Hiking Mt. Igmatongtong: A Short Hike to an Amazing View

Apart from being known as the sugar capital of Antique, the town of Laua-an also boasts a lot of spots with beautiful sceneries. One of the interesting spots is Mt. Igmatongtong located in Barangay Capnayan, Laua-an, Antique. With an elevation of 800 MASL, it's an easy to hike mountain with a magnificent view at the summit. Its peak offers an amazing 360 views of nearby mountains, rice terraces, plains, rivers, and the seas.

Our Hike to Mt. Igmatongtong

After four hours of trip from Caticlan, Malay, Aklan, the bus dropped us at Crossing Lugta, just before the bridge that divides the municipalities of Laua-an and Bugasong. It's the entry point to Barangay Capnayan via habal-habal (motorcycle). The road to Capnayan is steep, narrow, and unpaved making it accessible only for motorcycles. Starved by the long bus trip, we rushed to the nearby roadside eatery. Afterward, we look for a habal-habal to get us to Capnayan. The ride was fun though bumpy and slightly scary. At the road end, we started our trek to Mt. Igmatongtong. Ritchel served as our guide while I and Jackie followed her way. Ritchel shared that during her first hike to Mt. Igmatongtong, the view of the mountain was covered by fog.

The sky was clear and the sun was hot. As we continue our hike, we passed through the last village where we took a short rest and had a quick chit-chat with the locals. Everyone commented that we should have came early to avoid the unforgiving heat of the sun. They offered us a guide but Ritchel said she's been here before and she knows the trail very well. A girl from the village then followed us as we walk along the scenic rice terraces. She said that she wanted to go with us which we agreed. She smiled and led the way up to Mt. Igmatongtong. We reached the last steep ascend then walked to the narrow ridge that connects to the iconic rock formation on the peak of Mt. Igmatongtong. Voila, we had the entire peak for ourselves and the view was breathtaking! The stunning panoramic landscape and cool wind helped us to temporarily forget the scorching heat of the sun. 

The name "Igmatongtong" came from the word "tongtong" which means "to put" referring to the distinct rock formation on its peak. According to a legend, a man named Anglo used his superpower to place a human head (resembles to the like rock formation at the peak) to guard his wife Ligaya.

After an hour of enjoying the view at the the peak, we commenced our descent. Ritchel went ahead because she has an English tutorial to hold online so she has to rush to Poblacion, Laua-an to acquire a good internet connection. Jackie and I followed the girl as our guide. On our way down, we visited the impressive Capnayan waterfalls where we really had a great time. Afterward, we headed to the barrio proper of Capnayan to logout. When we reached the start of the road, we rented a habal-habal back to Crossing Lugta and rode a tricycle to Poblacion, Laua-an to re-unite with Ritchel. Ritchel was already waiting for us when we arrived. We then waited for a bus back to Caticlan and for Jackie back to Altavas.

Mt. Igmatongtong is definitely fascinating. The short distance hike, scenic trails, and the views atop make it in our top list for recommended minor hikes in the province of Antique.