For decades, the story of the highest point in the Philippine Highway System was set in stone—literally. Drivers traveling the rugged Halsema Highway through Atok, Benguet, always stopped at a concrete monument in Barangay Cattubo. At 2,255 meters above sea level, the Halsema Highroad Point was a legendary pitstop where travelers breathed in freezing mountain air, took photos with a sign that claimed the ultimate altitude crown, and looked down over fields of highland vegetables.
But a hidden rival was quietly changing form just a few mountains away.Deep in the Cordillera ranges, connecting the provinces of Ifugao and Benguet, was an old, unforgiving logging trail. It wrapped around the peaks of Mount Gui'ngaw in Tinoc, Ifugao.
For generations, this path was nothing more than a treacherous, muddy track. Only local farmers, heavy-duty trucks, and the most daring dirt bike riders attempted to cross it. Because it was a rough, local road, it never appeared on any official Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) national survey maps.The turning point came on May 15, 2013, when the trail was officially converted into a national road called the Kiangan–Tinoc–Buguias Road under Republic Act No. 10551.
Over the next few years, engineers slowly paved the mountain pass with concrete.As the road climbed higher and higher, the Tinoc local government noticed something incredible: the air was noticeably thinner, the fog thicker, and the climate colder than almost anywhere else they had traveled. Suspecting they sat on something historic, local officials requested an official revalidation survey.
In January 2019, a team of surveyors from the DPWH Central Office arrived with high-precision GPS equipment. They drove up the newly concreted mountain highway to its absolute crest in Barangay Eheb, Tinoc. When the instruments calibrated, the screen revealed a staggering altitude: 2,428.66 meters (7,968.07 feet) above sea level.The unpaved farmland trail had beaten the mighty Halsema Highway by exactly 173.14 meters (568.07 feet).
On February 26, 2019, the DPWH issued an official memorandum declaring the Kiangan–Tinoc–Buguias Road the new undisputed highest point in the Philippine Highway System.
Today, while Benguet no longer holds the official title, both roads remain legendary routes, offering travelers some of the most breathtaking, cloud-kissed vistas in Southeast Asia.
📌 Highest point in the Philippine Highway Sytem
PS. I took this photo year 2021
