Definitely Cebu #3: Mt. Lanaya via Legaspi Trail - Algeria's Coast to Base Camp

How are you? If you're reading this, I hope you're doing fine. I am and always will be grateful for your support to my two series: Kim's Quest and Definitely Cebu. Here's another entry for my relatively new series Definitely Cebu. It will be about a famous mountain in the south of Cebu.

Before I'll go to the main part, let me share the first two entries of this series. You can read them here if you have time:

I would really appreciate it if you let me know you read my posts by leaving a comment. You can tell me what you like or don't like about my posts.

This post will be about our trek to Mt. Lanaya via Legaspi Trail which is said to be one of the most difficult trekking sites in Cebu. I decided to split it into two parts. The first part will be from Alegria's Coast to Mt. Lanaya Base Camp. The second part will be about the assault to the peak of Mt. Lanaya.

From Cebu City, you can ride a bus to Alegria at Cebu City South Bus Terminal via Bato-Barili route at around Php 210.00. Some would choose to start the trek in the afternoon to have an overnight camp at the base camp and then continue with the assault early in the morning the next day. Others would prefer a day trek since it's really possible, but the heat of the sun could be unbearable. We chose the later so we leave at South Bus at dawn. Travel time to Alegria would be about 4 hours.

We arrived in Alegria at around 7:30 AM and had breakfast at the town proper. We bought some supplies and snacks and then rode a motorcycle to Barangay Legaspi. We asked for a guide and paid some fees before starting the trek. While Vanessa was processing the fees, I got out from the multipurpose hall and took photos at the coast.

It was one sunny morning and you know you're on the countryside when cars are not frequent even in a national highway. The sea, the sky, the mountains, and the empty street embued a sense of serenity that could not be found anywhere in the city.

One thing that's noticeable in Alegria or in any town down south of Cebu is its drastic change in landscape. There's no gradual change in elevation and there's almost no flat ground. It's almost mountain immediately after the sea.

While I was there, I can't help but imagine how slow and peaceful life would be if I wake up every morning with that kind of scenery. Memories of my childhood in the province flooded on me. I wished I could back there for good, but times have changed. So much with the sentimental moment, I head back to the multipurpose hall to prepare for the trek.

Guide fee is Php 500.00 for groups of 5, but Php 150.00 each if you're less than 4 in a group. Environmental fee is Php 50.00 per person. The plan was to traverse Mt. Lanaya via Legaspi Trail then exit via Lumpan Trail. After some arrangements to have a motorcycle to fetch us at Alegria gas field, we head on to start the trek at 8:30 AM.

I think one of the reasons why mountaineers often say that Legaspi Trail is one of the most difficult trekking trails in Cebu is because the trek started at the national highway. At first it will follow a small paved path where motorcycles often pass. Shade and cover is provided by coconut trees and banana leaves.

There are some patches in the paved road that crosses a forested area, but majority are under the coconut trees and cogon grass are abundant along the road.

A few moments later, our guide told us that we were already in the starting point of the trek. We were shocked to know that we were already slightly exhausted from walking that paved road and yet we haven't officially started the trek.

He then explained that the official starting point is when you veered off from the paved road. The trail is along the grassland and sometimes under coconut trees.

The sun was already blistering at 9:00 AM. We were prepared though as we brought umbrella with us. The ascent was slow because we still have enough time, but we didn't have stops to rest. It was a continuous trek until Mt. Lanaya became visible to us.

We passed by a few houses along the trail. Tañon Strait was very calm below. No visible waves can be seen as it was a sunny morning, but Negros Island was not visible. The trail is generally characterized as open grassland with sporadic trees.

You will know you're near the base camp when you're at the foot of Mt. Lanaya already. As shown in the photos above, we need to scale that massive mountain range.

After 1 hour and 30 minutes, we reached the base camp at around 10:00 AM. The base camp is often called "Windows XP" by the mountaineers because of its slight resemblance to the famous wallpaper of Windows XP.

We rested for a bit under the tree and then have some photoshoot for social media. You know, the classic activities.

I guess that's all for this post. I hope you'll like it. If you do, leave a comment down below and show some love. Next post under this series will be the second part of our Mt. Lanaya trek. Stay tuned, folks!

Kim Ybañez

_{Welcome to Kim's small corner in the Steem blockchain. He is a chemical engineer by profession, but a blogger by passion. He is a wanderlust and an adventure seeker. Join his quests as he visits secluded destinations, climbs mountains, tries new and exotic dishes, and explores his country (The Philippines) and the rest of the world even if he's still a poor corporate slave with tons of bills to pay and two siblings to support in college.}