Halsema Highway (also known as the , or Mountain Trail) is a national secondary

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. Situated within the Cordillera Central range in northern

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

, it stretches from the

city limit City limits or city boundaries refer to the defined boundary or border of a city. The area within the city limit can be called the city proper. Town limit/boundary and village limit/boundary apply to towns and villages. Similarly, corporate lim ...

Baguio Baguio ( , ), officially the City of Baguio ( ilo, Siudad ti Baguio; fil, Lungsod ng Baguio), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", ...

to the municipality of

Bontoc Bontoc may refer to: * Bontoc, Mountain Province, Philippines * Bontoc, Southern Leyte, Philippines * Bontoc people, an ethnic group from Central Luzon, Philippines * Bontoc language Bontoc (Bontok) (also called Finallig) is the native language ...

. Its highest point is at above sea level in the municipality of

Atok ATOK (エイトック /ˈeitokku/ or /ˈeɪtɔːk/) is a Japanese input method editor (IME) produced by JustSystems, a Japanese software company. ATOK is an IME with roots from KTIS (Kana-Kanji Transfer Input System) come with JS-WORD, the Japane ...

. It was officially recognized as the highest altitude highway in the Philippines until 2019 when the high point Kiangan–Tinoc–Buguias Road in

Tinoc, Ifugao Tinoc, officially the Municipality of Tinoc is a 4th class municipality in the province of Ifugao, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 18,475 people. Geography Barangays Tinoc is politically subdivided into 12 b ...

was recognized as the new holder of the distinction. The highway covers of

Benguet Benguet (), officially the Province of Benguet ('';'' ; pag, Luyag/Probinsia na Benguet; ilo, Probinsia ti Benguet; ), is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the southern tip of the Cordillera Admi ...

province and traverses eight of its municipalities ( La Trinidad, Tublay,

, Bokod, Kabayan,

Buguias Buguias, officially the Municipality of Buguias, ( ilo, Ili ti Buguias; tl, Bayan ng Buguias), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Benguet, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 44,877 people. The municipa ...

, Bakun, and

Mankayan Mankayan, officially the Municipality of Mankayan ( ilo, Ili ti Mankayan; tl, Bayan ng Mankayan), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Benguet, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 37,233 people. The munici ...

). It also covers four

Mountain Province Mountain Province is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital is Bontoc. Mountain Province was formerly referred to as ''Mountain'' in some foreign references. The name is usually short ...

towns (

Bauko Bauko, officially the Municipality of Bauko is a 4th class municipality in the province of Mountain Province, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 32,021 people. Bauko is from the provincial capital Bontoc and f ...

, Sabangan,

, and

Sagada Sagada, officially the Municipality of Sagada is a 5th class municipality in the province of Mountain Province, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 11,510 people. Sagada is from Bontoc, the provincial capita ...

). The road splits into two upon reaching the village of Dantay, in Bontoc. One road leads to

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ...

Bontoc, while the other leads to the town of

, farther from the junction. The entire highway forms a component of the National Route 204 (N204) of the

Philippine highway network The Philippine highway network is a network of national roads owned and maintained by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and organized into three classifications according to their function or purpose: national primary, seconda ...

History

The highway was named after an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

engineer, named Eusebius Julius Halsema, who served as the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

from 1920 to 1937. Under Halsema's term, its construction commenced in 1922 with the help of locals and was completed in 1930 as a

foot trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. Th ...

. Halsema Highway has been a crucial part of Cordillera's history and transportation. It's the only existing link between Baguio and Cordillera's most remote areas. It is the only route that vegetable farmers take to distribute vegetables in Baguio's markets.

Hazards

Parts of the highway are dangerous, especially during the rainy season, when

landslides Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of environme ...

are common and

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term ...

ed portions become slippery. In March 2013, List25 included the highway at #9 in its ''25 Most Dangerous Roads in the World''. It was shown in Discovery World's show, ''Hot Roads - World's Most Dangerous Roads''.

References

Roads in Ifugao Roads in Benguet Roads in Mountain Province Baguio {{Philippines-transport-stub

History

Hazards

See also

References