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Casino Peak Viewpoint Hike In Dalaguete, Cebu

Jackson Groves

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Categories PHILIPPINES, HIKING

Casino Peak Viewpoint Hike In Dalaguete, Cebu

In the backyard of a friendly family near Lugsangan is one of the most amazing viewpoints on Cebu. The Casino Peak hike is a short trek to the top of a rocky ridge where you’ll enjoy a viewpoint I can guarantee you have never dreamed of in your wildest imagination.

When you think of Cebu, the first things that come to mind are the beaches, Whale Sharks, scuba-diving, canyoneering, and waterfalls. However, there are quite a number of beautiful hikes on the island. 

Osmena Peak is among the most popular of the hikes as it looks out over the west coast above all of the hills. In the mountains of Cebu, you find these incredible hill formations that seem to go on forever. You might compare them to the Chocolate Hills of Bohol but in my opinion, there is no-where else in the world just like it.

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CASINO PEAK HIKE IN DALAGUETE

Casino Peak is one of the hikes you should definitely put on your bucket list. In fact, put it straight to the top because it is by far my favorite hike on Cebu so far! In this blog post, I’ll share everything you need to know about visiting Casino Peak in Dalaguete, Cebu. There are also a number of other hikes in the area starting to draw some adventurous travelers away from the beaches such as Kandungaw Peak, Lovers Peak, and Sunset Peak.

HOW TO GET TO CASINO PEAK VIEWPOINT

There are several options to arriving to Casino Peak but the easiest is definitely to arrive by motorbike. It is possible to also arrive on a bus or habal-habal (bike transport). The third option is to hike to Casino Peak all the way from Osmena Peak, which is about an hour trek. Casino Peak is on Google Maps and I can confirm it is an accurate pin, which is always handy.

I will outline how to get to Casino Peak below and also tell you what you can expect on the journey as well as my tips for the drive. It is important to note that it may be referred to as Lugsangan Peak by many people including the locals you are trying to ask for directions.

  • Motorbike (How I arrived): From Moalboal we drove down to Alegria and in particular at Sangi in Alegria. You will need to turn right on the road after one of the main canyoneering centers. You can put Cambais Falls into google maps and this will give you the correct turn of also. The roads were average. Not great and lots of scattered potholes but nothing too crazy to navigate. We stopped off at Cangkalanog Falls at the halfway point to break up the journey. I suggest picking either Cambais or Cangkalanog Falls as they are both on the exact route to Casino Peak and otherwise it is a solid 2 hours of driving from Moalboal. The other tip is that there is a little restaurant in Mantolongan that has typical Filipino food with rice, vegetables, egg, pork and all other dishes to choose from. There isn’t an abundance of choice up in the mountains.
  • Local bus: You can catch the local bus to Mantalongon (Dalaguete) from Cebu City and it will take about 3 hours and cost about $3 USD.  Get off at Mantalongon market and find a Habal-Habal. It won’t be hard the whole town was staring at us as we stopped for lunch. This isn’t a tourist town whatsoever. The price should be about$1-2 (50-80 pesos) for the 15-minute journey. Casino Peak is just 5km from Mantalongon Market.
  • Hike from Osmena Peak: I’ve never done this route but I know it is possible and takes about an hour. I’ve heard the trail isn’t hard but it isn’t a common route so the trail isn’t always clear. I would suggest this route only for the adventurous people willing to get lost or those willing to hire a guide. It would no doubt be a great little hike.

CASINO PEAK ENTRANCE AND FEES

No matter which option you choose to arrive at Casino Peak, the entrance will be the same. There is a small house with an ‘information center’, which is a small little hut. Another sign is seen from the road but this is a tiny road, you cannot miss it if you follow google maps pin. The entrance fee was 30 pesos per person and the mother of the family, Viring, showed us the path and had a chat with us.

CASINO PEAK TREK

The trek up Casino Peak from the information center is actually very short and hardly considered a trek in my opinion. The total trekking time to reach the summit is about ten minutes although it is quite steep. The track is clear the whole way but not marked.

First, you will wind your way up through the grassy field and likely pass by the local goats. Already from here you can turn around and get an amazing view of the hills behind you. This is just a teaser of what is to come. We knew that the viewpoint was going to be good by this point but every time we stopped to look around, the views on this hike just got better and better.

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After about five minutes, there was a little plateau with a viewpoint out to the ocean. From here the trail continues to the right and is still quite worn but can be hard to miss. Viring told us the lady before hadn’t continued up past this point and I’m not sure if it was because of the rocky trail or she didn’t find the trail. Just know you definitely need to continue up past this point as it isn’t very dangerous and the view gets 100x better!

The trail gets a little bit wild from this point on but you never have to do any crazy maneuvers and there is a dirt trail the whole way. As we rounded the final little climb and looked backward, we could not believe our eyes as we saw the Chocolate Hills of Bohol. For me, this was the best mountain view I had ever seen in Cebu and It was a more impressive vista than Chocolate Hills on Bohol in my opinion.

