One hour in an open 4x4 through the lahar canyons of the Crow Valley.
Then on foot, one and a half to two hours in the O'Donnell riverbed, with no shade.
And suddenly: the lake, turquoise, in a caldera two and a half kilometers wide.
Scroll –
from the jeep to the crater lake
Mount Pinatubo (1,486 m / 4,875 ft) produced the second-largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century on 15 June 1991. Today a crater lake fills the caldera, and the way there is a regulated day trip: registration at dawn, an assigned jeep, an assigned guide. Volcanically it is quiet – Alert Level 0 since August 2021. The real hazard is flash floods in the riverbed you hike through: on 29 August 2026 PHIVOLCS issued a lahar warning because of the monsoon, explicitly including the O'Donnell.
Back in operation since 23 June 2025, after two months of closure. Day trips only: registration from about 4:45 am, last entry between 5:30 and 7:00 am depending on the source. Rainy season until November – on rainy days nobody starts.
The route crosses the Colonel Ernesto Rabina Air Base in the Crow Valley. Since 10 March 2024 foreign nationals need a clearance from the Philippine Air Force – passport copy 20 to 35 days ahead via the operator or the tourism office. No passport and copy on the day, no entry.
Since January 2013, after a visitor drowned. According to a PHIVOLCS analysis the water contains arsenic, aluminum and boron. Penalties hit both guest and guide. There are no boats anymore.
Alternative via Sitio Inararo (Porac) to the Ana-An falls and the summit ridge – not through military land, so no Air Force clearance. Demanding; operators set a minimum age of 13 or 16.
Photo: Lance Vanlewen · CC BY-SA 4.0
The jeep ride is dusty and rough: the Crow Valley is a plain of lahar sand cut by streams, with walls of pale gray ash on both sides. Then you get out and continue in the O'Donnell riverbed, wading knee-deep several times, without a meter of shade. The final climb takes twenty minutes and is steeper. At the top lies the lake – 1.83 km² (0.7 sq miles), roughly 100 m (330 ft) deep, filled by rain since 1992. You may not swim. Sit down, look, eat: yes.
Affiliate links to GetYourGuide: if you book, we earn a commission and the price stays the same. Prices and ratings as of 22 September 2026. Only two offers with few reviews – the selection is thin. Foreign nationals: before booking, confirm that the operator applies for the Air Force visit clearance and how many days of lead time they need. If the authorities cancel (rain, exercises), operators say there is no refund.
Photo: Neureiter · CC BY 2.5
Nothing at Pinatubo is free-access. Entry starts at the Municipal Tourism Office in Santa Juliana (Capas, Tarlac) and passes two military checkpoints, Falcon Gate and Condor Gate. Knowing the order saves you from being turned away.
From Manila 2.5–3 hours via NLEX and SCTEX, or bus to Capas Junction and a tricycle (300–600 PHP). Homestays in the barangay. If you are not at the tourism office by 5 am, you risk being turned away even with a booking.
Queue number, waiver, blood pressure check from age 40, medical certificate or travel insurance from age 60. Foreigners: passport and copy, and the Air Force clearance must be on file. Last registration between 5:30 and 7:00 am depending on the source.
Private vehicles are not allowed into the Crow Valley. A local 4x4 with driver (2,500–3,500 PHP, up to 5 people) and a guide (500 PHP per group), mostly Aeta, are mandatory. Everything in cash – there is no ATM in Santa Juliana.
