Mount Banahaw

Banahaw is a volcano and, for a large number of Filipinos, something more. Its slopes carry a network of springs, caves, rock pools and boulders known as puwestos - stations - each associated with a sacred meaning, and religious groups have built their communities at its feet, above all at Kinabuhayan in Dolores. During Holy Week tens of thousands of pilgrims walk between the puwestos to bathe, pray and light candles, in a folk-Catholic practice with pre-Hispanic roots that anthropologists have studied for decades. The mountain itself is a complex of peaks - Banahaw proper at over two thousand metres, Banahaw de Lucban and San Cristobal - with cloud forest, waterfalls and a crater. That popularity has cost it: erosion and rubbish forced the authorities to close climbing routes for rehabilitation for years at a time, and access has swung between open, permit-only and shut. Anyone planning to climb should check the current status before travelling; the shrine trails at the base are usually open.

What you actually see

• The puwestos - springs, caves and rocks used as prayer stations.
• Kinabuhayan - the pilgrim village at the mountain's foot.
• The cloud forest - mossy upper slopes when climbing is open.
• Holy Week - the mountain's great pilgrimage season.

When to go

November to April for weather; Holy Week for the pilgrimage, which is crowded and intense. Climbing access changes - confirm with the protected area office before planning.

Honest expectations

Summit routes have been closed repeatedly for rehabilitation; do not assume access. This is a sacred site for many visitors - behave accordingly at the puwestos. Guides are required where climbing is permitted.

Nearby

Lucban's town and Pahiyas festival, Majayjay's falls and the San Pablo lakes ring the mountain.