Mt. Hibok-Hibok
Camiguin Island
Jump-off point: Ardent Hot Spring, Mambajao, Camiguin
LLA: 9°12′2″N; 124°40′5″E; 1332 MASL
Days required / Hours to summit: 1 day / 3-5 hours
Specs: Minor climb, Difficulty 4/9, Trail class 3
BACKGROUND
In the mystical island of Camiguin stands its most famous volcano, Mt. Hibok-Hibok. Not many people know that Camiguin is a literally a hot plate with no less than seven volcanoes in the small island. Mt. Timpoong, at 1450 MASL is actually higher than Hibok-Hibok, but the latter has risen to fame because of its explosive history. Five eruptions have been recorded since the 1827. The latest, in the early 1950s, killed 600 people.
Today, although Hibok-Hibok remains an active volcano, it has no signs of activity. In fact, the only signs of volcanism are the hot springs that count among Camiguin's tourist destinations. One of them, Ardent Hot Springs, is actually the jump-off point for a Hibok-Hibok climb. A rewarding dip at the 37 C pools is a great post-climb treat.
Climbing Hibok-Hibok is quite challenging for a daytrip. It takes 3-5 hours to reach the peak depending on your pace. The altitude gain is quite rapid and sun cover is minimal.Yet the views are unique and spectacular. At the peak, on a clear day, you can see the mossy crater of the volcano. To your north is Bohol, and you can even see Surigao at the east, and Siquijor on the opposite side. Flanking the island of Camiguin is White island, which truly looks white from atop the mountain. Even more unique to Hibok-Hibok is the blade-sharp rocks at the peak area. The pitcher plants that grow on these rocks make the landscape a little bit eerie. All these elements make Hibok-Hibok a must-stop for hikers who are visiting Camiguin.
ITINERARY
0500 Take ferry to Camiguin from Balingoan port
0630 ETA Benoni; take FX to Mambajao (P50)
0715 ETA Mambajao. Drop by DENR office (P100). Buy supplies
0800 Take motorcycle to Ardent Hot Springs (P30)
0830 ETA Ardent; arrange for a guide, start trek (guide = P250)
1200 ETA summit. Explore the area. Lunch.
1300 Start descent.
1530 Back at Ardent Hot Spring; take a dip at the spring (P20)
1700 Take motorcycle back to your hotel or lodging place in Camiguin.
SPECIAL CONCERNS
Officially, a permit is required from the DENR office to climb Hibok-Hibok. There is however no inspection for a permit at Ardent. Normally, they would only allow climbers to trek before 0800; they would say it is too late beyond that. However, a fast pace can manage a daytrip even as late as 1030. Wear sun protection because sun cover is really minimal throughout the trails. If you came late, it might be better to just stay in Ardent. There are private rooms and dormitory bedspaces there, for as low as P250-300 / night. The food is excellent too.
TRIVIA
Hibok-Hibok is also known as Catarman Volcano. Aside from Ardent, there are four other hot springs at the foot of the mountain.
RELATED POSTS
Camiguin, island born of fire
White Island and more of Camiguin
WEATHER OUTLOOK: MAMBAJAO, CAMIGUIN
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Mt. Hibok-Hibok (1,332+)
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42 comments:
i got an info regarding the registration fee that is now Php 350 from the Php 100 u listed, and the guide fee of Php 1,250 GOOD FOR ONLY 3 PERSONS!!! what an increase!!!
and thats the fee not just for foreigners but for filipinos as well....
wow! this is a giant leap! to think that i just climbed hibok-hibok 6 months ago. thanks for the update. i guess it would be better to just look for local guides beyond ardent hot spring (i climbed alone, paying P400 and a flashlight for two guides). it would be interesting to know who is issuing this registration fee - DENR, the barangay, or the town? thanks for this valuable update!
Good day! Im Cesar Dave Acenas of Ayala Land-CDO. Together w/ my friends, former mt. climbers in the 90's has just returned to the old hobby of mt. climbing (again!). We're planning to climb Mt. Hibokhibok by February 22 - 24/08. Do you have any updates reg Mt.Hibok? We are now in our mid-40s but very physically active. Thanks!
hello dave, as far as i know mt. hibok-hibok is still okay, and very much recommended, for climbing. 4-5 hours should be more than enough time to reach the summit, and 3-4 hours going down. the trail is quite steep b
permit from denr office is mambajao is still required but there are varying accounts on how strictly this is enforced. i know of a group that will climb on feb. 18/19, 2008 -- i can let you know updates from them. have a nice climb!
