Mount Sungay, also known as Mount Gonzales, is a mountain in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite (; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region. On the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest of Manila, i ...

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 ...

. Located in eastern Tagaytay, the inactive

stratovolcano 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 ...

is the highest point in the province of Cavite, at ."Mount Sungay elevation"
Google maps. Retrieved on 2013-10-21. The slopes of the mountain are the source of the San Cristobal River that flows from the mountain to Silang, Cavite down to its mouth at Laguna de Bay in

Calamba, Laguna Calamba, officially the City of Calamba (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Laguna (province), Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a popu ...

. The mountain's former sharp peak and readily distinguishable shape made it a reliable

landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern-day use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures ...

for bearing checks when sailing in and around

Manila Bay Manila Bay (; ) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the Manila, capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Philippines and ...

during the early days of navigation.

Destruction

The mountain peak was previously much higher with an elevation of , Its former profile, "a sharp peak at the eastern end of a table of land (Tagaytay Ridge)", was one of the visible

s used by early navigators when sailing to and around Manila Bay.Coast and Geodetic Survey (1906)
"Philippine Island Sailing Directions, Third Edition, 1906"
pg. 72. Bureau of Printing, Manila (from Google Books). It was conical in shape with steep sides deemed "inaccessible", topped by distinct rock formations that resembled horns, ( Tagalog: ''sungay''), hence the name. Mount Sungay was destroyed with the 1979 construction of First Lady

Imelda Marcos Imelda Romualdez Marcos (; born Imelda Remedios Visitación Trinidad Romuáldez; July 2, 1929) is a Filipino politician who was First Lady of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, wielding significant political power after her husband Ferdinand ...

's Palace in the Sky, a

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...

originally intended as a guesthouse for former

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Governor

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

, who never arrived. This drastically changed the landscape of the Cavite highland, as the mountain was leveled to about half of its former prominence to accommodate the structure. The mansion remained unfinished after the

People Power Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, were a series of popular Demonstration (people), demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a ...

in 1986 that toppled the

dictatorship A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, who hold governmental powers with few to no Limited government, limitations. Politics in a dictatorship are controlled by a dictator, ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...

. The new government renamed it the People's Park in the Sky, to show the excesses of the ousted regime.Cruz, Sarah (2011-06-03)
"Palace in the Sky in Tagaytay"
. Tagaytay Hotels. Retrieved on 2013-10-22.

People's Park in the Sky

The ''People's Park in the Sky'', in now poised at the top of Mount Sungay, the highest point of the Province of Cavite. The park stands on a of solid ground and provides a 360-degree view of Cavite and the bordering provinces of Batangas and Laguna, to as far as

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 ...

with a straight-line distance of about . It overlooks four bodies of water –

Taal Lake Taal Lake (, ), formerly known as Bombón Lake, is a fresh water Volcanic crater lake, caldera lake in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Batangas, on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. The lake fills Taal Volcano, a large volc ...

, Balayan Bay, Laguna de Bay and

. Nearby mountains visible from Mount Sungay include Mount Makiling in Laguna-

Batangas Batangas, officially the Province of Batangas ( ), is a first class province of the Philippines located in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Calabarzon region. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 2,908,494 people, making ...

border; Mount Malepunyo and Mount Macolod in

; and Mount Banahaw in

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 ...

. Mount Sungay is located at

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 ...

s Dapdap West and Dapdap East in Tagaytay, approximately east from the Tagaytay City Circle. A narrow road takes visitors near the top to the parking lot and entrance of the park. The mansion can be reached by a walk or by a

jeepney A jeepney (), or simply a jeep (), is a type of Public transport, public utility vehicle (PUV) that serves as the most popular means of Transportation in the Philippines, public transportation in the Philippines. Known for its crowded seating ...

.(2012-03-19)
"Tagaytay City - People's Park in the Sky (Palace in the Sky). Pinas Hangouts. Retrieved on 2013-10-22.
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sungay Mountains of the Philippines Tagaytay Landforms of Cavite Stratovolcanoes of the Philippines