Ambaguio (Lusod) Trail

Dogs Unknown

Features Birding · Commonly Backpacked · River/Creek · Views

You'll need to pay for a small fee for entry.

Also be prepared for the Limatik leeches. They don't carry any diseases, but they will ask for blood donations. 'To-go' salt and pepper packs can be helpful to deal with them. Use the salt to detach the leech and then the pepper to counteract their anti-coagulant so that you don't keep bleeding.

Starting from Balete Village, you soon cross the semi-dilapidated Masahiko Ishihara Bridge over a river. The trail passes through carrot and cabbage farmlands, meeting farmers and encountering cows and carabaos.

Beyond the farmland begins the ascent into the eastern portion of Mount Pulag's forest. Negotiating two landslides, runners reach a house in the forest, taking a break and refilling water. The continuous ascent reveals moss-covered trees.

The nonstop ascent leads to a 'crossing' junction in the middle of the forest, marked by a well-defined trail sign. After two junctions, the run becomes easier, reaching an open area with a ravine providing views of nearby mountain ranges.

A grassy ridge connects the forested mountain to the next level. Reaching the entrance of the next forest, runners pause to enjoy the view. The journey inside the forest leads to a waiting shed at 2,310 meters above sea level.

Continuing, the trail gradually ascends until reaching the second waiting shed at around 2,450+ . The run offers glimpses of the grasslands of Mount Pulag.

From here, to reach the summit you take Ambangeg Trail and retrace that trail back down.

Fauna include Philippine Deer, Cloud Rats, Philippine Pygmy Fruit Bat, Philippine Tarsier, and the Himalayan Striped Squirrel.
The flora includes Benguet Pine (Pinus kesiya), Dwarf Bamboo (Yushania niitakayamensis), Rhododendrons, Pitcher Plants (Nepenthes) and Edelweiss (Anaphalis philippinensis).