We climbed Mt. Hibok-Hibok on the occasion of Camiguin's Lanzones Festival last October 17, 2002 using the entry point in barangay Tagdo, Mambajao. My companion, SFO4 Bernardo "Boy" del Mar of the Bureau of Fire Protection-Cebu City, did a night trek (mas maganda talaga night trek kc less ang pagod, hindi kc mainit plus mas challenging yung minsan nangangapa ka hee hee...mga 830pm yon). As soon as the sun was up, we were halfway through with the course. Naantala kami kc we helped in the "rescue" of two Japanese women. Nagkaroon ng foot injury yong isa kaya hirap maglakad. The road to the summit of one of the country's active volcanoes placed at approximately 4,200 feet is a challenge even to professional climbers. The trail entails skillful maneuvers in loose rocks and boulders. Big on charm with all of its jagged peaks that loom from afar and a romantic vista of both the lovely Bohol sea and azure Mindanao waters, it would be very hard to imagine that we were traversing on ground created by an avalanche of glowing rocks and molten lava reaching 8000degC in the early 50s burning down trees and houses, leaving behind charred remains of both people and animals. At almost 11am, my heart was pounding when I realized I was less than 200 meters from the summit. A red banner dangling from a pole sticking out of a cliffside became very visible. Up above towered serrated rocky ridges randomly splashed with ash gray, coal black, and verdant hues. No fees were collected from us that time, nagpaalam lang kami sa taga ardent na mag-pass by. Pumayag naman and they said na oki lang daw kahit walang guide kc may mga markers naman that time ang mga bato. Kc that activity was part of the festivity. In fact, it was dubbed "expedition". The stones/boulders were marked with red arrows...where can i post the entire story gideon? It's entitled "Higher education: The Mt. Hibok-Hibok expedition". Visit na lang siguro my site peepz sa pinaymangatkatay.multiply.com and www.pinaymangatkatay.blogspot.com. Mangatkatay is from the word "katkat" in Sugbuano which means "climb". Mangatkatay means climber. Thanks...
my beau and i are planning to climb mt. hibok hibok dis holyweek. i just want to ask if anybody here know the email address or telephone number of the Department of Tourism of Camiguin for us to inquire the cost of our climb(including the registration and guide fee).thanks.
my beau and i have just arrived from our holy week vacation in camiguin..just want to raise an issue here..in our IT, we are planning to climb mt. hibok-hibok. to our surprise, the guide fee 1,500 is not negotiable..ganyan na ba tlga kamahal umakyat sa bundok ngyun? to think na dlawa lng kami aakyat..so, tig 750 kami per head?..grabe nmn! at saka the DENR-Camiguin has no coordination..when i talked to one of the staff, ang sabi nya ay maglalagay sila ng tao sa ARDENT HOT SPRING which is the jump off point para sa registration..kasi it was holy week..we expect na no office that time..to our disapointment again..when we arrived at ARDENT wla silang nilagay na tao for registration..so, we have to call DENR again..ang sabi nmn ngyun sa amin ay punta nlng kami sa office nila to secure permit..ano ba nmn yan?!niloloko ata kami ng taga DENR-Camiguin eh!i talk to them kng pwede pa bang babaan ang guide fee kasi nung nag mt. apo climb kami, yung guide fee is 300 per day lng..ang sabi lng nila, yun na dw ang fix amount..so, yun we decided not to climb nlng..instead nag island tour nlng kami..
want to cite an issue here:
1. sana nmn next time..lalo kng ganyan na holyweek..yung departamento na responsible sa mga ganyang activities..try nyo nmn mkipag coordinate sa isat isa para nmn hindi magmukhang tanga yung pinaasa nyo na mga tao..
2. try nyo din babaan yung guide fee..hindi nmn lahat ng mountaineers ay mayayaman..mahal masyado ang 1,500..pano pala kng 3 or 4 lng kami? hindi nyo yan ma feel cguro kasi hindi kayo mountaineers..
gusto ko rin tong ipaabot sa lahat na ganito yung nangyayari..
