to normal. Upon reaching Camp 2, however, the rain pelted down and we found ourselves, eating dinner inside a 3 man tent. Our companions...professional mountaineers provided all the necessary equipments...cooking, sleeping mats and tents and we were comfortably settled for the night despite the rains. In the morning, two proceeded to the summit and two went down to the beach resort, where we stayed. There were a lot of leeches and one of us even had one in her eye. Good thing, the guide took it out. Yucchy! Nonetheless Mt. Guiting Guiting is truly a mountain so unique and beautiful.