Ever fancied going on a hiking trip but always felt that you just weren’t fit enough? Well, you’re in luck, because Mt. Pinatubo is just a ~2 hours drive away from the metro. You know what’s even better – at a cost of PHP 2,100 (or slightly more / less depending on the number of people in your tour group), then you can have a relatively hassle-free trip all around via Tripinas! (And no, this isn’t a plug. In fact, I find the cost quite expensive given what’s actually included, but we all have to support local tourism in our own way!)

Anyway, enough prattling! Let’s start shall we?

Table of Contents

• Frequently asked questions
  • What’s the itinerary for a Mt. Pinatubo tour?
  • When’s the best time to go to Mt. Pinatubo?
  • How fit do you have to be to be able to take part in this tour?
  • What do you have to bring for the tour?
• What should you expect when you go Mt. Pinatubo?
• Is joining a Tripinas tour worth it?

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the itinerary for a Mt. Pinatubo tour?

Note that the itinerary I’m sharing below is based on Tripinas. My understanding is most tours would follow the same itinerary though, and you could potentially use it as a guide also in case you want to embark on a DIY tour 🙂

NOTE: The total distance from the base camp to the Mt. Pinatubo crater lake is ~25km. Depending on the season, the 4×4 can either travel ~18-22 km; and you’ll have to trek the rest of the distance. What determines how far the 4×4 can travel? Essentially how near or far you are from the wet rainy season – which leads us to the next question

When’s the best time to go on a Mt. Pinatubo tour?

Well, it depends what you’re aiming for. Do you want to spend more time riding the 4×4? Or do you want to spend more time trekking? Regardless of your preference, my table should be able to help you make a more informed choice. You’ll notice there’s no July to October months – this is because Mt. Pinatubo tours don’t run during these months as the crater can quickly overflow during the rainy season, which can result to death for unsuspecting tourists like you and me

How fit do you have to be to take part in this tour?

Well, there are two main activities that occur during the Mt. Pinatubo tour – the 4×4 ride itself and the actual physical trek. Let me start by saying that you don’t technically have to be fit. In fact, my family is probably the least fit people ever and WE managed to do it within a reasonable amount of time (although usually around ~20% longer than what our tour guide said would be the average time LOL), so it’s definitely doable

Having said that, there are strict guidelines for the following

• For those above the age of 40: They’ll test your blood pressure level and your sistolic (the one above) needs to be below 150
• For those aged 60 and above: You need to provide a medical certificate from a doctor as proof that you’re “physically fit” to trek

Still, even if you pass the two guidelines above – I do have a couple of precautions for aspiring trekkers:

4×4 ride

The 4×4 ride is EXTREMELY bumpy. It’s CRAZY. Note that the dispatch of the 4×4 vehicles are based on a queue, which is government managed. This means you can’t actually choose your vehicle so you could be stuck with an very old, open air vehicle which means it’ll be VERY hot and VERY dusty. Likewise, the vehicle itself doesn’t have any seatbelts and hand rails for you to hold on to

Implication for you – there are several:

• Suffering from neck problems / lower back problems / motion sickness? Sit beside the driver. It’s the most stable place. If that seat’s taken, then get the seat behind the driver, as that would be the 2nd most stable seat
• Drink your motion sickness ahead of time, and eat a light breakfast (to prevent any vomiting during the actual ride itself)
• Definitely lather up on the sunscreen and wear a light jacket (long sleeves) + cap. This will help prevent sunburn, especially if your vehicle is open-air
• Cover your face with a face mask and cover your hair (with a hoodie/bandana/etc). Why? Well, first off, the jeep reeks of gasoline so you really don’t want to breathe in those fumes. But more importantly, as you go through the Mt. Pinatubo trek, there’s loads of lahar (volcanic ash) that will coat your lungs AND settle into your hair (which could take ~2-3 showers before the gunk is washed away) – so using a face mask and hoodie will save you loads of pain in the long run
• Be prepared for a sore bum. The ride is ridiculously bumpy… but if you’ve ever gone sand duning on a 4×4, it’s a pretty similar experience actually – just a lot more stop and go motion

Mt. Pinatubo trek

As we start the trek early (~7:30am), the sun won’t be as hot yet; but it does get pretty hot on the trek back. Hot sun aside, the path itself is pretty straightforward (flat-ish terrain with lots of pebbles/lahar), with only the last 20 minutes being slightly steep rocky areas. Unfortunately, there are also areas where you’d have to cross through shallow streams of water which could wet your feet… Definitely not comfortable!

