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Day Hike · Arayat and Magalang, Pampanga

Mt Arayat day hike from Manila

The hardest day hike we run, and the only mountain in the collection that stands completely alone. Arayat rises a thousand metres straight out of the flat Central Luzon plain, and the traverse between its north and south peaks is where people find out what they are made of.

Request a date About the trail
Mt Arayat rising from the flat Central Luzon plain in Pampanga
Elevation1,030 MASL
Difficulty5 out of 9
Time on the trail5 to 8 hours for the traverse
Drive from ManilaAbout 2.5 hours from Metro Manila

Is Mt Arayat right for you?

Rated 5 out of 9, which puts it a full step above everything else here. The ten-kilometre traverse from Magalang to Arayat town takes five to eight hours depending on your group, crosses trail classes 1 to 4, and includes a short roped section past Haring Bato. This is not a first mountain and we will say so if you ask us to put a beginner on it.

Where the day starts

Jump-off is Barangay Ayala, Magalang, exiting at Barangay San Juan Bano, Arayat. We collect you in Metro Manila, drive out, register the group and hand you over to an accredited local guide. A Trouvaille Diaro coordinator stays with you all day.

What the trail is actually like

A mountain with nothing around itArayat is an isolated extinct volcano on an otherwise flat plain, which is why it is visible from half of Central Luzon and why the view from it is so wide. From the north peak you get roughly 270 degrees across Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Zambales and Bataan, with Mt Pinatubo on the western horizon.
The traverse, and the ridge between the peaksThe difficulty sits in the ridgeline connecting the north peak to the south. Steep sections throughout and a short stretch past Haring Bato that needs a rope. Entry is at Barangay Ayala in Magalang and the exit at San Juan Bano in Arayat town, so you finish somewhere other than where you started.
White RockThe pale outcrop between the two peaks, visible from the towns below, and the landmark people navigate the ridge by.

Permits, guides and what they cost

Registration and guide fees are set locally and collected at the jump-off. Both are included in your rate. A guide is not optional on the traverse and we would not run it without one.

Fees change, and we would rather say so

Barangay and DENR fees are set locally and revised without much notice. The figures above were correct when this page was written. Whatever they are on your date, they are inside the rate you were quoted, and we absorb the difference rather than asking you for more at the trailhead.

What is included

Included

  • Private air-conditioned van, door to door from Metro Manila
  • Registration, environmental and permit fees
  • Accredited local guide
  • Trouvaille Diaro coordinator with the group all day
  • Breakfast snack, trail snack and bottled water
  • A proper sit-down lunch, vegetarian and halal on request
  • Drawstring bag, hiker certificate and group photographs
  • Safety briefing and first aid kit

Not included

  • Personal travel insurance, which we recommend
  • Porter hire, available at the jump-off
  • Tips for your guide and driver
  • Anything you buy at the sari-sari stores on the trail

How to book, and how payment works

  1. Message us with your preferred date on WhatsApp, Viber or Messenger.
  2. We check availability with the local operator and come back to you.
  3. Complete the registration form and waiver.
  4. Pay the ₱1,000 reservation fee per person to secure your slot.
  5. Receive your written confirmation with pickup details.
  6. Settle the balance no later than three days before the trip.
If we cancel, you never lose your money

If we call the day off for weather or any operational reason, you choose: move to another date, or hold the amount as credit against any other Trouvaille Diaro trip. Your slot is transferable to someone else with 48 hours notice. Reservation fees are non-refundable but they are never lost.

Questions hikers ask about Mt Arayat

How hard is Mt Arayat compared with the other day hikes?

Considerably harder. Five out of nine against three or four for everything else in this collection, ten kilometres, five to eight hours, trail class up to 4 and a roped section. If Batulao felt like plenty, Arayat is not the next step; Daraitan or Maynoba is.

Can you do the Mt Arayat traverse in one day?

Yes, and that is how we run it, but it is a long day with an early start and a hard cut-off. Some groups do it as an overnight instead. If your party is slower than five hours on the traverse we would rather talk about that before you book than halfway along the ridge.

Is there really a rope section?

A short one, past the Haring Bato area. It is fixed and your guide manages the group through it. It is not technical climbing, but it is the point where anyone genuinely uncomfortable with exposure will know it.

Can we see Mt Pinatubo from Mt Arayat?

On a clear day, yes, out to the west across the plain. Arayat stands alone on flat ground, which is exactly why the view from it reaches so far.

If this one is not quite right

We run several day hikes out of Manila and they suit different people. These two sit closest to this trip.

Tutulari Avatar GorgeThe other Pampanga trip, with no climbing at all
Mt Daraitan and Tinipak RiverThe next hardest, and the sensible step before this one

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Talk to a person before you book

Fitness, ages, dietary needs, or whether this is even the right mountain for you. Message us and a human answers.

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