Mount Banahaw
A Holy Mountain To Dozens Of Folk Religious Sects And The Summit Has Been Closed To Climbers Since 2004 Because The Pilgrims Wrecked It · Dolores, Quezon
BANAHAW IS A HOLY MOUNTAIN, NOT A HIKE. DOZENS OF FOLK-RELIGIOUS SECTS - SOME CATHOLIC, SOME NOT, SOME NEITHER - HOLD IT SACRED, AND ITS SLOPES ARE COVERED IN PUESTOS: springs, caves, boulders and stream pools that are named, venerated and visited in a particular order. AT HOLY WEEK TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PILGRIMS COME, walking the puestos, bathing in the streams and keeping vigil. AND THAT IS EXACTLY WHY THE SUMMIT HAS BEEN CLOSED TO CLIMBERS SINCE 2004: the trails were destroyed, the springs were fouled and the rubbish was measured in tonnes, so the DENR shut the upper mountain for rehabilitation and has extended the closure repeatedly. THE LOWER PUESTOS REMAIN OPEN AND ARE WHAT MOST VISITORS SEE. Check the current status before travelling, because it changes and the internet is full of accounts written before it closed. Register at the barangay, take a local guide, and treat every puesto as somebody's shrine.
Mount Banahaw, Dolores, Quezon, Dolores, Quezon, Philippines
BANAHAW IS REACHED FROM DOLORES OR SANTA LUCIA IN QUEZON, roughly THREE TO FOUR HOURS FROM MANILA, with LUCBAN and SAN PABLO the nearest towns of any size. THE SUMMIT HAS BEEN CLOSED TO CLIMBERS SINCE 2004 for rehabilitation and the closure has been extended repeatedly - CHECK THE CURRENT DENR STATUS BEFORE TRAVELLING rather than trusting an older account. THE LOWER PUESTOS ARE OPEN: springs, caves and stream pools reached on foot from the villages, with local guides available and REGISTRATION REQUIRED at the barangay. HOLY WEEK IS THE PEAK PILGRIMAGE and tens of thousands come; it is a religious observance, not a spectacle. PATHS ARE STEEP, WET AND SLIPPERY. The wet season runs roughly June to November and the streams rise fast.