Mount Banahaw (; also spelled as Banahao and Banájao) is an

active Active may refer to: Music * ''Active'' (album), a 1992 album by Casiopea * "Active" (song), a 2024 song by Asake and Travis Scott from Asake's album ''Lungu Boy'' * Active Records, a record label Ships * ''Active'' (ship), several com ...

complex volcano A complex volcano, also called a compound volcano or a volcanic complex, is a mixed landform consisting of related volcanic centers and their associated lava flows and pyroclastic rock. They may form due to changes in eruptive habit or ...

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. The three-peaked

volcano A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most oft ...

is located at the boundary of Laguna and

Quezon Quezon, officially the Province of Quezon () and historically known as Tayabas, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon Regions of the Philippines, region on Luzon. Lucena, a highly urbanized ci ...

provinces. It is the highest mountain in both provinces and

Calabarzon Calabarzon (officially stylized in all caps; ; ), sometimes referred to as Southern Tagalog () and designated as Region IVA, is an administrative region in the Philippines. It is situated southeast of Metro Manila and is bordered by Manila Bay ...

region, dominating the landscape for miles around. The mountain is considered by many a holy mountain, thus a ''bundok

dambana Indigenous Philippine shrines and sacred grounds are places regarded as holy within the indigenous Philippine folk religions. These places usually serve as grounds for communication with the spirit world, especially to the deities and ancestr ...

'', and is popular among

pilgrim The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as ...

s along with mountain climbers. It is located in a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

known as

Mounts Banahaw–San Cristobal Protected Landscape Mounts Banahaw–San Cristobal Protected Landscape is a protected landscape park in the Calabarzon region of the Philippines, south of Manila. It is the second largest protected area in Calabarzon, after the Upper Marikina River Basin Protected ...

covering of land.

Physical characteristics

The

andesitic Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predomina ...

Banahaw volcanic complex is composed of several

stratovolcanoes A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a typically conical volcano built up by many alternating layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a ...

with Mount Banahaw, the largest with a maximum elevation of

above mean sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

. The summit is topped by a and deep crater that is breached on the southern rim believed to have been caused by the 1730 eruption. Prior to 1730, a

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

occupied the summit crater of Mount Banahaw. The resulting flood destroyed the town of Sariaya, Quezon located below the mountain. * Other peaks: :*

Mount San Cristobal Mount San Cristobal is a potentially active stratovolcano at the boundary of the provinces of Laguna and Quezon on the island of Luzon, Philippines. The mountain rises to an elevation of above mean sea level and is one of the volcanic features ...

(on the western slope) :*Mount Banahaw de Lucban (at northeastern slope) :*Buho Masalukot Domes (at southwestern slope) :* Mount Mayabobo *

Maar A maar is a broad, low-relief volcanic crater caused by a phreatomagmatic eruption (an explosion which occurs when groundwater comes into contact with hot lava or magma). A maar characteristically fills with water to form a relatively shallow ...

s: Lake Dagatan/Gunao Lake and Lake Ticob * Thermal Areas: :*Tiaong-San Pablo hot/warm springs :*Bakia warm/cold springs :*Sampaloc warm springs :*Mainit hot/warm springs :*Cagsiay hot/warm springs

Importance to locals

Philippine Island - Luzon Island - NARA - 68156959

Banahaw is a custom

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

site for locals, believed by many as a holy mountain, a spiritually-charged location. The mountain and its environs are considered sacred by local residents; the water from its

sacred spring A holy well or sacred spring is a well, spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christian or pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualities, through the numinous presence of its guard ...

s are deemed "holy water" for allegedly having beneficial qualities, issuing forth from locations called ''"puestos"'' or "holy sites". These sites are unique natural features composed not only of springs, but also

cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...

s and

boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In ...

s; with names with biblical

allusion Allusion, or alluding, is a figure of speech that makes a reference to someone or something by name (a person, object, location, etc.) without explaining how it relates to the given context, so that the audience must realize the connection in the ...

s, and shrines erected in, on or around them. These locations were allegedly revealed to a man named Agripino Lontoc by the ''"Santong Boses"'' or the "Holy Voices", which also gave the names to these places way back during the Spanish colonial era. Another one of these mountains is the adjacent Mount Banahaw de Lucbán."Mount Banahaw"
Malapascua. Retrieved on September 25, 2011. Banahaw is also a part of the Makiling-Banahaw Watershed, a reservation of the National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR) providing steam for power generation, as well as water source for domestic and industrial uses.

