Mount Pulag
Template:Short description Template:Use Philippine English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox mountain
Mount Pulag (Template:Langx; Template:Langx)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> is Luzon's highest peak at Template:Convert above sea level, third-highest mountain in the Philippines, and the 26th-highest peak of an island on Earth.
It is second-most prominent mountain in the Philippines. Located on the triple border of the provinces of Benguet, Ifugao, and Nueva Vizcaya, the borders meet at the mountain's peak. Mount Pulag is third highest next to Mount Apo and Mount Dulang-dulang.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Mount Pulag is famous for its "sea of clouds" and its exceptional view of the Milky Way Galaxy at dawn, which has attracted many tourists who wish to see the "other-worldly" scenery.
The entire mountain is believed to be the home to the tinmongao spirits and is the sacred resting ground of the souls of the Ibaloi people and other ethnic peoples in the area.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
HistoryEdit
The Ibaloi people of Benguet mummify their dead and house them in caverns in the mountain. The Kabayan mummy burial caves, one of the main attraction of the site, are considered Philippine national cultural treasures under Presidential Decree No. 432.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Mt. Pulag was proclaimed a national park through Presidential Proclamation No. 75 signed by President Corazon Aquino on February 20, 1987, covering an area of Template:Convert.<ref name="GovPH-Proc75">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is part of the Cordillera Biogeographic Zone and is a National Integrated Protected Areas Programme (NIPAP) site.<ref name="GMANews-MappingOut">Template:Cite news</ref>
The national park is inhabited by different ethnic groups such as the Ibalois, Kalanguya, Kankana-eys, Karao, and Ifugaos.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
GeographyEdit
Mount Pulag stands at Template:Convert high.<ref name="PHIVOLCS">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The peak of the mountain is located in the Municipality of Kabayan Province of Benguet.
ClimateEdit
The climate at the summit of Mount Pulag is subpolar oceanic (Köppen Cwc), bordering a subtropical highland (Köppen Cwb) climate, as its summer mean temperatures only slightly exceed 10 degrees Celsius. Rainfall on the mountain averages Template:Convert yearly with August being the wettest month with an average rainfall of Template:Convert.
Snow has not fallen on its top in at least the past 100 years, only hailstorms that look like snow. However, there have been mild flurries on the mountain, especially during December, January and February. Template:Clarify Frost is more common on the mountain due to the low temperature during those months.<ref name="ABS-CBNNews-1Degree">Template:Cite news</ref>
During the winter season, the temperature at the highest point of the mountain is known to dip into sub-freezing temperatures, making it the coldest place in the country.<ref name="PhilStar-BelowZero">Template:Cite news</ref> The only recorded incidence of snow was in the late 1800s.Template:Citation needed
Fauna and floraEdit
Mount Pulag has a large diversity of flora and fauna, including many species that endemic to the mountain.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Mount Pulag hosts 528 documented plant species. It is the natural habitat of the dwarf bamboo (Yushania niitakayamensis) and the Benguet pine (Pinus kesiya) that dominate the areas of Luzon tropical pine forests found on the mountainsides. The Philippine yew tree, which contains a compound associated with cancer treatment, is found on Mount Pulag.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Its bark is used by indigenous Ibaloi and Kalanguya communities to make tea.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
At lower elevations, Mount Pulag has a mossy forest full of ferns, lichens, and moss.<ref name=":0" />
Among its native wildlife are 33 bird species and several threatened mammals such as the Philippine deer, giant bushy-tailed cloud rat (bowet) and the long-haired fruit bat.<ref name="GMANews-MappingOut" /> Mount Pulag is the only place that hosts the four cloud rat species. It is one of the most biodiverse locations in the Philippines, with the newly found (since 1896) 185-grams dwarf cloud rat, Carpomys melanurus, a rare breed (endemic to the Cordillera), and the Koch pitta bird among its endangered denizens.
Conservation effortsEdit
In April 2022, President Rodrigo Duterte signed a law declaring Mount Pulag as a protected landscape under the National Integrated Protected Areas System.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Hiking activityEdit
As the highest mountain in Luzon, Mount Pulag attracts a lot of mountain climbers.<ref name="GMANews-MappingOut" /> Highlights of the climb include the montane forests and the grassland summit with its "sea of clouds" phenomenon. There are four major trails up the summit: the Ambangeg, Akiki, and Tawangan trails from Benguet and the Ambaguio trail from Nueva Vizcaya. These trails are managed by the Mount Pulag National Park, under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
IncidentsEdit
Presidential helicopter crashEdit
On April 7, 2009, a Philippine Air Force (PAF) Bell 412 of the 250th Presidential Airlift Wing crashed at Template:Convert above sea level in the Kabayan-Pulag pass between Mount Mangingihi and Mount Pulag in thick low cloud and fog. The pilots and their passengers, who were presidential appointees, died in the crash.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
January 2018 forest fireEdit
On January 20, 2018, the Mount Pulag National Park temporarily suspended trekking and hiking activities on Mount Pulag following a forest fire at a section of the mountain. According to an initial investigation, the fire started when a butane gas stove brought by a hiker allegedly exploded. The fire officers in site have declared a fire extinguished later that day.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Suits were afterwards filed against the perpetrators of the fire. Park rangers estimated that it will take at least 6 months to 1 year before the area completely recovers.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
See alsoEdit
- List of mountains in the Philippines
- List of national parks of the Philippines
- List of Southeast Asian mountains
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
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- Template:Wikivoyage inline
- Mount Pulag National Park – BirdLife Data Zone
Template:Ten Highest Mountains in the Philippines Template:National parks of the Philippines Template:Protected areas in the Cordillera Administrative Region Template:World Heritage Sites in the Philippines