You will reach nothing if you will give-up at the start of your journey.
Gulugod Baboy, which is translated in English as Pig’s Spine, is located in Brgy. Anilao in Mabini, Batangas. It has an altitude of 525 meters above sea level (based on PH Mountains App). Although the area is now a popular destination for both newbie and professional hikers, Anilao was originally (and still) more popular as diving destination because of its rich marine biodiversity. According to Pinoy Mountaineer , Gulugod Baboy is actually a general term which is given to the range of hills in the Calumpang Peninsula which traverses the municipality of Mabini.
Gulugod Baboy is more commonly known to the locals as Mt. Pinagbanderahan, because of its historical significance in the area. Pinagbanderahan, which when translated directly to English, means a place or a location where a flag was raised. During our trek , we asked different locals about the reason why the mountain is called as such. They told us that during World War II, a Japanese Plane was shot and fell down at the peak of the mountain. Fortunately, the Japanese Pilot survived the crash. In his delight, he raised the Japanese Flag on one of the peaks.
We started our trek at around 5 in the afternoon. Because we wanted to catch the sunset, we tried to make our pace as fast as we could. However, at the start of the trek, it already took us a lot of time resting because the slope was so steep. In the end, we did not reach the summit before sunset and we just decided to compensate this by waking up early to catch the sunrise. By 6am, we went to the summit, which is just around 5 minutes away from the campsite.
On the summit, you can have a scenic view of different islands including Sombrero Island and the Island Municipality of Tingloy, and if the weather is good, you can even see the outline of the Island Province of Mindoro. Aside from these islands, you can also have a good perspective of the Batangas Bay region, Balayan Bay and as well as the Verde Island Passage. Mts. Maculot, Batulao and Pinamucan can also be viewed from the summit.
Since I still needed to catch another exciting adventure in San Juan, Batangas, we left immediately after we had our breakfast. The climb was physically exhausting, but mentally, spiritually, and emotionally refreshing.
When we left, we took nothing but pictures, we left nothing but memories.
Here are some photos of our Gulugod Baboy adventure:
For more photos, pls go to the Life Gallery.
| Travel Guide* | ||
| Route | Mode of Transportation | Estimated Travel Time |
| Olivarez Plaza** to Calamba City Proper (Laguna) | Jeepney (Calamba bound) | <1 hour |
| Calamba City Proper (Laguna) to Turbina (Calamba City) | Tricycle | 15 minutes |
| Turbina (Calamba City) to Batangas City Grand Terminal | Bus (Batangas City Pier bound) | 40 minutes |
| Batangas City Grand Terminal to Aniloa, Mabini, Batangas | Jeepney (Mabini bound) | <1 hour |
| Aniloa, Mabini, Batangas to Philpan (Jump-off point) | Tricycle | 40 minutes |
| Jump-off point to Summit | Foot | 2 hours |
| *based on actual events | ||
| **Los Banos, Laguna (College) |
| Budget | |
| Transportation* | |
| Roundtrip from Los Banos to Anilao | 360 |
| Food | 500 |
| Registration Fee (Environmental Fee) | 35 |
| Guide Fee | 300 |
*around 100 to 150 additional if you will be coming from Cubao
Wonderful pictures. Thanks for making it possible for me to walk in the mountains on the opposite side of the earth.
hi @brittakarolina, thanks for your appreciation of my photos. I hope that you would be able to walk personally the mountains in our country (Philippines). I would be very glad to tour you around.