Osmeña Peak

Osmeña Peak is the highest point on Cebu at just over a thousand metres, and the shortest serious summit in the country to reach - a fifteen-minute walk from where the habal-habal drops you. What makes it worth the trip is the shape of the land: a field of sharp limestone spines running away from the summit like a row of teeth, green with grass, with the vegetable terraces of Mantalongon spreading below and, on a clear day, a view that takes in both Cebu's coasts, Negros across the strait and the Badian mountains. It is one of the few places in the Philippines cold enough at night to need a jacket, and campers stay for sunrise. The area is farming country - Mantalongon is Cebu's vegetable basket and its market is worth a stop - and the trail crosses working land, so gates and crops need respect.

What you actually see

• The limestone spines - jagged ridges running from the summit.
• The two coasts - Cebu's east and west sides from the top.
• The vegetable terraces - Mantalongon's farmed slopes.
• The Negros view - the island across the strait on clear days.

When to go

December to May for clear skies; the cool months make camping comfortable but genuinely cold at night. Sunrise is the reason to sleep up there.

Honest expectations

The walk is short but the ridge is exposed with sharp rock and no railings. Cloud can hide the view entirely. Facilities at the camp area are minimal - bring water and pack out rubbish.

Nearby

Kawasan Falls and the Badian canyoneering routes are on the west coast; Oslob is south.