Cebu's Highest Point: Osmeña Peak

Monday, October 9, 2017 cebu, Food and Travel, philippines, Travel

Stunning view at the top.

Have you ever woke up one day feeling the itch to see the beautiful world from higher grounds yet you're not as enthusiastic about long strenuous hikes? Well, Osmeña Peak is the perfect place for non-athletic folks like us. It's very accessible from Cebu City and is tourist friendly. It might be because of this that it grew into one of the region's most popular tourist destinations.

When I saw pictures of this place, I immediately wanted to go. Who could blame me really? My boyfriend was hesitant because my clumsiness and hiking never really worked well together. I really did want to go so I browsed through other blogs and found out how easy and short the trek is. Going there was easy as well. Ultimately, I managed to convince him and so we started planning for the trip. I'll be sharing information about our trip to Osmeña Peak incase you ever want to go as badly as I did too.

How to get there: We rode a bus from Cebu South Bus Terminal going to Oslob which passes through Dalaguete. If you are unsure about which bus to take, bus conductors are more than happy to help you. We asked the conductor to drop us off at the Dalaguete Junction. Fare cost is 80-100 pesos, depending on which bus company you ride on. We left Cebu City around 8:00 am. When we arrived at Dalaguete Junction, around 11am, we rode a habal-habal (motorcycle) that would take us to the starting point. Fare for the habal-habal ride is 200/head. This price is already back and forth. Each habal-habal is good for two people, I imagine if you are alone, you will have to pay for two people also. The habal-habal ride is a challenge in itself as it traverses steep roads and spiral curves amidst the captivating scenery.

The Trek: Arriving at the foot of the peak, lush vegetation greeted us. You will also have to pay a fee of 30 pesos prior to the hike as an environmental fee. Many children will also offer to be your tour guide for a small fee and tell you how hard the route is to convince you to hire them. Because we knew that the route was easy, we decided not to get a tour guide. We regretted this later on because they could have been great help when we were struggling taking the best photos. Going to the top would have taken about 15-20minutes maximum if we didn't stop every five seconds to take photos. There are no hard parts in the trail at all and a first-timer like me didn't have any problems whatsoever. The trail was clear and a path was already elaborately laid out.

The Peak: Wow. Just wow. The view was hands down breathtaking. All the effort(?) it took to reach this point was more than worth it. It felt surreal. The cold fresh breeze, the vivid colors, it was a feast for my senses. We shamelessly took as many photos as we could. We stayed there for about 45 minutes to take in everything and then started our descent to the foot of the peak where our driver was waiting for us.

Getting Back to Cebu: Our habal-habal brought us back to Dalaguete Junction. On the nearest bus stop from the junction, we waited for the first bus going back to Cebu to arrive. Luckily for us we didn't have to wait long. We were on our way back to Cebu by 1:30pm. Fare cost Php100. I slept whole way through the trip. We arrived at South Bus Terminal around 4:30pm.

Expenses:

85 pesos - Bus Fare SBT to Dalaguete Junction
50 pesos - brunch at 7-11
200 pesos - habal-habal fare
30 pesos - environmental fee
50 pesos - snacks
100 pesos - Bus Fare Dalaguete Junction to SBT

TOTAL EXPENSES= 515 Pesos

Tips:

Wear sunblock although it's not hot and sunny, I still had sunburn. :0
Bring a hat and sunglasses. It will be useful as you climb your way to the top.
Bring water. Be careful not to leave any trash though.
Wear rubber shoes and comfortable clothes. Slippers are not advisable. The trail might be slippery.
Hire a tour guide. They know all the best angles and views for your photos plus it will also give livelihood to the locals.
Osmeña Peak is a great campsite too!
A 7-11 store is located near Dalaguete Junction, you buy water, snacks and other essentials there.
Osmeña Peak is quite near to Oslob, so if you plan on going there to see the whalesharks, you can plan to come to Osmeña Peak after your Oslob activity.
You can go directly to Kawasan Falls from Osmeña Peak. It would more or less be a 5 hour trek. You can take a habal-habal ride which would take about an hour.
There are a lot of tourist who would also like to have their pictures taken. Be considerate.
Be careful. The peak is quite high up, care is needed when taking photos at the best views.
Live in the moment. That's all for my trip to Osmeña Peak. I hope that you find this post helpful. :)