Heading to Osmeña Peak

Osmeña Peak is the highest point on Cebu Island. Rather than calling it a mountain, imagine it as the tallest hill in a highland area packed with dramatic jagged peaks. The surrounding scenery is often compared to the famous Chocolate Hills of Bohol — so much so that the view from Osmeña Peak is commonly nicknamed “Cebu’s Chocolate Hills.”

The ride from Cebu City takes about 3 hours by motorbike, or 4 hours at a leisurely pace with breaks. As the coastal scenery gives way to mountain roads, you know you’re getting close to Mantalongon. The small market there is piled high with vegetables — enormous cabbages filling baskets almost as tall as a person. Cabbage farming is big here, and on the way up I spotted farmers hauling enormous loads of cabbage down the mountain in flip-flops and rubber boots.

Remarkably, they load up their motorbikes after coming down the mountain and haul the cabbage straight to market. I’d have whiplash in about five seconds.

Past Mantalongon, Osmeña Peak isn’t far. The mountain road climbs steeply and you pass terraced fields of sayote (chayote) — a vegetable I’d never seen in Japan. I’ll write more about it separately.

The Climb

At the trailhead, you sign the hiking register and pay the entrance fee. Guides are mandatory here — ours cheerfully mentioned that the “minimum” guide fee was 100 pesos. (For reference: entrance fee 50 pesos, guide 100 pesos, motorbike parking 30 pesos.)

Our guide — a cheerful woman — pointed out rock formations along the trail: “This one looks like the Adidas logo,” “That one’s a thumbs-up.” True to Filipino guide style, she also stopped constantly to take photos of me — directing my poses, angles, even shooting landscape videos on my phone. My phone battery was dead before we reached the summit. (Thankfully I had a backup.)

The trail itself is well-marked and not difficult. We reached the top in under an hour, photo stops included.

The Summit

Breathtaking. Absolutely breathtaking.

Looking out, you can see the town of Moalboal (famous for its sardine tornado) in the foreground, and beyond the sea, all the way to Negros Island. The spiky peaks jutting up in every direction create a landscape unlike anywhere else. If Bohol’s Chocolate Hills feel soft and rounded — “gentle” — Osmeña Peak’s peaks feel sharp and dramatic — “fierce.”

The day was cloudy, but our guide said most days are foggy — so we were lucky. We ate snacks on the summit while our guide took approximately 50 more photos, then headed back down.

Next stop: Casino Peak — a stunning ridge just 15 minutes by motorbike. Continued in Cassino Peak — 360° Views…