UNESCO World Heritage Site: Mt. Hamiguitan

lorefeltina (41)in #story • 7 years ago (edited)

Hi SteemIt Community!

I am originally from a province of Davao Oriental in the south Mindanao, Philippines.

I lived there for 21 years until I graduated college and moved to the City of Davao for work.

But let's talk about what is interesting about my native land - San Isidro, Davao Oriental.

San Isidro is a municipality composed of 16 Barangays - I am from Barangay San Miguel. The place is peaceful and living there is simple. But we locals have something we are really proud of - we have our very own MOUNT HAMIGUITAN.

Mount Hamiguitan is a mountain located in the province of Davao Oriental, Philippines. It has a height of 1,620 metres (5,315 ft). The mountain and its vicinity has one of the most diverse wildlife populations in the country. Among the wildlife found in the area are Philippine eagles and several species of Nepenthes. Some of the latter, such as the Nepenthes peltata, are endemic to the area.

The mountain has a protected forest area of approximately 2,000 hectares. This woodland is noted for its unique pygmy forest of century old trees in ultramafic soil, with many endangered, endemic and rare species of flora and fauna.

The Mount Hamiguitan range, with an area of 6,834 hectares (68.34 km2), was declared a national park and a wildlife sanctuary in 2003. In 2014, the park was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Hamiguitan

I got a chance to hike and explore the beauty of the mountain with my team from the municipality's tourism.

Since its my first time to hike (and will be the last time that I will hike) I got tired easily and my heart that time seems like its going to explode because the long walk and all. But it was all worth it. There's a lot of things to see in the moutain like:

100 years old Bonsai Tree

Twin Falls

Nice view and challenging trails

There's a lot of different flora and fauna yet I was not able to retrieve some photos. :(

The small tent below was my shelter for 4 days. The place was so cold that I need two jackets, gloves, socks and pajamas for me to sleep.

Now, the provincial government decided to built a museum to the foot of the mountain for the tourist to have a glimpse and be informed of what really Mt. Hamiguitan is.

Photo of the newly built Mt. Hamiguitan Museum is not mine.
Source: Rappler

** Hope you like it! **

#life #philippines #travel #hiking