Mount Pinatubo Overnight Camping Itinerary

MEET UP TIME: 8:00AM

MEET-UP POINT: PINAYKEYPOINT’S OFFICE

Capas, Tarlac, Philippines

We have a maps and direction in our website, please visit the link below:

MAPS & DIRECTIONS ON HOW TO REACH US

You must settle your payments and ask your team to sign the waiver.

We usually send copies of trekking reminders, maps and waiver so

we are expecting that you already discussed this with your team.

We are conducting briefing prior to final clearance. This is a mandatory requirement before dispatching. Although we already sent you trekking reminders and waiver, we still have to remind everyone about the dangers in the area, the Do’s and Don’ts, what to do in case of emergency and pack up time. Sometimes during the briefing, team members blames their team leaders for lack of information and failure to disseminate copies of trekking reminders so they can pack their things right. We have a link for Trekking Preparation. Please click here to view

Take off to Final dispatching. This is around 30 minutes drive. If you have your own car, you can park it at the dispatching area. It’s safe because it’s already within the military vicinity. Parking Lots are usually maintained by the some villagers and they usually ask 50 to 100php parking fee

The Local Tourism and Local official will check our clearance and gatepass. Gatepass is a mandatory requirement to climb. Organizers will secure this document for you and this is the reason why you have to register you name, age, address, nationality and person/no. to be notified in case of emergency. These are required info in securing your gatepass. The Tourism officer and Local Official in-charge have to sign the documents for approval.

11:00am –  Final Check Point. The Philippine Air Force is in-charge of the security in the area. They usually make the final decision whether they will allow us to climb or not especially during rainy months which is from July to November. Military activity are usually held in the area and they are giving us time frame to pass, usually 7 to 7:30am before closing the road. Nobody is no longer allowed to climb once the road are closed.

4WD is one of the highlights of this trip. The terrain itself and river crossings while watching the breathtaking creation will make you feel that you’re in another era far from the hustling and bustling city life. One important reminder while riding a 4WD is avoid talking face to face. Some of my previous clients bumped into each other’s nose and the result is severe nose bleeding. Hah! How will you explain that to your officemates after the trek?  So please take our reminders and briefings seriously 🙂

Final take off to Mount Pinatubo. Very bumpy and dusty ride. You need towel and mask to protect yourself from dust. 

You may ask your driver to stop for some photo shoots along the way

12:30 pm – The 4WD jump off point at the base of Mount Pinatubo. 1.5 hours walk usually starts here. These maybe longer or shorter depending upon your trekking speed. You can do some final touch here like applying sunblock, prepare your slippers, sun/rain protection. If you bring some trail food & drinks, better to take some here to lighten your bag and feed your hunger. This will keep you going 🙂

Prepare yourself for a very rough terrain ahead. Remember, you are conquering a volcano and ‘no pain-no gain’. This will make you realize the significance of Light Packing because believe me, you will feel the weight of your back pack after 30 minutes and it’s no joke, the longer the trek, the heavier it becomes!

Wear proper footwear to protect your feet. Using socks is highly recommended. This will save your lovely feet from blisters. Believe me, most of my clients are swearing their’s footwear’s brand after the trip because of blisters and bleeding.

Be careful and watch your step because you might be injured along the way. If this happens, inform your team leader to call the attention of the assigned trail guides and field coordinators. Pinaykeypoint Team has a basic first aid kit with bandages and basic medicine for headache and stomach trouble

Don’t just rely on your shoes. Bring your extra slipper. This will make you comfortable and flexible.

…And might be sprained along the way

Please note that you will be crossing a lot of rivers and streams

Trekking might be very tiring so take a break from time time. Inform your guides that you want to take some rest so they can wait for you. Never cope up with fast paced trekkers, most of the time this is the reason why some tourists will just fall and collapsed. They are too shy or too proud to say that they need some rest and pushing their limits. It’s a no no! Remember, we don’t have an ambulance here. You have 2 choices, ask your group to be patient and wait for you or spoil the entire trek!

It’s important to bring to bring some trail food to keep you going

…you have to ensure that you are wearing a durable footwear!

