The Last of the Real Ones – Mt. Iglit (1432+), Occidental Mindoro

April 9, 2020July 27, 2021 Rex Lim Lim BLOG, mountains, TAMARAW, TRANSIT PINAS, TRAVEL GUIDE

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Mt. Iglit
Calintaan, Occidental Mindoro
Jump-off: Mt. Iglit-Baco NP, Calintaan
LLA: 12°51’N, 121°10’E; 1432 MASL
Days required / Hours to summit: 2-3 days /9-11 hours
Specs: Major climb, Difficulty 6/9, Trail class 3 with bouldering (250m)
(www.pinoymountaineer.com)

Table of Contents

We woke up early at 03:00 in the morning for our second day within the confines of Mts. Iglit-Baco National Park. About an hour and a half passed, everyone finished with their breakfasts. We had a short prayer and briefing before starting the trek at 04:30am, aiming reach the summit of Mt. Iglit by sunrise.

The Grasslands

Mt. Iglit with the whole national park, is a rare mountain grassland ecosystem. Usually when we say grasslands, the first thing that comes into mind is those of the African Protected Reserves like the Maasai Mara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro to name a few.

But that is not the case for the MIBNP, since the Philippines is unique on its own.

MIBNP is a mountain and rugged landscape filled reserve covering 75,445 hectares with its majority, 70% of which, is covered by grasslands.

From the ranger station, we took the few flight of stairs leading to the grassy hill to start of our sunrise hike. Half an hour passed and the hill covered in tall and sharp grasses took a detour on the left side.

However, we have to descend down its steep cliff by using the rope installed by the rangers. We abseiled down one by one since the cliff risks a major fall with just one small mistake.

The Assault

It was still dark and the wind’s not yet picking up. I observed that from the rappel cliff, there were no flat grounds anymore, just ascents with 50-60 degree inclines. Then the morning sun slowly illuminated the sleeping mountains around and it was such a great show.

By 07:00am we have finally reached the treacherous Mangibok Ridge. This is the ridge connected to the summit of Mt. Iglit that is a narrow path with deep drops on both sides. To add, up in there, the savanna grassland covered mountains around was just as green as the color green gets.

The terrain was remarkable, just like the Cawag Mountains of the Zambales province. Only this time, there’s rugged terrains everywhere- sharp ridges, plateaus, hills and river gorges – as far as the eye can see.

Into the Cloud Zone

Then by 07:30am we already summitted Mt. Iglit, although it was covered in clouds. We were not given the 360 degree view of the surrounding terrains of the Mindoro Island.

If ever there’s a clearing, it gives you the chance to even see Mt. Halcon from a distance, but nonetheless, Iglit was such a rewarding hike.

We went down by 09:00am after having snacks and arrived at the ranger station by 11:00am. It was a tough climb and I must say that training is a must before hiking Mt. Iglit as well as all the other mountains, since there are no tree covers until the summit that makes the climb exhausting when the sun rises above the horizon.

From the ranger station, we descended back to the base camp and arrived before dawn. Then again, we took the longest trip again going back to Manila.

The Takeaways

There will only be a sense of urgency when it’s already too late. The truth is, we only care about the value of something when we become aware of it that it’s about to be gone forever. So let me list down some of the takeaways I learned from this tiring yet fulfilling adventure:

Mts. Iglit-Baco National Park is established to protect what’s inside of it – this is the cradle of a unique ecosystem, a faunal region, that is one of a kind in the country, and in the whole world.

Mindoro is always considered as a seperate bio-geographical region from the rest of the country: this yielded a long list of one of a kind species that exclusive to the island. With a savanna like landscape in a temperate country, the island cradled an all time high endemicity rate. These creatures, some of which are discovered recently are the:
- Tamaraw (Bubalus mindorensis)
  - Photo from Greggy Yan (www.rappler.com)
- Mindoro Hornbill (Penelopides mindorensis)
  - Photo from Alvin Del Pascua
- Mindoro Bleeding Heart (Gallicolumba platenae)
- Mindoro Imperial Pigeon (Ducula mindorensis)
- Mindoro Stripe-faced Fruit Bat (Styloctenium mindorensis)
- Green-faced Parrotfinch (Erythrura viridifacies)
- Mantanani Scops Owl (Otus mantananensis)
  - Photo from en.wikipedia.org
- Pacific Golden Plover (Pluvialis fulva)

In the 1900’s the Tamaraw count inside the area was at the rate of 10,000 and counting. By year 2000, their population exhausted to only merely 405 heads as of the year 2015.
The park is home to eight (8) river systems and is considered a major watershed – this strikes a balance to the ecosystems of the Oriental and the Occidental.

It is home to various indigenous tribes of “Mangyans” – “Tao Buhid” and “Buid” to name a few. Their cultures, almost intact and life has been the same as compared from ages ago. Why are they IMPORTANT? it is because where there are indigenous peoples with homelands, there are still biologically rich environments.

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While crossing the river, I saw a man standing with a sack of wood to bring back to his village. I paused and looked, badly wanting to raise my lenses. I hesitated… scared of seeing a frown if I try to take a shot. Mustering the courage to ask if it's okay, he saw me looking with my lenses midair. Seeing the wanting in my eyes, he posed and smiled. Then I knew what I had to do: grab the opportunity and take his photograph. It's not always the same case, but I knew I had to try. I'll keep trying.

A post shared by Ivan Torres (@iavnt) on Nov 12, 2017 at 5:03am PST

It has been nominated to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites inscription -after being recognized as an ASEAN Heritage Park. This means that it will be part of the list in the world that exemplifies outstanding examples so that others may follow suit.

What can we do to HELP?

Visit our very own National Parks and Conservation Areas – why visit the already developed parks out of the country if we have our very own versions that is culturally rich and diverse. Give the parks a chance to be developed if we will always visit their places.

Love Local – Get the service of the guides, buy items that are produced locally, with this small act, we are not only immersing ourselves, but also, we are helping the locals to earn a living by ecotourism. This paves way to more opportunities for the community other than logging, mining and other environment damaging activities.
Respect and Live Local – Since we are extending a helping hand, may we still be aware of their culture and try not to taint it with the modern ones. We need to bridge the gap that separates us from them, we don’t know much about them, but we can still learn how to help if only we have the ear to listen, and a heart to empathize.

May this article serve as a reminder that the Philippines is a rare gem that sets us apart from the whole world. Let’s start learning more to protect and preserve what makes us unique as an individual and as a nation.

I hope that our grand kids may still witness all of this.