Bakun Trio: Mts. Tenglawan, Kabunian, and Lobo (2,000+)

This is a seed article. The distinct climbs for Tenglawan, Kabunian, and Lobo are provisionally assigned with the following specs: Minor climb, Difficulty 5/9, Trail class 1-3. Information on this page taken from readers’ comments. Thanks anonymous, backpackingsheet and adonisextreme!

BACKGROUND
An emerging destination in the Cordilleras are three of the peaks in Bakun, Benguet. As the three most commonly climbed mountains in the town, they are fondly called ‘Bakun Trio’ and are usually climbed in one trip to maximize the journey.

There are two schools of thought on how to tackle the Bakun Trio. The easier way is to hit all three peaks as dayhikes. This is what we would refer to as the “Bakun Trio” itinerary, in contrast with another popular itinerary, the Tenglawan-Kabunian Traverse. We are including both in this article.

ORIENTATION MAP

ITINERARIES

Bakun Trio
Note that you are free to choose whichever mountain you want to do first. If with uncertain weather, it is best to prioritize the more difficult and more popular Mt. Tenglawan, followed by Kabunian and Lobo:

Itinerary
DAY 00
08:00 pm Assembly (Bus Terminal)
09:00 pm ETD for Baguio

DAY 01
03:00 am ETA Baguio
09:00 am ETA Bakun, Benguet / Register / AM Snack
10:00 am Start Climb Mt. Lubo
02:00 pm ETA Summit Mt. Lubo
02:30 pm Start Hike Down
06:00 pm ETA Barangay Hall
07:00 pm Dinner
09:00 pm Lights out

DAY 02
05:00 am Wake up Call
0600 am Breakfast / Prepare for climb
07:00 am Start Climb Mt. Kabunian
11:00 am ETA Summit of Mt. Kabunian / Early Lunch
12:00 pm Start Hike Down
04:00 pm ETA Barangay Hall

DAY 03
05:00 am Wake up Call
0600 am Breakfast / Prepare for climb
07:00 am Start Climb Mt. Tenglawan
11:00 am ETA Summit of Mt. Tenglawan / Early Lunch
12:00 pm Start Hike Down
04:00 pm ETA Barangay Hall

Tenglawan-Kabunian Traverse

Day 1:
9:00 pm Assembly at Victory Liner Cubao
10:00 pm ETD going to Baguio

Day 2:
4:00 am ETA Victory Liner Baguio, Assembly time, Breakfast, preparation for departure, gear check,
5:00 am ETD going to Sinacbat, Bakun, Benguet
11:00 am Lunch en Route
1:00 pm ETA Sitio Sinacbat, Registration, Secure a local guide because its mandatory and we will be subjected for a guide fee. (Negotiate to the locals) unlike in poblacion no need of reg fee.
1:30 pm ETD Barangay Luponan (Jump Off) Mt. Tenglawan. Preparation of packs.
2:00 pm Start trek.
4:00 pm Last water source (No water source at Summit) get sufficient water supplies for the duration of trek and for dinner, breakfast and for the morning trek up to the hydro plant.
6:00 pm ETA Mt. Tenglawan (Summit camp) Dinner, Socials, (caution at summit… Masikip ang summit. konti lang ang kasya na tent dun.. ingat lang dahil bangin na ang kaharap natin)
9:00 pm Lights out (dapat tulog na lahat.. strict tayo dito dahil sa mahabang trek kinabukasan)

Day 3:
5:00 am Wakeup Call
6:00 am Breakfast (agahan ang paggising para maaga makapag umpisa dahil mahaba haba
ang tinglawan to Kabunian)
7:00 am Start Trek
12:00 noon Lunch en route
1:00 pm ETA Hydro Power Plant
3:00 pm ETD to Mt. Kabunian
6:00 pm ETA Doligen Landmark (sa bridge) prepare for your headlamps.
8:00 pm ETA basecamp Waiting Shed watersource. Dinner, Socials

Day 4:
4:00 am Wake up call
5:00 am Assault to summit
6:30 am ETA Mt Kabunian Summit
7:30 am Head back to base camp
8:00 am Breakfast, preparation for Sitio Poblacion
9:00 am ETD Poblacion, Bakun, Benguet
12:00 noon Lunch en route
2:00 pm ETA Poblacion, wait for jeepney
4:00 pm ETD to Baguio City
10:00 pm ETA Baguio City;

SPECIAL CONCERNS

Expenses:
Registration: Brgy. (P 100.00 per head) estimated
Guide fee sa local (100.00 per pax) estimated
Rent of Jeep: P 9,000/trip
Guideship P 250.00 head

Transportation: There is a daily bus trip going to Bakun, stationed at Kilometer 5 (KM5) Petron Gas station in front of Jollibee at La Trinidad, Benguet. From Victory Liner, my buddy and I rode a cab that took us there. Cab fare is roughly P70, and the bus fare to Bakun is P165-P170. Bus leaves at 7am, but be sure to be there as early as 6am to reserve a good seat, as there are times that things can get a bit crowded.Normal travel time takes 6 hours, but in our case it took us nearly 10 hours because of several long stops, so please make allowances your itinerary accordingly. Likewise, there is also a daily bus trip from Poblacion to La Trinidad KM5 which leaves at 7am.

Poblacion, Bakun Baranggay Hall: They offer a room for stay-in visitors. The place is well kept, there are plenty of stores outside where you can buy your basic necessities. The people are very accomodating, especially the maintenance personnel Kuya Max who played a big part in our climb. Don’t hesitate to ask for help. We made the baranggay hall as our basecamp. Tents are not necessary but you may bring it JIC.

Contact numbers: Brgy. Capt. Lambert Tabao-Ec +63 920-276-1121, Mr. Arthur Tolito, Bakun Tourism Officer- +63 915-570-2064

PS: Please inform the Brgy. of your intention to stay beforehand. There are no Globe signal in Poblacion, but you may get lucky if you have a great cell unit. Smart is advisable. Cellphone signals are present on all three peaks, but are intermittent on the trails.

More info: http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/b6308/15864d/

FYI: Mt. Lobo can be traversed via Brgy. Poblacion-Brgy. Dada. Just beside Mt. Lobo sits Mt. Mabilig. Also, adjacent to Kabunyan rises a majestic mountain they called Mt. Tagpew, to which the locals referred to as a very challenging and dangerous climb even to them. Climbing it may call for a system, if from the Bakun Poblacion trail.

There may be presence of limatik on trails of Tenglawan and Lobo, as the path has the kind of plant that limatiks hang-out. Trekking pole is really recommended.There are water sources on Tenglawan’s mossy forest, near a shed few meters from the summit in Kabunyan, and a water falls and residential house 15 minutes away from the summit in Lobo.