Luzon's Highest Mountain

Located in northern Luzon's mountainous Cordillera Central, approximately 60 kilometers (37 miles) east of Baguio, this protected area encompasses Luzon's highest peak, the 2,930 meter (9,613 feet) Mount Pulag (often previously called Mount Pulog). Proclaimed a protected area in 1987, the rugged terrain, varying in altitude from 1,200 meters (3,940 feet) up to Pulag's summit and including 10 other summits over 2000 meters (6,562 feet) high, incorporates a range of habitats that include pine forest, mossy forest and alpine grassland and covers an area of 11,500 hectares (28,400 acres). Although under pressure from encroaching farmland, Mount Pulag still protects some Luzon's most important wildlife species, and for the visitors offers some of the country's best mountain hiking.

Mossy Forest

Forested Mountains

The whole of the national park is characterized by very rugged terrain, with steep mountain slopes, gorges and ravines overlooked by prominent summits, some of them among the highest in the Philippines. Mount Pulag itself is the third highest in the country (though often claimed to be the second highest.)

The lower slopes have a patchy covering of pine forest, composed entirely of a single species, Benguet Pine, one of only two species of pine found in the Philippines. In most of the park's accessible areas this pine forest was logged from the 1950s until 1972, so today almost all of it is secondary growth. Furthermore, many parts of the pine forest are now used for farming, and even in areas that still support dense stands of trees the undergrowth is often burned off to encourage the growth of new grass for animal grazing.

Above the pine forest, starting at an altitude of about 2,200 meters (7,200 feet), is the mossy forest, by far Pulag's dominant habitat. Covering an area of 5,800 hectares (14,300 acres), or about half of the national park, this consists of dense stands of small, gnarled trees, prominent among which are Philippine Oak, laurels and tree ferns, all of them draped in thick coverings of moss.

The tree-line is reached at about 2,600 meters (8,500 feet), and above this is a swathe of grassland. This is dominated by dwarf bamboo (a species common in the mountains of Taiwan), which on these exposed grasslands grows to a height of about 13 centimeters (five inches). In September, the grassland is vibrant with the colours of thousands of wild flowers.

Not surprisingly, most of the park's fauna is adapted to life in mossy forest, and includes such unique Philippine species as the Northern Giant Cloud-rat and the Bushy Cloud-rat, as well as numerous species of bat and a wide range of forest birds.

Conservation Work

With the first studies conducted as long ago as 1910, Mount Pulag's importance to biodiversity has long been appreciated. That early work revealed more than 500 species of plant, of which 251 were Philippines endemics. A more recent bird survey identified 77 species, of which 13 have a very restricted distribution and eight are globally threatened.

In 1990 Mount Pulag National Park became one of five sites in the Philippines to become part of a debt-for-nature swap, administered for three years by the World Wide Fund for Nature. More recently, the park has been incorporated into the National Integrated Protected Areas Programme (NIPAP), a project funded and partly run by the European Union. Ranger stations have been established at the village of Ambangeg, at the foot of the mountain, and at Babadak, situated in the transition zone between pine and mossy forest. With rangers now permanently based at Babadak, it is hoped that wildlife studies and conservation enforcement can be carried out more efficiently than has been possible in the past.

Hiking to the Summit

Mount Pulag has probably one of the best summit trails of any mountain in the Philippines, rendering it possible for climbers to hike without a guide.

The usual starting point is at Ambangeg, accessible from Baguio along an unmetalled road. It is important for hikers to bring all their supplies from Baguio as there is little available in Ambangeg. The first 10 kilometers (six miles) are up a steep track, passing by many vegetable farms and through areas of pine forest, to the ranger station at Babadak. Hikers with a four-wheel-drive vehicle can motor all the way to Babadak. Permits should be obtained from the ranger station before continuing on foot towards the summit, another 10 kilometers (six miles) away. It is a good idea to break the climb by camping overnight next to the ranger station. Anyone camping up here should realise that it gets very cold at this altitude (2,400 meters / 7,874 feet), even in the Philippines, so it is important to be properly equipped.

From Babadak the trail, an old logging road, climbs towards a ridge where a rest huts sits at a divide in the trail. The path to the right leads to the summit, making its way along an enormous curving ridge, with a gentle climb through dense mossy forest, but frequently allowing clear views of Mount Pulag. Eight kilometers (five miles) from Babadak the path emerges from the forest and begins to cut across the grassland. The final scramble to the summit is rather steep and tiring, especially with the air now getting rather thin, but the reward is fabulous, windswept views of forest and mountains as far as the eye can see, pin-sharp in the clear mountain air.

Snippets

Location: In the Cordillera Central moutains of northern Luzon, 60 km by road northeast of Baguio

Climate: The area is dry and clear from November to mid-March, and rainy for the rest of the year. In January and February the summits may receive frost. It is always cold at night, with temperatures at Babadak just a few degrees above freezing.

When to go: It is advisable to climb Pulag only during the dry season, from November until the end of February.

Access: There is public transport from Baguio to Ambangeg, but it is rather limited. It is better to hire a vehicle. The usual route is to take the Ambuklao Road from Baguio, although it is also possible to travel from several points on the Halsema Road, via the town of Kabayan. Four-wheel-drive vehicles should be able to travel all the way to Babadak.

Permits: Obtainable at the Babadak ranger station.

Equipment: Tent, sleeping bag, cooking utensils, warm clothing, sturdy hiking shoes, camera and binoculars.

Facilities: The summit trail from Babadak is very easy to follow, though mostly not signposted. On the grassland a major divide in the path is signposted. There is a rest pavilion about 2 km above Babadak. There is flat ground for camping next to the Babadak ranger station and on the grassland.

Watching wildlife: There is little chance of spotting mammals in the dense forest, but birds can be commonly seen. In January and February many of the shrubs, such as azaleas and pieris, are in flower.

Visitor activities: Hiking, birdwatching, photography.
Source of Article: The National Parks and Other Wild Places of the Philippines
by Nigel Hicks