Situated between the provinces of Ifugao and Mountain Province, Mt. Amuyao (Mayaoyao) is the 10th highest mountain in the Philippines. It is also known as Mt. Finaroy where it was discovered by two prominent hunters named Amfusnun and Limipaw which serves as a hunting ground of Barlig ancestors and the people have claimed their ancestral right over the whole mountain. 

According to a local legend which tells about the first Ifugao couple, Bugan and Wigan who took refuge in this mountain during the 40-day deluge that inundated the province. Being the only survivors, they became the first ancestors of the Ifugaos. 

We did a reverse traverse from Batad (Ifugao) and eventually exits in Barlig (Mt. Province), this is arguably a more insanely Trail which is reversing the usual traverse trail, coined as the Mount Amuyao Reverse Traverse trail  The difficulty of this may increase from 8/9 to 9/9 with the same trail class of 1-3.

From Batad Saddle Point we started the trek which passes the world-renowned Batad Amphitheater Rice Terraces, it is considered the easiest part of the trek with gradual ascent passing several paddies and gradual stair climb along the trail. Then after several hours, we arrived at  Barangay Cambulo where we took our lunch. It started to rain when we started our trek towards Sitio Pat-yay characterized by a narrow path of the rice terraces or ‘pilapil’ which could be more challenging and quite dangerous to deal with, most especially during a heavy downpour. It requires an almost 1200 ft ascent through a steep and muddy trail, which will then descend a 1020ft along an equally steep forested trail which could also be muddy when rain sets in. I had my share of mishap during the descent to Pat-Yay where I slipped through a ravine, fortunately, I was able to cling on to some rocks and roots, it was one of those moments when my whole life flashed back. We reached Pat-yay Village at around 1900h where we have our dinner and camp for the night. Our guide told us that is almost equidistant between Barangay Cambulo and the Summit of Mount Amuyao.

The next day we resumed the trek which is considered by some as the most difficult part of the reversed traverse trail because it was just pure assault. Based from my Casio Altimeter there is a total of 4980ft altitude gain from Pat-Yay to Mt. Amuyao summit which only means pure assault where the ascending part is so steep comprised of a forested trail and mossy forest infested with blood-sucking limatiks. After several hours of trekking, one will reach the waiting shed which is the halfway mark to the summit, there is also a nearby watersource where one can refill. On the way to the summit, hikers will pass by a ridge which is about 15 minutes hike before reaching the summit of Mount Amuyao. 

The summit is characterized by a bunker within the compound GMA and ABS-CBN Network towers where hikers coming from Barlig can spend the night (it is actually part of Barlig so they have the access key). Since we don't have a key to the bunker we pitched our tents outside, have some dinner and ou course spend the night on socials, it was freaking cold and based from my Casio thermometer it was ranging between 8 to 12 degrees, honestly, I wasnt able to sleep till 3am.

The next day everyone was in awe as we witnessed Mt. Amuyao's sea of clouds, some say that Mt Amuyao has more chances of viewing the sea of clouds compared to that of Mt. Pulag.  Benguet (W), Abra (WNW), Kalinga (N), Cagayan (NE), Isabela (E), and Ifugao (S). It offers a 360-degree breathtaking view of sunsets and sunrises. We took some pictures and cherished the moments and had our breakfast for the final leg of the trail (courtesy of Ken and Skyy, thanks guys sa masarap na meal).

Mossy Forest

Barlig