Implications for you – again, there are several:

• Obviously, I assume you’ve slathered on sun screen to protect your skin from the sun. If you have long hair, make sure to have a hair tie also, as having hair swishing around and sticking to your skin as you sweat is soo discomfiting
• Wear footwear that has a good grip and can get wet. This means – don’t wear fitflops, as they can be swept away in the running currents; but you probably don’t want to wear rubber shoes as they can get wet. In my case, I wore Crocs-equivalent footwear which dries up quickly when it gets wet, but still has pretty good grip for hiking
• Don’t bring a lot of unnecessary stuff as you’ll have to carry it over the last few ~3-7km. Having said that, for your reference: I pretty much consumed 2 liters of water (but I’m a crazy water guzzler), plus a heavy lunch consisting of 2 sandwiches, 2 boiled egg, a biko and lots of kutsinta! Yuuum! You may also want to bring an extra change of clothes, as well as a towel

What’s the proper attire for the tour?

1. Dry fit top: This way, your sweat can quickly evaporate which would prevent pneumonia 😉
2. Leggings: Your legs are protected from the sun, the bugs, and everything in between. But unlike jeans, leggings dry quickly
3. Sandals with good grip and can get wet: For river crossings and mountain trekking alike
4. Sunscreen/cap/hat + light jacket with hoodie + sunglasses: Essentially, anything and everything that will protect you from the sun’s unforgiving rays
5. Hair tie for people with long hair!
6. Face mask to protect your face from the dust and lahar particles

What do you have to bring for the tour?

1. Cash, which is really a no brainer… For our Tripinas tour, we paid them a lump sum of PHP 2,100 (split into an initial downpayment, and in cash, when they picked us up from the house). This covered the van to and from base camp, the 4×4 ride, and the trek guide
2. Rain gear / light poncho (in lieu of a jacket): This way you’re protected from light rain showers. If you don’t have these, then I suppose you can bring an umbrella but it’s a bit of a hassle to lug around…
3. Mosquito spray: There are bugs and flies!! Beware!
4. Water (at least 1.5 Liters): There are NO water stations along the way, and the water bottles sold at the crater lake are exorbitant! You’re better off bringing your own water
5. Packed lunch: I do wish the Tripinas package included lunch and water. Honestly, how much would adding in two sandwiches + bottle of water cost to them? For lazy bums like me, I like not having to prepare anything beforehand haha
6. Beach mat or big piece of cloth which you can use for picnicking at the crater lake area. Note that there are limited tables only, so best to be prepared
7. Tissue: There are three bathroom stops available throughout the trip – one at base camp (costs PHP 10), one around 1km from the crater lake, then another 1 at the crater lake itself. While all have running water, they don’t really provide toilet paper, so best to bring your own!
8. Lots of PHP 10 coins so that you can make use of the toilet at the base camp HAHA! We didn’t have any small coins and they didn’t have any change, so we had to go to the toilet in GROUPS! Bah, painful
9. Personal first aid kit: While the trek isn’t hard per se, there is still possibility of injury. My sister ended up with some scrapes on her foot and legs due to the rocky terrain. So I suggest you bring alcohol (to treat wounds) and bandaids with you
10. Camera: What’s the point of all this hard work if you can’t capture it and post on Instagram? Just kidding, but I’m also serious tbh
11. National ID or Passport: In case military personnel requests for an ID as you enter the base camp (apparently, it’s military owned!)

What should you expect when you go Mt. Pinatubo?