P1,500 per day??? this is too much!
we will see what we can do about this. maybe we can forward to DENR. when i climbed hibok-hibok i just got two local guides and got them for P200 each!
1500??? my goodness..be carefull in contacting guides..dami kasing manloloko dyan sa camiguin...Find a local guide nalang...you can find Manong Hidalgo.In Barangay Yumbing...Wala lang akong contact number maybe if we can climb this friday i will post his contact number...wla pa kasing cellpone si manong when we climb last year.
Hi! I just got back from Camiguin with some friends. We climbed Mt. Hibok Hibok via Brgy. Yumbing. It's a relatively new trail. We just registered with the Brgy Chairman of the place. There was no charge. Porters and guides were at 500 each.
It took us 5 hours to get to the crater lake and an additional 45 minutes to reach the peak.
I highly recommend this trail because it passes through reforested areas and halfway through the trek, the forest cover is just amazing.You can visit our blog by the weekend to check out some pictures. socialclimbers79.blogspot.com
@king: the brgy. yumbing trail seems to be interesting...and at least their guide fees are reasonable. if you have pictures online id like to catch a glimpse of this trail!
thanks for sharing this info with is!
Hi! Sorry for the delay. I did not realize creating ablogcould take up so much time! Climbing Hibok hibok a second time would have been much easier.
You can now check out our blog socialclimbers79.blogspot.com for an account and pictures of our Hibok Hibok climb through Brgy. Yumbing.
If you wish to use some of the materials there, feel free to use them for your website.
More power to you.
hi king, thanks, i read ur very interesting post about your hibok-hibok climb. will certainly use it as a reference to update the hibok2x page to include this trail. many thanks and keep us updated in your future adventures!
gid
Hey guys, We just climb Mt.Hibok-hibok or H2...astig ung traverse nila..Via Yumbing Trail to Ardent...We are planning to come back and go for the Hibok-hibok to Timpoong Traverse..
"just to tell you guys, Medyo may kamahalan nga ung guide d2 1.5k ang fee nila and ung DENR nila walang coordination..."
akala ko walang mt hibok hibok at kay michael V ko lang narinig to...
hello everyone. me and my friends are planning to climb hibok-hibok this august. just wanna inquire ahead to avoid the rush. i have a couple of questions.
1. do anyone have the IT for brgy. yumbing-ardent traverse?
2. which is a better route? ardent-yumbing trek or yumbing-ardent traverse?
thanks a lot. :)
ayus itong site na to. very informative
keep it up!!
hi, can anyone here tell how much is the land area covered by mt. Ilihan located in guinsiliban, Camiguin? thank you...
Mt. Ilihan in guinsiliban maybe 1 hectar....i climb 3 time that mountain...fantastic view.
All are talking about climbing of Mt. Hibok -Hibok.In Camiguin, try to climb Mt.timpoong ..starting point Municipality of Sagay then Exit to Mambajao..but you must need guide,because you are crossing the island,be care of alimatok..
Planning to do a dayhike up Hibok2x on June 6. Sa Ardent mo nakuha ang guides sir? OUTRAGEOUS nman ung guideship fees! are these guides from Phivolcs and/or DENR? Hopefully local guides from Ardent don't cost as much, 2 lang kami aakyat eh.
Been there few days ago. They open a new trail, kami yung naka una sa trail na yun. mas maganda ang bagong trail, pero sabi nang guide namin baka isara nila pag kababa namin.
I had a traversed climb in Mt. Hibok-hibok last monday April 19, 2010... you can check the pictures at my facebook, alexestenor@yahoo.com
My IT
5:00am Yumbing Market
5:15am Start Trek
8:00am Crater
8:45am Highest point
8:55am Last viewdeck
9:05am Start descend
11:00am Ardent Spring, Brgy. Tagdo
Traverse Brgy. Yumbing - Brgy. Tagdo.
kung sino po gustong magclimb sa mt. hibok-hibok pls contact me @ 09104963820 or add me sa facebook stanlou563@hotmail.com ty
im planning to climb hibok2x dis year with my friends..do you have any contact number of the best local guide ?