…We must be careful during trekking

…Because I cannot assure you that we can always provide a tape and slipper 😉

Because of this creature… But don’t worry! Snakes are typically timid creatures and they usually go away when they sensed a presence of humans, unless you step on them! So be careful and watch your step…

After more than 1 hour of walk, you will reach a real comfort room but you have to be patient enough because there are so many of you that are rushing to use it as well 😉

You can also refill your bottles. This is a spring water and it’s potable. We are using it for many years now

1:30pm – Few meters away is the ReyCat station. It is named after our previous municipal mayor, Reynaldo Catacutan  who is the person behind of these development. ReyCat played a vital role in advancing the Tourism Industry of our town, Capas which  eventually gives an employment to many, not just the local town’s folk of Capas but the adjacent places as well. This is also the old 4WD jump off point but because of several strong typhoons, trails were destroyed and it will take some time before it can be rehabilitated again. 

Next is a signage… Never let it trick you! It was used when we celebrated the feast of Pinatubo 2 years ago. A contest was held for that purpose and it’s not funny to see my clients beating the time carved in that wood! Most of them were sprained trying to beat it. Come on guys! you are not here to prove your speed. You are here to enjoy the trail, conquer Mount Pinatubo and see it’s majestic feature. Don’t let this signage ruin your day…

The remaining 30 minutes is Bush Trekking. You would see wild trees and ferns. Don’t try to pick and eat fruits if you’re not really a mountaineer. Some wild berries are available but if you cannot identify it it’s edible then, forget it!

…some ankle deep streams

until you reach a 58 steps stairs going up to Mount Pinatubo viewing deck. I know this will add pains to your injury 😉 but you can always sit down for few minutes before climbing

and finally, The Majestic Mount Pinatubo! You will feel the proud spirit of conquest and realized in the end that it’s all worth it. Remember, not all are given the opportunity to witness God’s creations. You can spend few minutes here to rest and take the best angle for your cam to capture…

…before taking another steps again going down to the crater side. This is roughly 198 uneven steps without railings so be careful and ask inform your guide if you are afraid of heights. You may opt to just stay at the viewing deck and wait for your team to come up.

We are not allowed to camp beside the crater lake for safety measure. The viewing deck was developed and we are encourage to use this place for overnight camping activity. This is more convenient because of the availability of rest room and water system.

Tourists usually preferred to camp underneath this wide and concrete cottage to take advantage of it shed in case of sudden rainfall

See to it that you packed easy to cook food or better if it’s already cooked and you will just heat it. People became impatient when hunger strikes! Basically, we provide plates, spoons, portable stove  and cooking utensils so just bring what you need which is not mentioned. Ask us if you are not sure to save your back

from too much baggage.

Overnight camping will not be complete without the bonfire magic. The local aetas usually pronounced it ‘vampire’ 😉 so don’t ever get them wrong if you hear them say that they will gather woods for your ‘vampire’ lol! To add some excitement, you may bring few hotdogs and marshmallow….

The picturesque and mystic caldera at night

It’s really amazing to see some groups with these things! Gosh, how did they made it? There is no limit for what you may bring when you climb as long as you can carry it. Remember we are not providing you a personal porter. The porter that will join your team will be in-charge of the camping gadgets mentioned earlier but you are always free to hire a local porter for 1,000php (overnight rate)

It’s not everyday that you will experience having your breakfast at the volcano 😉 so grab your favorite coffee and make sure that you capture that majestic moment…

And don’t forget to take that opportunity to thank the Great Creator above for giving you the opportunity to witness his Majestic creations 🙂

The difference of taking a boat ride in the morning is to save your skin from the heat of the sun. This activity is available only during summer.

We don’t really encourage swimming at the crater because according to PHILVOCS which regularly conduct routine check in the area, it’s roughly 280 to more than 300 feet deep. Bear in mind that this is not a beach, It is a stratovolcano! and it is sharp deep just few meter away from the crater side. We don’t have a stand by life guard in the area so as per Local Tourism advisory, we are not allowed to swim because we will not be liable if you are drowned. But typically, people are hardheaded and they would insist to take a quick dip. Pinaykeypoint is providing arm floaters to ensure that you are safe. Inform us if you plan to use some and keep in mind that swimming at night is strictly prohibited.

Wake up early and take that chance to enjoy the calmness of a once raging volcano. This is only possible during overnight camping trip  😉

Pack up time at 9:00am. It may be earlier or later depending upon your request but not later than 10am. Remember we are just paying for our personnel a 24hours rate. They might charges us an overtime if we exceed with the time limit.

Be a good neighbor, we encourage that you do some charity with the local Aetas before or after your trekking activity.

(:..T H E  E N D..;)

For inquiries, send your email to julietcorpuz@gmail.com

or text/call: Globe: (+63)917.477.9156/Smart: (+63)930.508.8494/Sun: (+63)923.626.9156

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