One hour by jeep, 1.5–2 hours on foot, time at the lake, the same way back. In the dry season the jeeps drive farther and 30–60 minutes of walking remain. Showers at the homestays 50–100 PHP.
| Environmental/conservation fee of the Municipality of Capas, per person | 300 PHP (approx. $4.80) |
| Botolan/Aeta fee (Municipality of Botolan, ancestral domain), per person – operators quote 400 to 700 PHP | 400–700 PHP (approx. $6.40–11.20) |
| 4x4 jeep with driver (mandatory), per vehicle for up to 5 people | 2,500–3,500 PHP (approx. $40–56) |
| Local guide (mandatory), per group or per jeep | 500 PHP (approx. $8) |
| Surcharge for your own 4x4 instead of a rental jeep (private tours only) · parking at the tourism office 50 PHP · shower 50–100 PHP | 550 PHP |
| Philippine Air Force visit clearance for foreign nationals | free (according to operators) |
Photo: Lance Vanlewen · CC BY-SA 4.0
The crater lies in the territory of Botolan (Zambales), the usual starting point in Capas (Tarlac) – which is why two municipalities collect fees, and why Botolan was able to halt the trek by executive order in 2025.
4x4 about 1 hour each way, then 5.5–7 km (3.4–4.3 miles) on foot (1.5–2 hours) with about 300 m (1,000 ft) of climbing, difficulty 2 of 9 on the Philippine scale. 6–8 hours in total from Santa Juliana. In the dry season the jeeps drive farther and the walk shrinks to 3–4 km.
From Sitio Inararo (Porac, pickup in Clark/Angeles): 1 km to the Ana-An falls, another 4.8 km to the “Pinatubo Summit”. Developed since March 2022 by the village's Aeta organization; it also ran in 2025 while the Capas route was closed.
Multi-day from Botolan/Villar in Zambales. Closed in 2025 together with the Capas route; today only occasionally on offer.
Photo: Lance Vanlewen · CC BY-SA 4.0
Without a car: Bus from Manila (Cubao or Pasay; Victory Liner, Five Star or other lines toward Baguio/Pangasinan/Tarlac) to Capas Junction (stop by the McDonald's), 210–280 PHP, 2.5–3 hours; then a tricycle to Santa Juliana, 20–24 km (12–15 miles), 300–600 PHP per ride – arrange the return trip right away. Because of the 5 am registration, most people go the evening before or book a transfer from Manila/Clark (pickup 2:30–4:00 am).
By car: NLEX to Dau/SCTEX, continue on the SCTEX to the Capas or New Clark City exit, then through Capas to Santa Juliana (2.5–3 hours from Manila). Parking at the tourism office 50 PHP. Your own car is not allowed into Crow Valley.
December to May (dry season): the jeeps get far into the valley, the walk is short, the lake glows turquoise; January to March are considered the best weeks, with clear visibility. From April on, sweltering heat in the canyon and – usually from the second half of April to early May – the Balikatan exercise with possible closure days. June to November, southwest monsoon: flash floods in the O'Donnell, lahar warnings from PHIVOLCS, a longer walk, a muddy lake. Always start as early as possible: register at 5 am, reach the crater around 8 am, get back before the midday heat.
Photo: Sindre Helvik · CC BY 3.0
The trek does not depend on one authority but on four. Current closures appear on the Capas Tourism Office's Facebook page and with the accredited operators – ask first.
During live-fire exercises in the Crow Valley, above all during the annual Balikatan exercise with the US (2016: closed 4–15 April; 2024: operating with an earlier cut-off time; 2026 from 20 April, no closure was found). Ask between mid-April and early May.
By executive order: No. 05 s. 2025 suspended all tourism activities from 2 May 2025 after Aeta blocked the access road on 18 April 2025, demanding a share of the revenue. Reopened 23 June 2025 with new rules agreed with the Aeta clans.
In a fee dispute (March 2016) or in bad weather. After the seven deaths of 6 August 2009 the Department of Tourism insisted on the old rule: start again only after two days of stable weather.
During volcanic unrest: in 2021 Pinatubo spent five months at Alert Level 1 and PHIVOLCS advised avoiding the crater. Regardless of the alert level, monsoon rain brings lahar warnings – most recently on 29 August 2026.
Photo: Lyndon Aguila · CC BY-SA 4.0
Yes, but not without a jeep and a guide: the Municipality of Capas assigns both at the tourism office in Santa Juliana. Arriving on your own only saves the transfer. Foreign nationals then have to apply for the Air Force clearance through the tourism office.