To get a clearer idea of what to expect, let me narrate our journey 😉 Feel free to skip this if you don’t want to spoil what to expect / just skim through the photos (of which there are lots)

03:00 Pick up from our house by Tripinas driver and guide

The van can hold 14 people in total (while the ATV can hold 5 people), so I assume if your group has 14 people, you’ll get the best possible price. Having said that, our group had 13 people and it cost us PHP 2,100 each

Note that BEFORE you can ride the van, they expect you to pay up first and provide you an orientation of what to expect from the hike (essentially a brief version of what I’ve shared above)

Once that’s done, hop into the van and tuck in for a nice sleep (~2+ hours travel time depending on traffic conditions). To be fair, the van is actually quite nice and comfortable (except for those unlucky enough to be sitting on the side seat which don’t have a head rest…

05:00 Arrive at base camp

So, I never realized that the Mt. Pinatubo area is actually situated within a military camp where the US Armies come annually for trainings. So, when you arrive, they’ll stop your van, check the contents and potentially ask for your IDs as proof of your identities. Honestly, I’m not sure HOW they plan to check and confirm if our IDs are real, but okaaaay

Anyway, we arrived ridiculously early because apparently the tourism center (where we get waivers, have our blood pressure checked, and get assigned ATVs) ONLY OPEN AT 6AM. The eff, we totally could’ve left the house at 4AM instead of 3AM. Such a shame, I would’ve liked an additional hour of sleep…

Anyway, while waiting, we used the bathroom (pay PHP 10 for each usage), placed sunscreen on our faces, and sprayed mosquito repellants all over our bodies… 

To pass away the time, I also read some fun facts about Mt. Pinatubo. The facts weren’t so fun though as I can’t remember it anymore. Here’s a photo instead in case you’re keen to read up on your own!

06:00 Sign waivers and get the all-clear for ATVs

Awesome, so now that the tourism center is finally open – we quickly signed the waivers and those over 40 were subjected to a blood pressure test. Thankfully, they all passed (although there were a couple of near misses…), and we were off to our respective ATVs! We had 3 ATVs in total for our group (5-4-4 seating arrangement). Each ATV came equipped with a driver and a guide

06:15 ATV ride begins

The beginning is pretty smooth – like a car ride along EDSA (with the bumps and cracks you wouldn’t expect in a national highway, but do because it’s the Philippines zzz). Along the way, my dad grills our guide and he shares some interesting trivia. For example: the cement croppings we see are actually the 3rd floor of buildings that have been completely covered by lahar! CRAZY.

Here’s a photo of us looking like our gangsta selves as we covered our nose and mouth to protect it from the lahar + caps and hoodie to protect our hair from the sticky sticky lahar! LOL – we look SO creepy…

While the attire’s not super comfortable, I really enjoyed the beautiful views and landscapes. It’s astonishing to realize how all these lahar killed so many people and wiped out billions of pesos worth of infrastructure. Today, as someone who’s far removed from the situation, I just find it super pretty…

07:00 Photo stop – or a chance to change tires for our ATV

So I’m not sure if this is part of the normal agenda, but our ATV ended up with a flat tire so we had to change it in the middle of the ride. Our guide told us to take this opportunity to take photos of ourselves, the terrain and the ATVs – so we did!

07:30 Arrival at the Zambales 5km marker

As we were hiking in the month of May (when the rainy season had started – with rain showers expected every day at noon), the ATVs could only bring us ~20 km into the trek, so we had to trek the remaining 5km. Therefore, the ATVs parked here – we took some photos as proof of when we started the trek

The trek itself isn’t difficult. The only part I dislike are the times when we have to cross moving water. While some have stones for you to step on so your feet (and shoes) won’t get wet, there are certain areas where it’s nigh impossible to keep your feet dry. I still tried though – by taking a running leap across to get to the next embankment. Not recommended (my cousin almost fell into the river…)

08:00 First guest house

We’re 2km in, with 3km to go! Proof? We’ve finally reached the first guest house. While we still have the energy, we decide to keep going. Go go go!

08:15 Second guest house

Woohoo! A wild second guest house appears – you’re now more than halfway to the crater. Awesome, I’m feeling pretty peaky at this point with the hot sun shining down on us, but we must shoulder on (also because this guest house doesn’t really have a roof so no point stopping because you’ll just be basking under the HOT SWELTERING SUN.

