The 90 minute drive from Simala Shrine to Osmeña Peak was a lot smoother, with fairly low traffic plying the road as we continued south. Osmeña Peak is the tallest point in Cebu island, and sits inside a region of impressive-looking hilly peaks. The drive through the village of Dalaguete is fairly winding and along narrow two lane roads, but our driver expertly navigated through the area as we gradually ascended to the start point of the hike. It was mid-afternoon and about 3:45PM by the time we arrived, and there were several other groups of visitors that were also making their way up or coming down. The sunny weather we saw at Simala Shrine was gone by the time we arrived, and replaced with cloudy weather.
Our driver firstly checked with the tourist information booth if it was OK for me to fly a drone around the peak, and the staff manning the counter assured us it was alright. Our party of four had to register ourselves, after which we were assigned a guide who would hike the about 25-30 minute journey up to the peak.
So, the most important bit: the hike is doable for most people: saw kids as young as 4-5 make the climb up. But I don’t think the elderly would want to try this, on account that there are no steps to help you ascend. There’s a fairly well-marked out path, but it’s a dirt path albeit with numerous jagged bits with rocks and the like to provide good traction for your footwear, and bits of it are a little steep.
The peak itself is a fairly small area that can probably hold dozen people or so: more than that and it gets real congested and possibly even a little dangerous.
The DJI Mini 4 Pro came out for its first Philippines video foray too and I took about 15 minutes of video, half of which were usable footage that I curated for a two minute highlights reel.
Pictures!
And a quick compilation of the drone videos I took at Osmena Peak:
Continued onto Day 02 tomorrow!