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Traverse: Budlaan - Sirao | Trekking Wilderness | CJ Travels

Traverse: Budlaan - Sirao | Trekking Wilderness | CJ Travels

June 2018 · 8 min read · Cebu

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Trekking to Sirao Peak is a little bit challenging. My first visit was a little bit foggy, unlike last Sunday. When @xaydtrips posted her Step Out Xayd initiative which was about hiking to Sirao Peak, I immediately registered to be a part of her event.

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So yeah, we all gathered up at Gaisano Talamban Cebu. I thought of being out of place because my companions were a little bit older than me. They were also professional trekkers, hikers, and mountain climbers. I felt a bit self-conscious knowing that I was the youngest of the team. In spite of it, I was very proud to tell the first timers that I have gotten there last 2016. Still, I was glad to be with the professionals.

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We needed a motorcycle ride from the highway to get to Barangay Budlaan. The motorcycle fare was only 30 pesos per head.

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While on the motorcycle, I took the risk of capturing the view. I could feel the cold breeze while holding my cell phone, I didn't have the opportunity to photograph the scene clearly because we were in motion.

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It was a 10-minute ride. We arrived at the Sitio Baugo which was a part of the Barangay Budlaan. The people greeted us with a warm welcome.

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When we were getting ready, I saw more trekkers arriving. It seems like it was a great day to hike indeed.

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Before heading up to the pathway, we listed our names first at the log book. It is for the locals to know who entered the hiking trail.

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After we had listed our names, we started our hike. It was a good start for us at least our muscles and joints were warmed up already before proceeding to the next level of hiking.

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From the hike, all we could see was the trees and leaves that surrounds. There were green leaves that greet each one of us. They cover the presence of the pathway so what I had to do was to follow the trail and stick to the guides. While walking, we could hear the sound of the water splashing to the rocks.

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After a 15-minute hike, we decided to take a break. We stopped-over at "The Heart Shaped of Budlaan Falls" which was named by the locals and other trekkers because of its "Heart Shape". It was a heart-shaped formation for me because I could see the heart. The water was pretty brownish because it rained the last day when we visited the falls.

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When you go there, you could see this river. The water from this river came from the Budlaan Falls which is a few meters to walk. I spent most of my time just watching the current and listening to its sound that was very relaxing.

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Before proceeding to the actual hike. @xaydtrips discussed first the rules and regulations. It is to inform us the things to do before we could have done something wrong. She also asked everyone to give a phone number in case of an emergency.

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After the discussion, we finally started our river-trek. We were crossing those rocks situated in the river. We were being told not to jump to avoid incidents.

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The hike was pretty splashy. There were times that the current of the water gets very fast. By that time, some of us needed some help to cross the river. I tried my feet not to be soaked up by the water. But I have to do it because it was a part of being adventurous.

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We encountered some mini-falls before arriving at the actual falls.

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They were many rock formations that are worth it to capture.

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From a distance, we could already hear the splashing sound of the waterfalls. We had also climbed those giant rocks.

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Finally, we arrived at the Budlaan Falls.


It was nice to meet Budlaan Falls for my second time. It was splashing and we were shaking with the cold. The beauty of the falls was different from the others. Everyone could dip themselves in the water tumbling down from the mountains high. But we choose not to because we were heading very late and the water wasn't in its best condition.

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After a short encounter with the falls. The major challenges came. We needed to get to the other side by climbing the steep pathways.

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This portion was the hardest and the most challenging one. We walked sideways in order to get to the other side. It was the only path. I didn't have a choice but to take the challenge. I almost fell down but the team helped me up.

Yes! I made it to the other side. I was very proud of myself that I made it. I saw how slant the path was. It was awesome!

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As we continued our hike, we encountered the very last waterfalls. The falls was way clearer and cleaner than the previous ones. I spend my time thinking about where these falls came from. Like, how the heck a mountain could have waterfalls.

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It was time to say goodbye to the magnificent wild falls. We continued our hike into the woods. No more slipping rocks and pathways. The next location we were heading up to is the Barangay Sirao.

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As we were walking, we noticed a board with a "For Sale Buko" written. There was another path to a hut. We went there and bought some coconut. Every coconut costs for only 20 pesos. It was very delicious though.

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After the short break, we started our hike again. We were hiking through green fields. It was very hot, no shades of trees, no fog just the sun from above. It was my first time to experience this kind of trek though it was a foggy weather last time when I visited Sirao Peak.

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It took us a 15-minute hike from the hut after we finally arrived at Barangay Sirao. There was a cheap barbeque stand where we spend our time eating our lunches. Some of us bought barbeques and extra rice to Manang. The barbeques were very delicious and satisfying.

After having our lunches, we bought some extra water for hydration.

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We left the barangay full and satisfied with our foods. The pathway was a little bit different. Now it was back to normal, what we had to do was just do the walk. The challenge now was the very very long trek.

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We couldn't handle hiking for too long so we took a break. We sat on those green grasses with overlapping rocks. I wonder where these rocks came from. Maybe they were landslides that made this rocks appear or maybe there was a volcano that erupted many many years ago. Whatever it is, I'm sure it appeared naturally.

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As we continued, I observed the silence and stillness of the pathway. I haven't felt any wind coming through me. I turned my head and watch over the surroundings. The view was very astonishing, every point of the view was very worth to capture. The green grasslands were perfect. I could see the mountains and hills from far away.

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Now we had our next stop, where we all sat together beholding the view. I could feel the wind now from up there. I wanted to stay a little bit but we had to continue the hike.

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It was the last and final hike to the Peak. We could barely see the trail started getting steeper. We met some tall grasses that made the trail path more scenic to view.

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After the very long hike, we finally made it to the peak.

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The peak was very tranquil. The place was inhabited by grasses and small plants.

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These were the view from the peak. Where everyone could behold the view of the mountains and the Cebu City.

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After chatting and gazing to the scenic view, we hiked down.

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As we walked down, there were still beautiful green sceneries that gave us a farewell. Our hike started at 9 am and ended at 5 pm. We went home safely with memories that we couldn't forget.

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It was a very tired experience but I was very happy to be with @xaydtrips and her team. We weren't just hiking though we were also building camaraderie. I was very thankful to be part of Step Out Xayd. If you want to join us for our next Step Out Xayd event please do follow @xaydtrips.

I was very happy to visit Sirao Peak for the second time. The weather was completely different but I found the sunny-weather beautiful as well, unlike the foggy one where I couldn't behold the view of the City.


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All photos were captured by Samsung Galaxy J7 Core

Greetings,
@carlitojoshua

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