Mount Pulag (; ) is

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 ...

's highest peak at 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 A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

Benguet Benguet (), officially the Province of Benguet ('';'' ; ; ; ), is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the southern tip of the Cordillera Administrative Region in the island of Luzon. Its capital cit ...

Ifugao Ifugao, officially the Province of Ifugao (; ), is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital is Lagawe and it borders Benguet to the west, Mountain Province to the north, Isabela t ...

, and Nueva Vizcaya, the borders meet at the mountain's peak. Mount Pulag is third highest next to

Mount Apo Mount Apo is the highest mountain peak in the Philippines, with an elevation of above sea level. A large solfataric, dormant stratovolcano, it is part of the Apo-Talomo Mountain Range of Mindanao island. Apo is situated on the tripartite b ...

and

Mount Dulang-dulang Mount Dulang-dulang, dubbed by Filipino people, Filipino mountaineers as "D2" and also known as Mount Katanglad, is the highest elevation peak in the Kitanglad Mountain Range, located in the north central portion of the province of Bukidnon in ...

. Mount Pulag is famous for its " sea of clouds" and its exceptional view of the

Milky Way Galaxy The Milky Way or Milky Way Galaxy is the galaxy that includes the Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars in other arms of the galaxy, which are ...

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.

History

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. Mt. Pulag was proclaimed 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 ...

through Presidential Proclamation No. 75 signed by President

Corazon Aquino María Corazón "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipino politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines and the first woman president in the country, from Presidency of Corazon ...

on February 20, 1987, covering an area of . It is part of the Cordillera Biogeographic Zone and is a National Integrated Protected Areas Programme (NIPAP) site. The national park is inhabited by different ethnic groups such as the Ibalois, Kalanguya, Kankana-eys, Karao, and

Geography

Mount Pulag stands at high. The peak of the mountain is located in the Municipality of Kabayan Province of

Climate

The climate at the summit of Mount Pulag is subpolar oceanic (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Cwc''), bordering a subtropical highland (

''Cwb'') climate, as its summer mean temperatures only slightly exceed 10 degrees Celsius. Rainfall on the mountain averages yearly with August being the wettest month with an average rainfall of . 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. Frost is more common on the mountain due to the low temperature during those months. 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. The only recorded incidence of snow was in the late 1800s.

Fauna and flora

Mount Pulag has a large diversity of flora and fauna, including many species that endemic to the mountain. 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. Its bark is used by indigenous Ibaloi and Kalanguya communities to make tea. At lower elevations, Mount Pulag has a mossy forest full of ferns, lichens, and moss. 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. 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 efforts

In April 2022, President

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the first Philippine president from Mindanao, and is the oldest person to assum ...

signed a law declaring Mount Pulag as a protected landscape under the National Integrated Protected Areas System.

Hiking activity

As the highest mountain in Luzon, Mount Pulag attracts a lot of mountain climbers. Highlights of the climb include the

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

s 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

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 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 ...

Incidents

Presidential helicopter crash

On April 7, 2009, a

Philippine Air Force The Philippine Air Force (PAF) () is the aerial warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Initially formed as part of the Philippine Army as the Philippine Army Air Corps (PAAC) in 1935, the PAAC eventually saw combat ...

(PAF)

Bell 412 The Bell 412 is a utility helicopter of the Huey family manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It is a development of the Bell 212, with the major difference being the composite four-blade main rotor. It is a twin-turbine helicopter that has been ...

of the 250th Presidential Airlift Wing crashed at 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.

January 2018 forest fire

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. 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.

References

External links

*
Mount Pulag National Park
– BirdLife Data Zone {{authority control Pulag Landforms of Benguet Landforms of Ifugao Landforms of Nueva Vizcaya National parks of the Philippines Protected areas established in 1987 Tourist attractions in Benguet World Heritage Tentative List for the Philippines Two-thousanders of Asia Volcanoes of Luzon