Mount Tapulao (also known as High Peak) is the highest mountain in the

Zambales Mountain Range The Zambales Mountains is a mountain range on western Luzon island in the Philippines. The mountains separate Luzon's central plain from the South China Sea. Its most prominent section is known as the Cabusilan Mountain Range composed of Mount ...

and in the

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

Zambales Zambales, officially the Province of Zambales ( fil, Lalawigan ng Zambales; ilo, Probinsia ti Zambales; Pangasinan: ''Luyag/Probinsia na Zambales''; xsb, Probinsya nin Zambales), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon re ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. The peak, which rise to an elevation of above sea level, and it is located in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

of Palauig, Zambales. Its name is derived from the abundance of

Sumatran Pine ''Pinus merkusii'', the Merkus pine or Sumatran pine, is a pine native to the Malesia region of southeast Asia, and the only one that occurs naturally south of the equator. Description ''Pinus merkusii'' is a medium-sized to large tree, reachin ...

trees in the area, known in

Zambal The Sambal people are a Filipino ethnolinguistic group living primarily in the province of Zambales and the Pangasinense municipalities of Bolinao and Anda. The term may also refer to the general inhabitants of Zambales. In 1950s, hundreds of ...

as ''tapolaw.''(2007-09-01)
"Mt. Tapulao (2,037+)"
Pinoy Mountaineer. Retrieved on 2012-02-11."Zambales Mountains"
. NewCAPP. Retrieved on 2012-02-15. The mountain was once a site of a large-scale

chromite Chromite is a crystalline mineral composed primarily of iron(II) oxide and chromium(III) oxide compounds. It can be represented by the chemical formula of FeCr2O4. It is an oxide mineral belonging to the spinel group. The element magnesium can s ...

mining operations. The destruction of the beautiful natural scenery is visible in the mine pits on the summit as well as other related structures along the trail. The summit offers a 360-degree vista from where you can see the other Zambales mountains on the eastern side,

Lingayen Gulf The Lingayen Gulf is a large gulf on northwestern Luzon in the Philippines, stretching . It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central. The Agno River and the Balili ...

to the north, and on the western side, the Zambales lowlands and the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...

stretching to as far south as Pundaquit in

San Antonio, Zambales San Antonio, officially the Municipality of San Antonio ( ilo, Ili ti San Antonio; tgl, Bayan ng San Antonio), is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Zambales, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 37,450 peo ...

Hiking activity

The trail to the top of Mount Tapulao is on rolling and gradual terrain that takes hikers through a number of distinct ecosystems: from lowland grass and

scrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, Herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or ...

dominated by ''talahib'' (

cogon grass ''Imperata cylindrica'' (commonly known as cogongrass or kunai grass ) is a species of perennial rhizomatous grass native to tropical and subtropical Asia, Micronesia, Melanesia, Australia, Africa, and southern Europe. It has also been intro ...

) to its flanks of secondary to primary

dipterocarp forest Dipterocarpaceae is a family of 16 genera and about 695 known species of mainly tropical lowland rainforest trees. The family name, from the type genus ''Dipterocarpus'', is derived from Greek (''di'' = two, ''pteron'' = wing and ''karpos'' = fru ...

, mossy

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

and pine forest above that extends to the adjacent mountains. During wet weather, ''limatik'' or forest

leech Leeches are segmented parasitic or predatory worms that comprise the subclass Hirudinea within the phylum Annelida. They are closely related to the oligochaetes, which include the earthworm, and like them have soft, muscular segmented bodie ...

es abound especially near the streams along the way. Parts of the trail become

rivulet A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long large streams are ...

s that trekkers easily attracts these critters without noticing being bitten, sticking on the human skin.

From Palauig

Mount Tapulao can be reached by trekking the mining road on a ridge on the side of the mountain with the forest line starting at about . The jump-off point is from the Dampay resettlement area in Brgy. Salaza in Palauig, which is around from the Zambales Regional Highway on rough road. From the trailhead at Brgy. Dampay to the summit is around . Residents of Dampay are evacuees from the foot of

Mount Pinatubo Mount Pinatubo is an active stratovolcano in the Zambales Mountains, located on the tripoint boundary of the Philippine provinces of Zambales, Tarlac and Pampanga, all in Central Luzon on the northern island of Luzon. Its eruptive history w ...

and are the "self-appointed guardians" of Mt. Tapulao under the coordination of the Municipal Tourism Authority of Palauig, Zambales."List of Ecotourism Sites in Central Luzon, Philippines"
Philippine Department of Tourism Website. Retrieved on 2012-02-11. The ascent can be done in 7–8 hours while the descent can be covered in half the time. Guest and tourist aiming to climb the mountain are required to register at the

barangay A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolitan ...

hall to receive further safety, security and cooperation according to the rule and guidance of the tourism authority. Farther down the settlement is a trail leading to the jump off-point for the Bagsit River whitewater river rafting.

Traverse hike

A traverse hike is also possible starting from the eastern side of the Mount Tapulao in Brgy. Labney in the town of Mayantoc in

Tarlac Tarlac, officially the Province of Tarlac ( pam, Lalawigan ning Tarlac; pag, Luyag/Probinsia na Tarlac; ilo, Probinsia ti Tarlac; tgl, Lalawigan ng Tarlac; ), is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. It ...

province, ending in Palauig, or vice versa. The trail from the northwest is longer and a much more challenging route than the one from Zambales, but the reward is a more diverse environment and fauna."Mt. Tapulao/ Tarlac-Zambales Traverse (2,037 +)"
Pinoy Mountaineer. Retrieved on 2012-02-11.

Ecosystem

Department of Environment and Natural Resources The Department of Environment and Natural Resources ( fil, Kagawaran ng Kapaligiran at Likas na Yaman, DENR or KKLY) is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for governing and supervising the exploration, developmen ...

(DENR) region 3 has signed a memorandum of agreement for the protection and development of Mt. Tapula

http://www.zambalesnow.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=136:iba-zambales-denr-sign-moa-to-develop-mt-tapulao&catid=6:zambales-in-action] *

Sangguniang Bayan The Sangguniang Bayan () is the local legislative branch of the municipal governments in the Philippines. It is responsible for passing ordinances and resolutions for the administration of a municipality. Its powers are defined by the Local Gov ...

(SB) of Iba, Zambales came out with an ordinance declaring the town's part of Mt. Tapulao as an eco-tourism destination and a protected are

References

External links