My Share for #BeautifulSunday initiated by @ace108

Hello again as we continue with the tour in the Bicol region in the Philippines. Last time we visited the Ruins of Cagsawa in which we had a chance to explore the ruins of the old church. For our next destination today I will take you to Ligñon Hill Nature park in Legaspi Albay, which is another popular tourist destination. Here we will explore the last known Japanese tunnel from WW2 in the area. Come with me today as I take inside the dark cold tunnel and see what it was like hiding inside a cave.

The Japanese Tunnel of Ligñon Hill

Join the tour and see the previous sites that we visited in this Region

Part 1 The Long and Winding Road to Bicol

Part 2 Balatan Public Market

Part 3 Baresbisan Beach Resort

Part 4 Discovering Life by the Road

Part 5 Embraced by Nature "Hibiscus Camp"

Part 6 A Tranquil Afternoon "Hibiscus Camp"

Part 7 A Charming Mountainside Food Shack

Part 8 The Antlers of Ocampo

Part 9 Nabua Church

Part 10 Divine Mercy Monastery

Part 11 Road to the Ruins

Part 12 The Cagsawa Ruins

Driving from Cagsawa Ruins it will take you around 16 minutes to reach the site.

Lignon Hill Nature Park is a place that offers different activities. At the gate, you would need to pay the initial entrance fee of 25 pesos or around $.50 USD. Other activities will require additional fees upon entry.

If you are looking for adventure, activities are posted outside. Take a scenic zip line ride and get a fantastic view of Mayon volcano, rent an ATV to experience an adventure trail to the volcano or visit a Japanese tunnel from WW2.

We settled the entrance fee at the gate and we were asked if we wanted to try the activities that they were offering. Since we do not have enough time to spend, we decided to just visit the tunnel. The fee is 50 pesos per head which is almost $1.00 USD.

Zip Line rates differ during peak and off peak seasons.

Off season

Basic - 250 pesos ($4.92)

Advanced 350 pesos ($6.89)

Peak season

Basic 300 pesos ($5.91)

Advanced 400 pesos ($7.87)

Hanging Bridge

150 pesos ($2.95)

Rapelling

Off season rate - 200 pesos ($3.94)

Peak season rate - 250 pesos($4.92)

ATV ride to the foot of Mayon Vocano

1,800 pesos for one person 150cc ATV ($35.43)

3,500 pesos for two persons 500cc ATV ($68.90)

Paintball

50 paintballs - 350 pesos ($6.89)

100 paintballs - 500 pesos ($9.84)

A map just across the entrance will show you all the points of interest in the park.

The tunnel is located just a few steps away across from the gate.

There is a sign outside about the construction of a memorial site for the Japanese Zero Fighter plane.

The sign outside points out the way to the tunnel and you would need to climb up a few steps to reach the entrance.

The steps are a bit slippery due to moss that has been growing on the steps. As a safety precaution, the have put sandbags and bamboo railings to make sure of the safety of the visitors.

Looks like they have already completed the Zero Fighter memorial site.

The Mitsubishi A6M also known as Zero Fighter and Zeke was used by the Imperial Japanese army during WW2. It had a reputation as a dogfighter during the war due to its excellent maneuverability and long-range capabilities.

Here an old lady who was the care taker greeted us and handed out flashlights as it is very dark inside. Visitors are not allowed to enter the tunnel without a guide.

Our guide who has been the caretaker for more than 10 years now, led our way inside the dark tunnel. The ceiling was low and she told us to watch our head, we would need to crouch a bit as we enter.

The tunnel is only 50 feet long and surprisingly the air inside was very cool.

The tunnel felt creepy and I didn't expect that they had Japanese mannequins of the soldiers guarding the tunnel.

The dark, cold and damp ambiance of the tunnel would freak out kids to moment the soldiers comes into view. Looking at the figures felt very creepy as light from our flashlights hit the old uniform of the soldier on guard.

Our guide told us that prisoner soldiers of war were used to dig up the tunnels. During the war, there were hundreds of tunnels located across the hill and only this one is left. A lot of the tunnels has caved in and blown by American soldiers.

When the area was occupied by the Japanese, these tunnels were used to store ammunition. When the Americans arrived and captured the area, all the tunnels were hunted down.

If you are claustrophobic it may not be for you as some areas the ceiling is really low.

The tunnel branches out to another section on the left and at the end another soldier awaits in the dark.

We have reached the end of the tour inside and there are two options. The first option is an alternate exit but you would need to crawls through a small hole that leads outside. The other option would be going back where you came from. I told our guide that I wanted to exit the alternate route and she pointed me the way.

This is the way where you would need to crawl through a small hole. It was like the back door exit by the Japanese soldiers.

The way outside would get tighter as you reach the exit but the light outside would keep you going.

I crawled out of the hole this is what it looks like from the outside. If you didn't know about the tunnel, it would make you think twice to go inside the hole.

The trail would take you back to the front entrance of the tunnel.

I waited for them to exit the cave since I got out faster through the alternate exit. Looks like everyone had a good experience inside and they were all laughing as no one planned to go inside a cave today.

After that experience in the cave, we headed out to the top of Lignon hill. This is the place to buy some refreshments or snacks and is the perfect spot to view Legaspi city.

The map of the region which shows the Mayon volcano and the surrounding areas.

The wind was cool and the air is fresh up here. An amazing view of the city and I hope you enjoy a few shots that I would share using my Olympus 40-150 mm zoom lens.

The airport runway can clearly be seen here and you would also see the planes landing and taking off every now and then.

Another part of the airport where a police helicopter is stationed.

On the left side ships can be seen docking at the port nearby.

A view of the city from up here is amazing and I am imagining how beautiful it would be at night time.

 

This ends our tour here at Lignon Hill Nature Park. Even though we didn't experience the various activities that the park has to offer, we enjoyed our visit. To those who are planning to visit in the future, it is one of the tourist spots that should not be missed. Thank you for joining the trip today and hope to see you again for the final episode of our adventure.

Until then, hope you enjoy the rest of the weekend and keep on spreading love.

 

Resource

Zero fighter

Visit and follow @steemitbloggers AKA #powerhousecreatives. A community that is exceptional, talented and engaging.

Discovering exceptional content in the community follow @curie and vote as witness
To have a glimpse of awesome content from the Philippines check out @bayanihan
Follow @surpassinggoogle to witness an extraordinary person in this platform and vote for @steemgigs as witness
All photos are original and taken with

Lumix GX85 12-32 mm kit lens, Olympus 40-150 mm

and Sigma 50 mm
 

 

---

Posted from my blog with SteemPress : http://watersnake101.steemblogs.club/2019/12/08/the-japanese-tunnel-of-lignon-hill-beautiful-sunday/

---