Operators pick up in Clark and Angeles City, usually between 3:30 and 4:00 am; the drive to Santa Juliana takes about an hour (45 km / 28 miles). From Manila it is 2.5–3 hours via NLEX and SCTEX.
From age 60 the registration requires a medical certificate or travel insurance. For everyone else it is not mandatory but sensible: operators say a weather cancellation is not refunded.
1,486 m (4,875 ft). Before the 1991 eruption it was 1,745 m (5,725 ft); the summit collapsed, leaving a caldera 2.5 km (1.5 miles) wide with the lake at about 900 m (2,950 ft). Altitude sickness is not an issue.
As of 22 September 2026: the volcano is at PHIVOLCS Alert Level 0 (since 12 August 2021), and the Capas route has been operating again since 23 June 2025. In September, though, the rainy season is still on, with lahar warnings (most recently 29 August 2026); on rainy days, tours do not start. Before traveling, check the day's status with the Capas Tourism Office or an accredited operator.
As a group of five in a jeep, about 1,500–2,000 PHP (≈ $24–32) per person: 300 PHP Capas environmental fee, 400–700 PHP Botolan/Aeta fee, a share of 2,500–3,500 PHP for the 4x4 and 500 PHP for the guide (as of 02/2026). Operator packages from Santa Juliana start at about 2,700–3,000 PHP, from Clark at 3,000–3,600 PHP, from Manila at just under 2,000 PHP plus transfer.
No. At the Santa Juliana tourism office, the municipality of Capas assigns every visitor a local guide and a 4x4 with driver; private vehicles are not allowed into Crow Valley, which is military land. Knowing the way changes nothing.
Yes, since 10 March 2024 a Visit Clearance from the Philippine Air Force, because the route crosses the Colonel Ernesto Rabina Air Base. Submit a passport copy 20–35 days ahead (depending on the source) through an operator or the tourism office; free of charge. No entry without passport and copy on the tour day. The Inararo route from Clark does not require a clearance.
Registration from about 4:45–5:00 am. Operators cite 5:30 am as the last registration; the jeeps depart by 7:00 am at the latest, and nobody is admitted after that. During military exercises the cutoff is moved earlier.
After about an hour's jeep ride come 5.5–7 km (3.4–4.3 miles) on foot each way through the flat bed of the O'Donnell with stream crossings and a short, steep final climb (about 300 m / 985 ft of elevation gain), 1.5–2 hours each way. Technically easy, but shadeless and hot; in the dry season the jeeps drive farther and sometimes only 30–60 minutes remain.
No. A swimming ban has been in force since January 2013 after a visitor drowned; penalties hit guest and guide. According to a PHIVOLCS analysis, the water contains arsenic, aluminum, boron and other substances. Boat rides were discontinued too.
Operators take children from age 6 or 7. The route is flat but long and hot, and the jeep ride is very bumpy and dusty. For smaller children, the Inararo ecotour (jeep only, no trek) is the alternative.
Crow Valley is an Air Force training range. During live-fire exercises, above all during the annual Balikatan exercise (2026 from 20 April), access can be closed on individual days (2016: 4–15 April) or the cutoff time is moved earlier (as in 2024). Closures are announced by the Capas Tourism Office; ask ahead in April/May.
Volcanically, not at present (Alert Level 0). The real dangers are flash floods and lahars in the O'Donnell during rain – seven people died in 2009, including three French nationals – as well as heat. So: only in stable weather, start early, follow the guide's instructions, stay out of the lake.
December to May, ideally January to March: clear visibility, turquoise lake, short walk. June to November is the rainy season with flash flood risk, lahar warnings and a longer route.
Sturdy shoes that can get wet, hat, sunscreen, dust cloth or mask for the jeep ride, 1.5–2 liters (50–68 oz) of water, snacks, a change of clothes, cash for all fees, and for foreign nationals passport plus copy.
Sources · accessed on 22 September 2026
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