mt timbak kabayan benguet

7:00pm we had our dinner. 7:45pm we were already on our rooms. not that we run out of things to do but it felt like it was getting colder by the minute. headache and chills. i had one of the coldest experience that night.

almost sleepless. by 5:30am we sneaked out of the house to catch a glimpse of sunrise on top of a denuded water tank. sunrise revealed a silhouette of the islands highest peak Mt. Pulag and the nearby Junior Pulag.

 

sun was soon out but it remained cold. best thing was that ate rose, the house caretaker, was consistent in serving us local coffee. quick rest and along with  Ga-el, Emil, Darwin and Kevin, we had our gears ready for the hike up Mt. Timbak's summit. 

 

 

what made this trek different from my previous treks was that ninety percent of Timbak's trail is crossing tiered vegetable farms.thus at certain time some locals would charge people crossing their areas.

 

 

hike was entirely uphill and we easily got exhausted because of lack of sleep and that we were already at a height of 2,600meters above sea level. but doing some stops was perfect as we are overlooking villages of Atok on our right and the village of Kabayan on our left.

along the way we saw locals plowing. but what i found more challenging for the farmers here was the scarcity of water at this height. Mt. Timbac does not have natural flowing water system. so they would use improvised water basins made of plastic surface to store water. 

several cell sites stood at the mountain peak that made it less attractive but we were captivated by this beautiful garden which was also at the summit. here, the sun's heat started to dominate over the cold morning climate. 

 

from the peak, the mini calvary, which was just few meters away from the summit can be seen. we took some time resting at that spot as the view of the highest point of Halsema Highway was amazing. 

  

the third highest peak of the island of Luzon did not disappoint us. the mountain range of the Cordilleras remains one of the best in the country. this is a good side trip for a visit to the mummies of Kabayan.

 

other on trail posts:

Trail to the Timbak Junction

Trail to the Mummies of Kabayan

special thanks to Tine of the Jovial Wanderer for tips on who to coordinate.

Profile:

Barangay: Timbak/Timbac
Altitude: 2715 MASL 
Municipality: Kabayan
Province: Benguet
Region: Cordillera
Island: Luzon

Location: 
Distance from Manila: 295KMs
GPS Location: 
16' 39'' 3 N
120' 47'' 43 E

How to get there:
By commuting:
[1] Take any regular bus from Manila to Baguio. From Baguio there are two options to reach Timbak. First is via KM55 of Halsema Highway and second is via the town center of the municipality of Kabayan. In our case, we chose option 1.
[2] From Baguio, take a bus at Dangwa Station going to either Sagada, Bontoc or Abatan. When buying your ticket, inform them to drop you at Kilometer 55 (of the Halsema Highway). This is the jump-off point to the Timbak trail and the mummy caves. Bus trip will take about 2hours.  

[3] Trek from jump-off to home stay junction 1hr with less stops.trek from this junction to the summit is about an hour or less.

Note: KM55 is just few minutes from the stopover in Atok but not all buses stop in Atok.

By car or private vehicle:
[1] Drive to Baguio, cross La Trinidad and take the Halsema Highway. 
[2] From Halsema, turn right at KM55. This is just meters away from Atok central. There's a sign that says "Welcome to Mummy Caves of Timbac" but sign is too small to be noticed while in the highway. Best yet to ask the locals after passing by Atok or at the highest point of Halsema Highway.

[3] From this signboard, just follow the partially paved road which would require 4x4 vehicles.

eskapo recommends:

1. get a guide who can either pick you up in Baguio or meet you at KM55 of Halsema Highway. you can contact Vince Gapuz 09198524410 who was also our guide when we went there.