Road to Cambulo

Jump Off at Kinakin

Jump Off at Kinakin [K800i]

It’s been quite a while since I’ve been out on the road. So when a fellow climber and one of the officers of MFPI Ms Ruby, invited me to join an Akyat-Aklat Outreach Project by Batch 19 of of MFPI’s individual members, I jumped at the opportunity and hey it would be a great start for the year to do an outreach. Last outreach I’ve done was way back in 2001. So off we go to Cambulo, Ifugao.

Trail to Cambulo

Trail to Cambulo [E500]

“Where’s Cambulo?” I asked. I soon learned it’s around the Banaue area, in fact it’s near Batad. It made me more excited to know that we’re passing by Batad on our way back to Banaue from Cambulo. There is little written on Cambulo though. All I know is what the organizers told me that it’s one of the remote places in the Ifugao region. Very few go there since there are no paved roads. It was also the first time a fellow Filipino would have such a project in the area. Usually only a few number of foreign missionaries do some charity work there.

Falls on the Trail

Falls on the Trail[E500]

And so it was, Friday night, we rode the Autobus going to Banaue. I inflated my travel pillow and covered myself up with my malong to keep those blinding lights from keeping me to sleep since I was in the front seat. It also keeps me warm inside this refrigerator of a bus. By 6:30am the next day, thick clouds, cold wind and drizzle welcomed us in the Autobus Banaue terminal. I guess it’s gonna be a rainy trek today.

View of Cambulo from afar beside the mighty river

View of Cambulo from afar beside the mighty river[E500]

We had breakfast and got supplies and packed lunch and other stuff that we needed before we headed to our jump off point in Kinakin, which is 30 minutes away from the town proper. There we were organized in groups. The group is quite big in number since the participants are composed of several outdoor groups as well. I must give credit here to Ms Nini, of group 19 and Alapaap Mountaineers who organized this and I think handled this 40+ people quite well. And hey she’s an Art Director as well!

Another Falls

Another Falls[E500]

With the continues rain, the trail was really muddy which did slow us down a bit. The hike from Kinakin to Cambulo takes about 4 hours at regular pace they say. But with some of the climbers who linger too long for their own convenience made it longer than that. The first half of the trail, which is a bulldozed open soil road isn’t that impressive as say, the walk from Batad-Bangaan. But the later half, where the trail narrowed down to one person only by the side of the mountains, made up for it. The mountain views were spectacular and there were numerous falls on the trail, I think I counted more than 5 with several impressive ones.

Descending into the village

Descending into the village[K800i]

On the last hour of the trail you’ll catch sight of Cambulo village which nestles in the midst the grand terraces beside the powerful river which also gives supplies the majestic downpour of Tappia falls in Batad. With the mist brought by the rain, it was a phantasmagoric picture. We moved further on downwards into the village.

Tags: Banaue, Cambulo, Climb, Kinakin, Projects, Transit, Waterfalls

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Dylan Gozum Says:
January 17th, 2007 at 11:01 pm

I have to commend you on the use of phantasmagoric. How many people these days can pull that off with aplomb?

Delightful photos, moving story. I wish there were photos of the school children!

iskoo Says:
January 17th, 2007 at 11:49 pm

gaganda ng mga falls, siguradong malamig yung tubig diba? naalala ko bigla noong nag halcon kami na halos 50 ang kasabay namin tapos umulan din, parang inararo yung trail, naging 2x yung actual na oras na naubus namin vs plan sana makapunta din ako dyan.

Anie Says:
January 18th, 2007 at 12:13 am

I have a heart in outreach projects and missionary works. Aside from visiting different places, the thought of helping is just priceless.

Photo Cache Says:
January 18th, 2007 at 1:07 am

i have always dreamed of seeing this in person, breathing the air, and just standing still looking up and thanking the great one for this. you are soooo lucky. this is paradise.

Misyel Says:
January 18th, 2007 at 5:17 am

wow! what a great outreach project, i wish i’ll experience it too. Super ganda ng place na yan, nice shots ferdz

bw Says:
January 18th, 2007 at 6:34 am

Great pics … 4 hours hiking is one heck of a workout. The last shot is amazing

tina Says:
January 18th, 2007 at 7:22 am

Photgraphers are great adventurers. -_- hihi. What a nice place to visit.. although yeah it would be really an adventure because tehre would be no paved roads.. then thats where the adventure starts. Nice falls.. ahihi

lagal[og] Says:
January 18th, 2007 at 11:50 am

heard about the trip ferdz kasi ka-fed yung organizers, sayang me corregidor trip kasi. hindi pa rin tayo nagaabot sa climb ah! di bale, next time.

niceheart Says:
January 18th, 2007 at 1:39 pm

Lovely views. I like the pictures of the falls.

Sidney Says:
January 18th, 2007 at 2:19 pm

Looks exciting ! I look forward to see & read the next chapter of your adventures!

nikoy Says:
January 18th, 2007 at 4:38 pm

wow! falls! weakness namin yan! sana maka gimik ang ukaya dyan!

salamat pala sa pag visit ha. tungkol dun sa boobs, hindi rin namin alam kung ano ginagawa nila sa boobs na tinatapyas nila. pero dapat makacollect sila ng certain number ng tinapyas na boobs. tapos pag naabot na ang quota, lalagyan daw sila ng tatoo. cool nga ng tatoo kasi sex organ ng babae daw ang itatatoo sa kanila.hehe. weird no.

inform mo lang kami kung madaan ka ng davao, ipapasyal ka namin.

by the way, ang cool ng blog mo. ang galing ng pictures!

nikoy Says:
January 18th, 2007 at 4:55 pm

hi! eratum po. wrong spelling tattoo ko. sorry.hehe

manilenya Says:
January 18th, 2007 at 6:26 pm

gusto ko ring makasama sa mga outreach program, the last time yata na nagawa ko yan e noong kasagsagan pa ng mt pinatubo

at syempre gusto ko ring makasilay ng mga ganyang magagandang tanawin na may dalang camera

sayote queen Says:
January 18th, 2007 at 7:07 pm

beautiful shots! i love ‘em! at saka gustong gusto ko rin ang mga outreach project. sana next time, isama mo kami

Toe Says:
January 18th, 2007 at 7:29 pm

Thank you for sharing this Ferdz! It’s nice to see places in the Philippines few of us have been to. Yes, Cambulo… I’ve never heard of it before… but your shots are beautiful! More adventures to you!