Mount Pulag National Park

Mount Pulag rises to 2,922 metres, the highest point on Luzon and the third highest in the country, and the reason people climb it is the hour after five in the morning. The summit is not rock but a rolling meadow of dwarf bamboo, and on clear mornings the valleys below fill with cloud so that the ridges stand out of it like islands. The standard Ambangeg route is the gentlest of the trails, a few hours on foot from the ranger station to a camp in mossy forest, then a walk in the dark to the top. Lower down the park protects pine and moss forest, and the ground is cold enough at night to frost.

What you actually see

• The summit grassland - dwarf bamboo meadow rather than rock, walked up in the dark before sunrise.
• The sea of cloud - valleys filled to the ridgelines on clear mornings, usually gone by nine.
• The mossy forest - moss-hung dwarf trees on the section between the camp and the open ground.
• Camp 2 - the standard overnight camp, cold, exposed and often sitting inside cloud.

When to go

November to February brings the coldest nights and the best odds of a clear dawn, and it is also when the summit frosts. March to May is milder but hazier. The park sets daily quotas and requires a permit, a medical certificate and an orientation talk, so arrange it weeks ahead and expect closures during the wettest months.

Honest expectations

People underestimate the cold. Temperatures near the summit can fall close to freezing and a thin jacket will not do. The sea of cloud is weather, not a promise, and plenty of groups reach the top to find grey. Camp 2 is crowded at weekends, the toilets are basic, and the road up from Baguio is long and rough.

Nearby

Baguio is the gateway city, and the Cordillera road runs north to Sagada.