Mt. Cristobal is one of the famous mountains in Luzon because of the the countless stories, rumors and legends about "ghost" and other extra terrestrial events. As a result, the title "devil's mountain" was given to this pride of Quezon. Aside from those, Cristobal also hides an amazing terrains, surrounded with a dense forest areas. There are mosses, ferns and orchids hanging on the branches, a proof that this wildlife sanctuary is still preserved. Also, the ambiance and weather is cool because its stands 1,470 MASL.
THE TRAILS: From the jump off, there's a long ascending concrete road up to the Montelibano House. Due to its steepness, hikers need to walk on the concrete road as most of the vehicles can't penetrate the area. On the road, there are amazing views such as the beautiful sun flowers, shrubs, bananas, trees, coconuts and many other. The wind is cool and fresh which makes the ambiance in the village amazingly relaxing.
The Dolores trail starts from the Montelibano house; the trail is ascending, covered with trees and grasses on the sides. Cristobal has clear and well-established trail but has fork trails with markers. There are woods lying across the trail, so hikers need to hop on/off, bend, and slide. The trail of Mt. Cristobal also has cliff hanging and assault.
THE CRATER: According to my research, Mt. Cristobal is a dormant volcano and it has a wide lake on top – that is true! This lake is surrounded by huge trees and covered with grass. If the weather isn't good, the lake is covered with fog and the water is getting higher.
THE CAMPSITE AND THE SUMMIT: The image above was taken at the Bulwagan Saddle Camp. It is a long and clean area surrounded by trees, shrubs, and grass. Mosses and ferns hanging are everywhere. There are a lot of horror stories happened in this area. On the other hand, the summit is a 15 minutes walk from the camp site. It is a small open area, surrounded by sugar cane like grasses. Hikers need to walk passing through the huge grass. It’s very seldom that this area will have clearing because it is always covered with fog and the wind is strong and cold.
SIDE TRIP IN TAYAK HILL OR KINABUHAYAN RIVER: I already hike Mt. Cristobal twice, the first was a back trail and second was a traverse to Tayak Hill. During back trail, our side trip was at Kinabuhayan River in Brgy. Kinabuhayan. This river is said to be holy, so there are groups who are worshiping inside the caves, Sta. Lucia falls and other parts. The Tayak Hill is interesting because of its relaxing aura. The wind is cool and fresh.
HOW TO GET HERE: On EDSA Ortigas, we rode in a bus bound for San Pablo and alighted by the stop light, near 7-11. Then, we chartered a jeepney to the jump off. REMINDER: hiking this mountain is physically demanding, especially a traverse during wet season. Proper footware and outfit are recommended.