It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.
— Edmund Hillary
Do you ever want to get out of the hustle and bustle of the city life? Would you like to be unreachable and disconnected from the Internet even just for a day?
We’ve all been there. When life gets on to us, we need to take a step back and live for the moment. Fortunately, I live in a beautiful island that has a lot to offer that is just one bus ride away.
Last month, my friend and I climbed Osmeña Peak in Dalaguete, Cebu. It is the highest peak in the island of Cebu with an approximately 1,000 meters above sea level. Once you get there, it gives you another perspective of the countryside of Cebu which makes you feel like you’re in a different country.
The original itinerary was just to climb Osmeña Peak then return home afterwards. However, our motorcycle taxi driver mentioned the Cambais Falls in Alegria and we thought why not!
So here’s my DIY day trip to Osmeña Peak with a side trip to Cambais Falls.
Travel Tip
To save on expenses, we brought our own lunch and snacks for the trip and carried water bottles. We had them refilled at Mantalongon market before we went to Cambais Falls. If you are unable to bring any food and water, you can just buy at the market. There’s a lot to choose from. 🙂
| Budget breakdown | Description | Total amount per person |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation | Bus and motorcycle fare | Php 651 |
| Meal | Lunch, snacks and water | Php 100 |
| Activities | Cambais Falls | Php 20 |
| TOTAL | Php 751 |
Trip Itinerary
You can catch the bus ride at Caltex Station, located at Carbon Market. The first trip is at 7 AM. The fare is only Php 100 and will take you straight to Mantalongon market. The bus will stop by the Dalaguete intersection to drop off and pick up passengers. Do not get off here. Once you reach Mantalongon market, you can choose to hike up or take a motorcycle taxi (or habal-habal) to the foot of the mountain.
We decided to take the motorcycle as we were not sure of the directions. You may reach our guide/motorcyle driver, kuya Tata through this number–09098129759–to give you a ride. If you’d choose to hike, it would take almost 2.5 hours to get to the foot mountain. For motorcycle fare, it’s only Php 100 per person for a roundtrip.
At the foot of the mountain, you have to write your name on the log book. There’s no payment needed. There will be children who will offer to give their services as your guide. However, you won’t be needing one. You can follow the trail or follow where the people go. It will be a 20-30 minute hike to get to the top.
Now, some of you will get disappointed when you’re halfway through the hike since it will be the easiest hike you will encounter, and it’s not quite challenging. But once you get to the top, you’ll forget about the frustration because the view is amazing!
You can have your lunch at the peak, but make sure to clean up right after and leave nothing but beautiful photos and happy memories. 😉 As we descend, we chose the short but hard trail, which was a really bad idea yet so much fun!
We had to use the surrounding plants to get a grip in going down. We had a few bruises on our hands and had our knees shaking. We also had to stop for a couple of minutes since a few people were going up and had to warn them that it was a difficult hike going up. They just jokingly scolded their guide. Haha!
Anyway when we reached the foot of the mountain, we asked our driver to take us to the Cambais Falls. The fare is Php 300 per person for a roundtrip. We had to stop at Mantalongon market to refuel and get some food and water. From Mantalongon Market, it will take almost an hour for the ride and about 30-40 minutes of hiking. The long ride and hike are all worth it as the area is still untouched and not yet commercialised. There’s a twenty-peso (Php 20.00) entrance fee for the upkeep of the area.
We climbed up two waterfalls before settling in our small paradise on top. We had our quick lunch before swimming. The water was freezing but it felt so good after the hike. We climbed up on the side of the waterfall and jumped off. We also had our backs massaged by the falls which was awesome! Moments later, we were joined by a group of people who started jumping off from the highest point but left after a while. We stayed longer, and enjoyed the serenity of the place.
At around 3 PM, we started heading back home. The last trip for the bus ride back to the city from Mantalongon market was at 1 PM, so we had to go to the Dalaguete intersection to catch a bus. There’s a Php 50 fare from Mantalongon market, and Php 101 for the bus fare.
It was definitely a wonderful day for an adventure. We got to be active and relaxed, even just for a day. Surely, will plan another adventure within the island of Cebu.
Yes! 🙂 I can relate to this! 🙂 Often times I just want to get out of the city, head to the province, have a short vacation to a place I don’t know, and disconnect from the social media world and from all the stress of work and people. 🙂