Chilling (Literally) in Mantalungon

It was one of those days when you ran out of ideas about where to travel (richkid char) and you and your friend decided to just go on a roadtrip. The plan was to drive south and just stop by any interesting place along the way. Our first stop was at Mantalungon and trek the nearby hills and mountains.

It was raining at that time and we never thought that the road would be covered in fog. We stopped at a certain junction waiting for the road to be cleared of any obstruction as it is hilly and one wrong turn could lead us to our final destination.

The weather slowly cooperated and cleared the road as you see in the photo and we continued driving to Osmena Peak. Because the place was crowded with tourists, we moved further up hoping for another attraction and we will just stop at Osmena Peak on our way back to the main road.

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Mantalungon

After a few minutes, we arrived at the center of Mantalungon. It is one of the barangays of Dalaguete and happens to be the vegetable basket of Cebu.

There were several vegetable farms but what caught our attention was the couple trying to harvest fully mature cabbages.

They shared with us their lives and how they go about thriving through vegetable farming. They were so generous and even shared with us their produce but we politely declined. They told us to visit Casino Peak nearby and gave us directions. Because the road was too steep, we decided to leave the car and started walking.

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Casino Peak

While walking we enjoyed the beauty and freshness of nature. It was so unsullied that mosses are growing everywhere. There were significant species of plants that tempted me to bring to the city haha.

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After a couple of minutes walking we were greeted by a pack of doggos looking in our direction. I was having a mini heart attack when they approached us and smells our track but they got distracted by a female dog so we walk straight faster as we could haha.

Then we reached a small village at the foot of the peak. Looking at the peak from the village will discourage you from climbing as it was steeper than we expected.

Luckily, the owner of the first house that we approached volunteered to accompany us to the peak. It was a difficult climb and I almost gave up halfway thru it but for some reason, I pushed myself and in just a few minutes I was already at the top. Going down was equally daunting and difficult, I promised myself not to go back haha.

When we reached the village back from the climb, we went to a small sari2x store (their version of 711) to buy some water and coffee. The people were very accommodating and hospitable and even offered us food.

After one last sip, we asked the same guy that guided us to drive us to where we left our car. He was also a habal2x driver (like an uber motorcycle driver). And then off we went to Osmena Peak.

Osmena Peak

The trek to Osmena Peak was not that difficult although it can be exhausting, which I do not recommend to old people. You can see the view of Cebu province and its nearby islands from the top. On the other side are mountain ranges as well as greeneries and some vegetation.

How to get there:

If you are commuting, just take a bus from SouthBus terminal bound for Oslob or Moalboal and just ask the driver or conductor that you are dropping off at Dalaguete junction that leads to Omena Peak. From the junction, you can hire a habal2 to the foot of the trail which normally cost around P200 and can accommodate 2 people per trip. So that is around P400 roundtrip.

If you are driving from Cebu City, take a turn right from the junction just before 711 and Julies bakeshop.

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Thank you for dropping by and please share in the comment your experience in Dalaguete and its attractions.