08:37 FINAL guest house – with bathroom

At this point, you’re ~15-30 mins away from the top (1km left to go!!) Hearing this, our group decides to take a nice break so we brought out our sandwiches and munched away. Best of all, there’s also a bathroom at this stop with running water! The bathroom’s pretty clean so would highly recommend you make use of it

After a 10mins break, we’re rejuvenated and ready to go! We see this sign which states the expected time to get to the top based on your age: Young age: 15 minutes; Middle age: 18 minutes; Senior citizen: 20 minutes. Well, I don’t know which group we fall under as it took our group ~30 minutes (and I thought we were going at a pretty good pace! Slow and steady with no photo breaks). I guess we can be called Super Senior citizens haha!

09:15 WE MADE IT TO THE TOP – PHOTO TAKING TIME

FINALLY, we made it! First thing you’ll see? These bright yellow bathrooms – woohoo!

So… was the view from the top worth the 3AM call time, the bumpy ATV ride, and the ~2hrs hike? Well, that will depend on your perspective. For me, the view itself is stunning of course – although I’ve seen equally pretty sights elsewhere. But, what I really appreciated was the ability to say “I FINALLY DID IT.” Whenever I travel, I always make sure to hike up a mountain in whichever country I end up in. I think it’s quite sad then that I can’t say the same for the Philippines. So today, I’m glad to announce that I finally managed to summit Mt. Pinatubo!

Anyway, introspection of appreciating your home country aside, here are some beautiful photos of the crater 🙂

09:45 BREAKFAST
After 30mins of non-stop picture taking, we finally finished and could now proceed to the most important meal of the day – breakfast! Thankfully, there were seats and tables at the top (although they’re quite limited, so you may want to bring your own picnic blankets as well). We sat down and tucked into a veritable feast! The sandwiches, boiled egg, kutsinta, and biko never tasted so good! YUUUM!

10:30 TIME TO HEAD BACK DOWN

Finally, after a hearty breakfast, resting a bit (my cousins SLEPT on a hard ground….), and a final bathroom break – it was time to head back down.

I was hoping the way down would be faster… Alas, it pretty much took us the same amount of time and we arrived 1PM back at base camp. From there, it was another 2 hours to get back home (hello traffic!) – making this an end-to-end 12 hours day trip for the books!

Is joining a Tripinas tour worth it?

So I was really considering doing a DIY Mt. Pinatubo tour. What would this entail? Essentially, we’d bring our own car to the base camp – and then just hire our own guide and ATV there. I hear it’s a pretty straightforward affair. Having said that, we ended up joining a Tripinas tour because of the following reasons:

1. If we brought our own car, that means our dirty selves (unwashed, sweaty, and really muddy/dusty selves from all the trekking) would be dirtying the car on the way back home. This would necessitate a FULL car wash once we get back. Plus, I’m not sure who would be willing to volunteer their car…
2. We’d need a poor driver to drive us to the base camp at 3AM. If the poor driver was one of us (pls don’t be me), then that person would ALSO have to drive us back after >6 hours of crazy ATV and trekking. Not a joyful proposition for anyone
3. None of us had ever done Mt. Pinatubo before so we weren’t sure what to expect. We didn’t want to get there only to realize it was closed, or there are no available ATVs etc etc. It just seemed like a lot of stress

Overall, at a cost of PHP 2,100 – I’d say joining a Tripinas tour was worth it. Here’s a photo of us – sweaty but VICTORIOUS (+ the Team Tripinas logo behind us LOL)

If you’re interested to do the same, it’s a pretty straightforward process, you simply have to email them at tripinas@gmail.com. They’re actually pretty responsive and will then walk you through what to expect, things to bring, and of course, where to deposit the downpayment (they ask you to pay an initial amount upfront, you then pay the remaining balance when they pick you up)

For their other tours, you can check out their website. It doesn’t seem to be updated often though, so I probably wouldn’t trust the dates and prices indicated there. Best to email them (tripinas@gmail.com) or just call them up directly to inquire (+632 477-7446 or +63 917 903 7672)

If you’re looking for more Manila day trip ideas, check out my other related blog posts:

• Day trip from Manila: Masungi Georeserve and Pililia Wind Farm
• Day trip from Manila: SMV Mango Farm Resort review
• Day trip from Manila: Aqua Planet Review (To follow)
• Manila Chinatown Food Trip