Two trails lead to the peaks of Mount Arayat. Mount Arayat National Park Located at San Juan Baño in
Arayat, Pampanga has a trail to the southern Peak, taking around 3–4 hours to reach the peak. The souther peak offers views of Central Luzon, including a view of the
Pampanga River. The collapsed western alone that forms the other half of its caldera-like crater can also be seen. It offers a view of the mountains of
Zambales and
Bataan (to the west), and the mountains of the
Sierra Madre range (to the east). The northern or higher peak can be accessed from Pampanga State Agricultural University in
Magalang, with a similar time to reach the peak through the Arayat Amphitheatre and White Rock, which legend says is the home of Apung/Aring Sinukuan. There are two other trails on Mount Arayat's slopes as of 2017: the pinnacle, which is a knife edge monkey trail, and the TKO, which is the hardest trail in San Juan Baño. However, these two features, the Pinnacle and TKO, cannot be considered peaks because they are not prominent unlike the north and south peaks, and thus are only considered as view decks as per international mountaineering definitions.
Arayat in folklore Mount Arayat is said to be the home of the god/sorcerer named Sinukuan/Sinukwan or Sucu, which could mean "The end" or "he to whom others have surrendered." The mountain was said to have been located in the swamp to its south but relocated because of the evil ways of those who lived there, in addition to which, the people of the swamp were made to suffer numerous misfortunes. Sinukuan is believed to be able to transform and do as he pleases at will, his only real rival being Namalyari of
Mount Pinatubo. The waterfalls at Ayala in
Magalang, Pampanga is said to be his bathing area, and it is often visited by tourists and natives alike. Sinukuan is said to live at the White Rock, a lava dome possibly formed by the last eruption, where its glimmering properties were most likely to have inspired the legend. Contrary to reality, the mountain is believed to be several mountains merging at the center including the tallest two peaks. Sinukuan is believed to have daughters who come down only during times of grace and are disguised as humans, as Sinukuan himself can do. The day he returns is believed to either in response to the attack of Namalyari during the
1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo, or when he shall call his servants at the end of the world. Prior to Spanish colonization, the resident mountain deity was the powerful male Kapampangan god, Aring Sinukûan, who was at par with the Kapampangan god of Pinatubo, Apûng Malyari. The two were the second most powerful deities in Kapampangan mythology, next only to Mangechay (sometimes called Mangacha), the great elder and creator goddess. Aring Sinukûan was the solar deity of war and death, having taught early humans metallurgy, woodcutting, rice agriculture, and warfare. He had three children: Munag Sumalâ, a golden serpent god representing the dawn; Lakandanup, the god of gluttony who represented the sun at noon; and Gatpanapun, the noble god who only knew pleasure and represented the afternoon. His consort is Mingan, while he also had a winged assistant named
Galurâ, a giant divine eagle believed to be bring storms. However, when the Spanish arrived, they recast Sinukuan as a woman, thinking people would not revere the deity if he was a female without knowing the supreme deity of the Kapampangans was creator goddess Mangechay. Despite this, natives continued to revere Sinukuan, so the Spanish added “María” to Christianise the figure in subjugating the natives and converting them into
Roman Catholicism. In recent years, locals have claimed sightings of a man on the mountain, angry due to the ongoing deforestation; some identified the man as Aring Sinukuan. ==Listings==