Hiking

The mountain is popular not only with

s but also among mountain climbers being the closest over mountain from

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

. Before 2004,

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

activity peaks during

Holy Week Holy Week () commemorates the seven days leading up to Easter. It begins with the commemoration of Triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, marks the betrayal of Jesus on Spy Wednesday (Holy Wednes ...

each year, with climbers numbering to the thousands. At least four trails exist from Dolores, Sariaya, and other towns of Quezon located on its foothills. The most frequently used trails are the ''Cristalino'' and ''Tatlong Tangke'', taking an average of 9 and 5 hours, respectively. These two trails originate from

Barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...

Kinabuhayan in Dolores, and meet near the summit, which is actually the rim of the Banahaw

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption. An eruption that ejects large volumes of magma over a short period of time can cause significant detriment to the str ...

. On the summit are viewpoints, labeled as ''Durungawan'' I, II, and III, which are the usual destination for pilgrims and hikers. Other points of interest include the ''"Kuweba ng Diyos Ama"'' ( Tagalog: Cave of

God the Father God the Father is a title given to God in Christianity. In mainstream trinitarian Christianity, God the Father is regarded as the first Person of the Trinity, followed by the second person, Jesus Christ the Son, and the third person, God th ...

) and the spring at Brgy. Kinabuhayan, said to have curative powers.

Pollution

Due to incessant climbing activity the mountain trails have become littered with trash. In March 2004, the

Department of Environment and Natural Resources The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR; ) is the Executive Departments of the Philippines, executive department of the Philippine government responsible for the conservation, management, development, and proper use of the cou ...

ordered a 5-year suspension of hiking activity in the mountains, covering the Dolores and Sariaya trails. Reopening was delayed was then scheduled to March 2012, but was further extended to February 2015. Some sections of the mountain were reopened to hikers in 2019, and the mountain observed seasonal openings due to the mountain's religious significance, but most sections of the mountain still remain closed.

Biodiversity

Frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to Mount Banahaw include '' Platymantis banahao'', ''

Platymantis indeprensus ''Platymantis indeprensus'' is a species of frogs in the family Ceratobatrachidae. It is endemic to Mount Banahaw, Philippines. It has been observed between 600 and 1400 meters above sea level. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical mo ...

'', ''

Platymantis montanus ''Platymantis montanus'' is a species of frog in the family Ceratobatrachidae. It is endemic to southwestern Luzon, the Philippines, and is known from its type locality, Mount Banahaw, and from Mount Apoy. Description Adult males measure and ...

'', '' Platymantis naomii'', and '' Platymantis pseudodorsalis''.

Reptiles

The Banahao forest skink (

Parvoscincus banahaoensis The Banahao forest skink (''Parvoscincus banahaoensis'') is a species of True Lizards in the Scincidae family endemic to the Mount Banahaw Mount Banahaw (; also spelled as Banahao and Banájao) is an active complex volcano on Luzon in th ...

) is a species of skink endemic to Mount Banahao, Philippines.LINKEM, C.W. and BROWN, R.M. (2013) ‘systematic revision of the parvoscincus decipiens (boulenger, 1894) complex of Philippine forest skinks (Squamata: Scincidae: Lygosominae) with descriptions of seven new species’, Zootaxa, 3700(4), p. 501. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3700.4.1.

Mammals

Mount Banahaw-San Cristobal Protected Landscape is home to four endemic

rodents Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are n ...

: the Banahaw tree mouse ('' Musseromys gulantang''), the Banahaw tweezer-beaked rat ('' Rhychomys banaho''), the Banahaw forest mouse ('' Apomys banahao''), and the Banahaw lowland forest mouse ('' Apomys magnus'').

References

External links

Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, Mt Banahaw page

"Mount Banahao, Philippines" on Peakbagger
{{DEFAULTSORT:Banahaw Mountains of the Philippines Volcanoes of Luzon Complex volcanoes Active volcanoes of the Philippines Sacred mountains of the Philippines Landforms of Quezon Landforms of Laguna (province) Stratovolcanoes of the Philippines Folk Catholicism in the Philippines