I think because the summit was so wild it made the experience better. You climb atop a narrow ridge and then hang out here while the sun sets. At places like Chocolate Hills, you stand amongst hundreds of people on a platform watching the hills in the distance after driving all the way to the summit. Casino Peak isn’t a huge hike but you still have a strong sense of adventure.

From the summit, you can see hundreds of peaks spread throughout Badian and beyond. They are surrounding you in all directions! We could also see all the way out to Badian (Zaragosa) Island, which is just in front of where the sun actually set. As the sun did begin to go down, it lit up the peaks of all the hills, which is my most vivid memory from this hike.

I do suggest arriving before sunset to experience all the peaks lit up well the rest of the hills are already out of the light.

What are my favorite pieces of hiking gear?

There are four pieces of gear that I simply never forget when I go on a hike. These are four items that I using right now and this list gets updated every year! Here are my hiking essentials.

  • Arcteryx BETA AR Rain Jacket: This is my go-to rain jacket. It’s super light, folds down into a tiny ball, and protects brilliantly in a storm. This one never leaves my backpack.
  • Salomon X Ultra 3 Mid GTX Hiking Boots: For the best ankle support, waterproofing, and durable exterior I’m a fan of tough but light hiking boots like these Salomons for my adventures.
  • Black Diamond Head Torch: I can’t tell you how many times, I’ve arrived back from a hike unexpectedly late. I always keep this lightweight but strong headtorch in my bag for the unexpected.
  • Darn Tough Socks: These are the most comfortable hiking socks I’ve ever worn and last for years. They also have a lifetime warranty and you just send them in with a hole and they replace it no questions asked.

*It’s important to note that the drive home is quite long and will take almost 2 hours back to Moalboal. Even though it is warm in Moalboal at night, make sure you pack a jacket as the drive back is in the mountains and with the wind, it is genuinely freezing. I know that is hard to believe in Cebu but my hands were completely numb. Trust me and pack a jacket or you will remember reading this tip as you shiver for 2 hours all the way home… like I did.

LUNCH IN MANTOLONGAN

It is a pretty long journey and there aren’t many food options for tourists up in the mountains. There is one cafe you can rely on in Mantolongan right near the market. They serve rice, eggs, meat dishes, and vegetables. We ate lots of dishes for three people and it cost only 170 pesos, which is about $3 USD in total! Excuse my poor food photography skills!

WHERE TO STAY IN CEBU?

I really think that if you are going to be exploring Cebu, the best place to stay is in Moalboal. There are a few reasons why!

Cebu City might be where you land at the airport but if you are looking for adventure, you will need to head south as soon as possible. Most of the best waterfalls, whale sharks, snorkeling with sardines and turtles are all down in the south of Cebu. So where do you stay to do all of these adventures? Moalboal!

Moalboal is a cool town, which is the free-diving and scuba capital of Cebu. There are tons of hostels, hotels, and hostels here as well as being close to all the waterfalls and hikes in the region.

Here are my recommendations on where to stay in Moalboal depending on your budget.

  • Teobas Homestay – Value: You need to click on that link just to see how rad this place is. It has a staircase down to the ocean into crystal clear water. I can tell you, I have snorkeled out the front of this place with turtles many times. For about $30 USD you get a private room with all of the facilities you need. There is not much better than having ocean access and a bit of a sunset view!
a set of stairs leading down to the water.
three yellow stars on a white background

Teobas Homestay

  • Best Value
  • Ocean Staircase
  • Beachfront
  • Dolphin House Resort – Luxury: If you are looking for a nice resort, Dolphin House is a 5-star resort with a huge pool for less than $200 USD per night. It has ocean access, great restaurant, chilling areas and a beautiful garden throughout the property.
a view of a beach with a thatched hut and palm trees.

Dolphin House Resort

  • Luxury
  • Private Pool
  • Beachfront

MY 5 FAVORITE CEBU TOURS

Click the orange button below to view all of the top-rated tours on Klook

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Channy

Tuesday 5th of October 2021

Amazing. I'm curious if you do photo Youtube or articles based around some of your adventures? I would love to learn how to take amazing sunset photos like this. Especially since its now on my list for next year lol

Kaedrian

Thursday 12th of November 2020

Thank you for this!

I find it so fascinating that you know so much more about Cebu than me, a local.

Anyway, just wanted to clarify some things.

So you mean if I'm from Moalboal, it would take 1 hour to reach Cangcalanog falls, and then another hour to reach Casino Peak, right?

Jackson

Friday 13th of November 2020

Total 2 hours. If you stop at Cangcalanog it will be 1 hour and then 1 more hour to Casino peak. Enjoy

Tom

Thursday 4th of July 2019

It's nice that you visited around sundown. When I visited the place the sun was already so high up, around 9am and it was SCORCHING HOT! Reading this post makes me think to visit the place again, during sunrise or sunset. Can't do another 9am trek. LOL