Mount Mantalingajan (or Mantalingahan or Mantaling) is the highest mountain in the island province of

Palawan Palawan (, ), officially the Province of Palawan (; ), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of . The capital and largest c ...

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 ...

, with an elevation of above sea level, its ranked 68th-highest peak of an island on Earth and 10th-most prominent mountain in the Philippines. Located in the southern part of

Palawan Island Palawan () is the largest island of the province of Palawan in the Philippines and fifth-largest by area and tenth-most populous island of the country, with a total population of 994,101 as of 2020 census. The northwest coast of the island is a ...

that forms the highest part of the Beaufort Mountains Ultramafics geological region, a series of

ultramafic Ultramafic rocks (also referred to as ultrabasic rocks, although the terms are not wholly equivalent) are igneous and meta-igneous rocks with a very low silica content (less than 45%), generally >18% MgO, high FeO, low potassium, and are usua ...

outcrops of

Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...

origin, of which Mount Victoria forms the largest contiguous land area. The peak of the mountain is the highest point on Palawan island. The mountain forms the center of the Mount Mantalingahan Protected Landscape (MMPL), a

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

covering the entire Mantalingahan Mountain Range. The

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 ...

status of MMPL was proclaimed on June 23, 2009, by virtue of ''Proclamation No. 1815''. The protected area covers an area of . The entire park is currently listed as a tentative site for

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

inscription. Continuing discoveries of new species of plant and animal from the mountain highlight its tremendous ecological value and the importance of maintaining such protective zones in the face of constant

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidder, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or trunk (botany), logs onto logging truck, trucksmining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

pressures. The

pitcher plant Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants known as pitfall traps—a prey-trapping mechanism featuring a deep cavity filled with digestive liquid. The traps of pitcher plant are considered to be "true" pitcher plants and are formed by specialized ...

species, ''

Nepenthes mantalingajanensis ''Nepenthes mantalingajanensis'' is a tropical pitcher plant known only from the summit region of Mount Mantalingajan, the highest point on the Philippines, Philippine island of Palawan, after which it is named.McPherson, S.R. 2009. ''Pitcher Pl ...

'', described in 2007, is named after the mountain itself. In May 2018,

formally began the process which would possibly declare the landscape a world heritage site by 2020.

Indigenous peoples

Mount Mantalingajan is home to the Indigenous

Palawan people The Palawan, also known as Palaw'an or Palawano, are an ethnic group native to the Palawan island group in the Philippines. They are the main indigenous population of Palawan. The name of the island they inhabit is named after this ethnic group. ...

Hiking activity

Mount Mantalingajan is one of the most difficult climbs in the Philippines, being graded Difficulty 9/9 by local mountaineering website PinoyMountaineer.com. The usual route starts from Barangay Ransang in

Rizal Rizal most commonly refers to: * Rizal (province), a province of the Philippines * José Rizal, Filipino national hero whom the province is named after Rizal may also refer to: People * Akmal Rizal Ahmad Rakhli, Malaysian footballer * Atep Ri ...

on the south-west coast of Palawan. Three days hiking is required to reach the summit and two days to return to the jump-off, a total of five days, unless another day is wanted exploring the summit and surrounds. Highlights of the trail include encounters with the Tau't Bato tribe and the "Knife Edge" Canopy Walk that leads to the summit.

References

External links

"Mount Mantalingajan, Philippines" on Peakbagger
{{Protected areas in Mimaropa Mountains of the Philippines Landforms of Palawan Protected landscapes of the Philippines

Indigenous peoples

Hiking activity

See also

References

External links