Mount Pinatubo
Hi there! 👋 I’m @benjtupas and welcome to another Travel PH82 Guide 🇵🇭 where I write DIY and budget-friendly guides for group and solo travelers on how to visit all 82 provinces of the Philippines!
Let’s virtually explore Mount Pinatubo in the province of Tarlac!
I've been to Mount Pinatubo before in 2015 but I decided to visit again coz I miss the view of the Crater Lake that's giving me the New Zealand vibe minus the cold temperature. 😆
My first visit was just a day hike where we traveled at around midnight from Metro Manila, hiked upon arrival, and go home right after. That was exhausting and I learned my lesson.
We went a day before the hike so we can still explore CERAB and chill at Alvin and Angie's Guesthouse in Santa Juliana.
Summary
Before we go to the itinerary, please watch these 10 to 30-second episodes on Instagram.
Day 1: 🚌 Commute to Capas Tarlac 🛖 Check-in at a guesthouse (🎥 Episode) 🌅 CERAB (🎥 Episode)
Day 2: 🛻 4x4 Ride (🎥 Episode) ⛰️ Toblerone Hills (🎥 Episode) 🚶🏻 Hike (🎥 Episode) ⛰️ Mount Pinatubo (🎥 Episode) 🏊♀️ Bukal (🎥 Episode - 1.2 Million Views 🔥) 🚌 Back to Metro Manila
Let's start the DIY travel guide. 😍
Day 1: Alvin and Angie Guesthouse
🚌 10:00AM - Ride a Bus to 711 Capas Junction in Tarlac
Go to Five Star Cubao Terminal.
Ride a bus to 711 Capas Junction in Tarlac
Fare: P237
Duration: close to 3 hours
You can eat breakfast at Jollibee just beside it.
There are also a lot of stores there for snacks.
🛵 01:00PM - Ride a Tricycle to Alvin and Angie's Guesthouse
At 711 Capas Junction, ride a tricycle to Alvin and Angie's Guesthouse in Santa Juliana
Fare: P400 (it’s really far so the fare is fair)
🛖 02:00PM - Alvin and Angie's Guesthouse
🎥 Experience Alvin and Angie Guesthouse
They have beautiful and clean rooms that come with breakfast. Alvin, one of the owners of the guest house, is really nice and an entertaining host.
We ate lunch outside to explore their local food. There are a lot of karinderyas outside of the guesthouse.
📷 Photoshoot or Chill
While waiting for the sunset, just chill at the guesthouse and do photoshoots for the gram! 😆
🌅 04:30PM - Sunset at CERAB
🌅 Catch the sunset. There's a view deck there where you can chill.
🔍 Just search “CERAB Crow Valley Tarlac” on Google Maps
🚶♂️ It’s an 8-minute walk from Alvin and Angie Guest House.
🧠 CERAB means Colonel Ernesto Rabina Air Base
Since this is a military base, please bring your government ID for another checkpoint and don't take photos of any military vehicles.
Don't worry. CERAB is a safe place since the army themselves are the ones guarding you. 😆
😴 09:00PM - Sleep Early
Don't forget to request your breakfast to be prepared early coz they need to buy the ingredients the night before.
Prepare your things the night before so you can go right away tomorrow and start early to avoid the crowd.
There's no nightlife here anyway so you'll be forced to sleep early. 😆
Day 2: Mount Pinatubo
⏰ 03:30AM - Wake-up
I love to start early to avoid the crowd. 😆
☕ 04:00AM - Free Breakfast and Get Ready
Free breakfast from Alvin and Angie Guesthouse
You'll be fetched by the 4x4 here
✍️ 05:00AM - DOT Registration and Briefing
🛻 05:05AM - 4x4 Ride Experience
⛰️ Toblerone Hills
It’s called such coz the hills look like the Toblerone chocolate. 😆
Around 30 minutes of 4x4 ride from the DOT Registration to reach this
There's another 30-minute 4x4 ride to the hiking jump-off
🚶🏻 Hike to Crater
🚶🏻 Hike is required coz the 4x4 can only reach a certain area.
⛰️ Depending on your phase and the stops in between, it will take you about an hour to reach the summit. The jump-off point is way nearer now compared to my previous visit in 2015. Lucky for you if you plan to hike here starting today. 😆
🧒🏽 Take photos with the Aeta kids. Bring food for them as a donation.
🛖 Resting Hut
If you reach this point, you're near! 💪🏻
There are signs everywhere about the remaining meters to hike so stop asking the guide if it's near. 😆
🚽 There are toilets in the middle of the trek so it’s okay to drink a lot of water coz it’s really hot here. Stay hydrated. (Use reusable bottles. Maybe use Aquaflask 😍)
⛰️ Mount Pinatubo Crater View Deck and Lake
😍 This is the highlight of the Mount Pinatubo trip!
🛻🏃 After an hour of 4x4 ride and another hour of hike, this view is your reward. 🌋😍
🛖 There are huts on the view deck where you can chill and eat lunch.
🌬️ There’s a lake but you can’t swim. Just enjoy the fresh and cool air.
🚶🏻 10:00AM - Hike Back to Jump Off
🎥 Experience Crystal Clear Bukal (1 Million Views 🔥)
🏊♀️ You can swim in a “bukal” in between the resting hut and crater.
🧠 Fun fact: According to our guide, one of the foreigners who visited Mount Pinatubo asked the locals to dig a little deeper and add rocks to create this crystal clear “bukal”.
🗺️ It can be found in the middle of the rest area and the crater. You can swim here. Just ask the guide to pause for a few minutes on the way down.
🥶 The water is really cold. A perfect way to battle the Mount Pinatubo heat. 🥵
🪖 Military Exercise
This is not usually part of the trip but we got so unlucky. 😆
It was a very fun trip nonetheless. The guides were very nice and helpful in calming the people down. 😍
🛻 4x4 Ride Back to the Guesthouse
🥄 Lunch / Rest / Wash up
You can buy food from the tour organizer, Alvin and Angie's Guesthouse, or the karinderyas just outside of the guesthouse.
🚌 Travel back to Manila
🛵 Ride a Tricycle to 711 Capas Junction for P300. Ask for assistance from Alvin so you'll get a discount coz it was P400 on the way here.
🚌 Ride a bus to Cubao for P237
Thanks for reaching this far!
👋 Say hi on Instagram @benjtupas if you have any questions about the trip.
😍 Travel Smarter with these Essentials
🇵🇭 Visit the 82 Provinces of the Philippines
🔗 Please share this with your friends who want to visit Mount Pinatubo
🌱 Support the growth of this mission
SEA you on the next one. 👋
Travel Dates: March 19 to 20, 2023
Last updated
