Hiking matters #801: An ascent of Bud Tumantangis (811m), the highest peak in Sulu

JOLO, SULU – What a great experience, climbing up Sulu’s highest peak! I first saw Bud Tumantangis back in 2006, as we were on that unforgettable way to Tawi-Tawi that led to my hike up Bud Bongao; I actually hoped that there’s a chance to visit Sulu and climb Tumantangis, but back then, it was deemed unthinkable to do so, and that’s how it was for the longest time! That’s why I was so thankful when the Sulu-based adventurer Najib Julkipli agreed to organize a hike up Sulu’s mountains; I lost no time to go, together with my friends Christine Fernandez and Christian Santos. From Manila, we took the plane to Zamboanga and then took another flight from Zamboanga to Solo: an experience in itself! By the time we arrived, Najib was waiting for us at the airport, and we met the rest of the climbing party at Shara’s, a well-known cafe in Jolo; together, we went by van to the trailhead of Bud Tumantangis in Indanan, Sulu.

We started the hike at 1045H. After entering a woodland with some houses, the rest of the trail was delightfully forested all the way to the summit; decades of conflict had spared the mountain from unsustainable development. As we were a large group, our pace was very relaxed but even then we reached the summit by 1305H, with a “helipad site” (see last photo in this post) doubling as a campsite and signaling that we were just minutes away from the 811-meter peak.

At the summit, there is a military outpost as well as views of the nearby mountains, including Bud Dajo (E) and its distinctive crater rim as well as the very prominent Bud Sinumaan (S); it was particularly exciting for us to see it given that we were also planning to hike it the following day. A large tarpaulin used to mark the summit, but it has been torn when we got there;  it did not matter as we were just so glad to have finally made it to the top of this veritable mountain!

Thank you to everyone who hiked with us! We are particularly grateful to Najib for making this adventure happen, and to everyone we met in Sulu who welcomed us to their province and convinced me that there’s a bright, peaceful future ahead for the province – not just in terms of ecotourism but overall development.

Postscript: on our way back to Zamboanga, this time by slow ferry, we