POSTS

From Pagudpud to the north end of Luzon

January 18, 2020

Overview

This is a long walk from Pagudpud, Poblaction 2 to the northernmost point of Luzon.
The route is mostly along concrete roads and traverses through all kinds of different landscapes, from rice paddies to palm groves and beaches.
For doing it both ways you will need the greater part of a day.

The marked route is available here for online viewing and download in the gpx format.

Type	One way
Length	18.1km
Duration	~3.5h (+ time for resting and sightseeing)
Ascend:	188m
Descend:	170m
Difficulty:	Hard

Descriptions

Start

The starting point is in Pagudpud, Poblacion 2.
This is a small and quiet settlement with some shops, restaurants and cheap accommodation options.
From here, follow the main road out of town.
Just outside the core settlement a great view over lush green rice paddies in front of hills and distant mountains opens up.

Road through Poblacion 2 — Road going through Poblacion 2

View over rice paddies — Outside of Poblacion 2

Section 1

At the small intersection beside a red house (Point 1 on the map) turn left. Follow the road until you reach the bridge, cross it and continue straight till the Barangay Saud. The vegetation beside the road here is dense and beautiful.

Section 2

This is where the famous Saud beach is located. But today we only walk past.
You might consider to buy some food and water here, because it is the last reliable chance for quite a while.
Afterwards follow the road leading north east until you reach a bridge on the left side. Cross over the Caparispian river here.

Section 3

Keep left and follow the road leading slightly upwards. There are some nice examples of "upcycling" on the roadside. Little huts made out of and decorated with repurposed plastic garbage.
It looks actually quite nice, with all the plastic flowers and mushrooms and in the afternoon heat, these are the only comfortable and shady resting places along the way.

Resting place with repurposed plastic garbage

Section 4

The road goes on for about 5km doing a very wide curve, so that it feels like you actually walk straight.
On the right side are empty fields and wind turbines up on a hill and on the left side is just enough land, so that you can't see the ocean. This makes it somewhat monotonous to walk along here.
There are plenty of dirt roads down to the coast but most of them belong to resorts and are marked as private property. Still, there are some paths where you can descend to the ocean, mainly those leading down to small settlements.

Section 5

This (Point 5 on the map) is where I walked down to the coast. A good resting place on the rocks with a view toward the kite surfers of the nearby resort.

View along the coast — Resting on the coast

Section 6

Finally the road descends to a pebble beach and passes through a small settlement with some shops. After leaving this village, the road becomes more curvy and passes over a few hills. Finally there are some terrific views down the coast in both directions.

View of road going down to pebble beach — Road leading down to the pebble beach

Section 7

At Point 7 on the map a small hill can be climbed, for even better views. From up there, the beach below appears somewhat heart shaped.

View over hill and heart shaped beach — The hill and heart shaped beach

Section 8

Now the road leads a few meters away from the coast and crosses over a bridge with great views on both sides.
On the right hand are rice paddies in front of overgrown hills and on the left is an estuary.
Continue until the intersection and take the northern road into the village Aryargo.
Go all the way through the village until you arrive at the other end of the heart shaped beach.

Rice paddies and bridge on the right side — The bridge can be seen on the right side

Section 9

Take the path just next to the beach. It is narrow but always visible and goes through a beautiful palm grove. There are some wooden huts there, for resting. Along the way you will pass the Stingray memorial, it commemorates the first successful landing in the northern Philippines of World War 2.

Path below palm trees — The path below the palm trees

Section 10

The path leads out of the trees and onto the beach.
It's a beautiful contrast between the blue water, black rocks, white sand and green vegetation.
Looking back to the south west you can see the wind turbines, now far away.
For the rest of the route, continue along the beach in north eastern direction.

Beach with lots of rocks — The Route continues on the beach

View back over beach to wind turbines — View back toward the wind turbines

Section 11

This is it, Luzon's northernmost point. From here, a spectacular view along the south east coast opens up.
A place to relax, refresh and recover.
After you are sufficiently rested, you have different possibilities to get back.

You can return back on the same way you came.
You can continue onward along the south east coast trail toward the blue Lagoon and there find some transportation back.
(I did not try this and it will be necessary to inform yourself before, so as not to end up stranded).
You can walk back on a different route through Caunayan.
(I did not do this because it will go along a main road with more traffic).

The northernmost post of Luzon — The northernmost point of Luzon and the view along the south east coast

Conclusion

I am glad I took the time to explore this area.
It is exhausting to do it on foot but except for one part (section 4, which got bit monotonous) it was always enjoyable. Traffic there is sparse so I did not mind to walk on the road for so long.