Any updates regarding the guide fee issue?hehehe
We're planning of visiting Camiguin Island this year. I guess climbing Mt. Hibok-hibok will be a nice part of our itinerary. Please post some updates!joms
pwede walang guide?
hello i'll be climbing mt.hibok hibok on May 18-19 solo climb. since my friends / travel buddies will go white water rafting/ :( sniff sniff
to anyone who will be climbing H2, pls advise me wats the latest news on the rates of guide. we're planning to climb on mar1-6 on all the 7peaks of camiguin. thanks for the help.
any updates on yumbing jump-off point? what's the latest on guide fee rates? planning to visit this march. thanks!
will be solo climbing hibok hibok on May18-21 anyone wanna tag along? 9158205603
Hello everyone! I just have built a new jump off area at Catarman; Near Tuasan falls, Barangay Mainit. It is ideal for base camp to climb the mountains in Camiguin - Etheir a cross hike from catarman to mambajao, Mt. Hibok2, Mt. Timpoong and I have new peak to introduce, it's Mt Mambajao in the official map from DENR plus you can enjoy the natural habitat in Tuasan Falls. But the local name of the peak is Tan-awan (View Point in Eng.).. Like us on facebook - TUASAN. Add me in. TY
The BACKPACKERS were here as part of our Ultimate Northern Mindanao Adventure (Misamis-Camiguin-Bukidnon) =)
Although it rained during our ascent, priceless ang ganda ng crater ng Mt. Hibok Hibok!
http://thebackpackersadventures.blogspot.com/2011/09/mt-hibok-hibok.html
i and my husbandjust got back last night from hibok-hibok via yumbing-ardent routes...it was quite an adventure for us. those who are planning, i am recommending to you our tour guide, ronald rabile, who is from yumbing himself-and is a seasoned guide to H2 and other nearby mountains...very helpful and kind-hearted man.you can contact him at 09106593349 and can even make arrangements for your denr permit and accommodations, or anything you need at camiguin. he even rents his motorcyle for your island tour. just please mention that i (judy pazon) am recommending him to you.have nice climb and visit to the island.
Ms. Judy Pazon,,just want to know how much was your tour guide fee and other misc fee as you got there at H2.. we're planning to go there next week. thanks..thanks..
Ms. Judy Pazon,,just want to know how much was your tour guide fee and other misc fee as you got there at H2.. we're planning to go there next week. thanks..thanks..
sorry, mr/ms anonymous..read your post late. did you get to climb? were you able to contact ronald, my recommended guide?
It is really a tragic that a lady died today in batulao. Been there after Xmas as pre climb to Jan. 7-10 tabayoc/pulag via akiki trail/ambaguio routeI
Been to H2 yesterday ardent to ardent route after Feb 25-26 d2k traverse. 1,200 denr accredited guide fee. No time to traverse since going back to Manila at 0530 today. planning to return for a samar/yumbing traverse or vice versa. Sad to read that a lady died traversing peak 8 and 9 in Mt. Batulao today
Just finished climbing Hibok-Hibok on March 1 with Ronald, the guide recommended on this site. We took the Yumbing-Ardent route which, in retrospect, is the logical way to go as the 4-hr ascent is alleviated by the winding zigzag trail. The descent to Ardent seemed to take forever. Your knees take a pounding from the slippery boulders. There was a torrential downpour on the eve of our climb and I was about to cancel when the rain stopped and we were off at the ungodly hour of 0530. It started to drizzle midway on our ascent. Had lunch at the camping area near the crater lake. The cloud cover over the summit never dissipated so we were deprived of the panoramic view. It actually got really windy and cold. All in all not an easy climb but well worth the suffering (and the nicks, bruises, cuts and scratches). I second Gideon's recommended guide (Ronald) as he's a knowledgeable and excellent guide.
On a last note, I paid P1,500 to Ronald and P200 to DENR (which Ronald took care of). I bargained him down to 1200 but decided to pay 1500 anyway because I was happy with his guiding service.
im a mountaineer from camiguin.ito po ang new rates sa DENR permit 200/pax..sa guide fee naman 1,500 ang standard rate pero pde naman mgkatawaran depende na rin kung ilang kau at ilang days..kung gusto nyo mgpatulong sa H2 o kaya sa camiguin tours may mererecomend ako sa inyo..we have cheaper accommodation and transpo for your island tour..feel free to contact me @ 09158126386/09104963820 ty
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