Mt. Hamiguitan is the Philippines' sixth UNESCO Word Heritage site. Home to 1,403 species of flora and fauna, as well as five vegetation types that can be seen as you go up the mountain, it offers a memorable experience for nature lovers. Among its many fascinating features, I was excited to see its mossy-Pygmy or a forest with dwarf trees and moss-covered trunks, located at an elevation of 1160-1200 MASL!
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| one of the numerous pitcher plant species we saw on our hike |
Earlier in the year, I had the chance to visit the mountain with Chino and travel writer friend, Ed, who was writing on assignment. At the time, the trail was still closed to the public, so we joined an assessment hike organized by the local government unit (LGU) of San Isidro, Davao Oriental. Its municipality will serve as the main starting point when it reopens for hiking in the latter part of 2017. The hike was part of the LGU's efforts to protect the mountain with its vulnerable plant and animal species, while also developing safety measures for future visitors.
We were a huge group - around 20+ people, clustered into smaller teams. LGU tourism took the GPS readings and other details of the route. The Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (MDRRMC) helped assess the area for emergency situations while the police ensured our safety. Chino and I took tons of photos and notes along the way to help Ed work on his story to be published in Cebu Pacific's Smile magazine (Read the article here).
It was 7:00 PM when we reached our campsite. We had spent 11 hours on the trail! The last section offered a challenging surprise - an easy trail but filled with mud pits. We all ended up soaking our shoes in the squishy mud!
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| lady slipper |
The next day, we set of for another full day of hiking. Despite the body sores, I was excited that we're finally making our way to the pygmy forest! At a massive size of 1,234.56 hectares, it is the world's biggest pygmy forest, with trees as old a hundred!
Just 20 minutes from camp, we started seeing dwarf trees, its growth stunted by the soil's high mineral content. The scenery got even more beautiful as we made our way up, pitcher plants, orchids and other flowers in bloom welcomed us. The cloud-covered summit located on the opposite side served as a beautiful backdrop for the sea of trees. From a distance, it looked like we're walking around a maze of broccolis. :)
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| Mt. Hamiguitan's Pygmy Forest |
We got back to camp just before sunset, after more than 9 hours in the mountain and our second, no bath day. :p
It was our last morning in the mountain but still an exciting day as we traversed Mt. Hamiguitan! :) Just a few minutes from camp, we stopped by to check another pitcher plant, Nepenthes justinae, named after Mayor Justina Yu. With her invaluable support to scientists studying the mountain, this endemic species of pitcher plant found only in Mt. Hamiguitan was named after her!
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| Nepenthes justinae |
We enjoyed a refreshing break at the headwater of Amindangan river. After 7 hours in the trail, we reached our exit point at Hamiguitan Natural Science Museum. With an hour before closing time, we had enough time to clean up and go inside for a short tour. It's a cool place to learn about the flora and fauna of the mountain, an excellent side trip after doing the ardous hike! :)
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Our group with Mayor Justina Yu and sir Antonio from San Isidro LGU Big thanks to my friend Ed of eazytraveler.net for bringing us along in his writing assignment and to our hosts at San Isidro, sir Antonio & the rest of his team! You can read Ed's account of our hike on EAZYTraveler | Hiking to the World's Largest Pygmy Forest. |