Mounts Banahaw–San Cristobal Protected Landscape is a
protected landscape park in the
Calabarzon region of 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 ...
, south of
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
. It is the second largest protected area in Calabarzon, after the
Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape
The Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape is a protected area in the Province of Rizal in the Philippines, which forms the upper area of the drainage basin of the Marikina River.
The term "Marikina Watershed" is sometimes used to specif ...
, with an area of .
The park is located at the border of
Laguna
Laguna (Italian and Spanish for lagoon) may refer to:
People
* Abe Laguna (born 1992), American DJ known as Ookay
* Andrés Laguna (1499–1559), Spanish physician, pharmacologist, and botanist
* Ana Laguna (born 1955), Spanish-Swedish ballet d ...
and
Quezon
Quezon, officially the Province of Quezon ( tl, Lalawigan ng Quezon), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon Regions of the Philippines, region on Luzon. Kalilayan was the first known name of th ...
provinces and includes the features it is named after:
Mount Banahaw
Mount Banahaw (; also spelled as Banahao and Banájao) is an active complex volcano on Luzon in the Philippines. The three-peaked volcano is located at the boundary of Laguna and Quezon provinces. It is the highest mountain in both provinces an ...
and, to its west,
Mount San Cristobal
Mount San Cristobal is a potentially active stratovolcano at the boundary of the provinces of Laguna and Quezon on the island of Luzon, Philippines. The mountain rises to an elevation of above mean sea level and is one of the volcanic features ...
.
The two dormant volcanoes contain some of the most extensive closed canopy forests in Laguna and Quezon. The mountain park serves as an important watershed for the surrounding plains. Its accessibility to Manila and other major urban areas in Calabarzon makes it a popular destination for tourists and mountaineers. It is also visited by pilgrims being considered a holy site by certain religious denominations in southern
Luzon
Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...
.
Geography
![Victoria Lagunajf3335 05](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Victoria_Lagunajf3335_05.JPG)
The park spans across the southern Laguna municipalities of
Majayjay,
Nagcarlan
Nagcarlan, officially the Municipality of Nagcarlan ( tgl, Bayan ng Nagcarlan), is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 64,866 people.
It is northeast of San P ...
,
Liliw
Liliw, officially the Municipality of Liliw ( tgl, Bayan ng Liliw), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 39,491 people.
It is one of the highland towns forming ...
,
Rizal
Rizal, officially the Province of Rizal ( fil, Lalawigan ng Rizal), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Its capital is the city of Antipolo. It is about east of Manila. The p ...
and
San Pablo and the northern Quezon municipalities of
Dolores Dolores, Spanish for "pain; grief", most commonly refers to:
* Our Lady of Sorrows or La Virgen María de los Dolores
* Dolores (given name)
Dolores may also refer to:
Film
* ''Dolores'' (2017 film), an American documentary by Peter Bratt
* ' ...
,
Candelaria,
Sariaya,
Lucban and
Tayabas
Tayabas, officially the City of Tayabas ( fil, Lungsod ng Tayabas), is a 6th class component city in the province of Quezon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 112,658 people.
It is known for ''lambanog'' (cocon ...
. It covers the entire Mount Banahaw with its three peaks: Mount Banahaw de Dolores, Mount Banahaw de Lucban and Mount Banahaw de Tayabas, and the entire Mount San Cristobal.
The area includes the headwaters of eight rivers namely, the Kinabuhayan, Talong Ambon, Balayong, Maimpis, Dalitiwan, Malinao, Nagcarlan and San Diego Rivers which provide water for domestic consumption and irrigation of surrounding communities.
It is also the location of several waterfalls which are popular among pilgrims and devotees such as the Santa Lucia, Suplina and Cristalino Falls on Mount San Cristobal in Dolores.
The protected area is characterized by
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 ...
, covering the lower slopes,
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 ...
above , and
mossy forest around the peak. There are also areas of coconut plantations and fruit trees in the lower slopes including areas of ''
kaingin
Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed vegeta ...
''.
It also contains some historical and religious attractions such as: a shrine dedicated to
Hermano Pule and caves that have been converted into religious shrines.
History
The park was originally established in 1921 as the ''Mount Banahao Forest Reserve'' covering an area of .
It was established through Proclamation No. 42 signed by Governor-General
Leonard Wood for the reforestation, conservation and water protection of the area comprising mounts Banahao and San Cristobal. In 1941, President
Manuel Luis Quezon signed Proclamation No. 716 reducing its size to divided into two parcels and declaring it a
national park
A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...
.
Amendments to its area were made in 1961 and again, in 1966.
In 2003, the Mounts Banahaw–San Cristobal National Park was reclassified as a protected landscape under the National Integrated Protected Areas System with the issuance of Proclamation No. 411 by President
Gloria Arroyo.
Biodiversity
Banahaw–San Cristobal is home to several endemic fauna which includes the
Philippine pygmy fruit bat,
Luzon fruit bat,
Small Luzon forest mouse and
Philippine warty pig. It is also inhabited by amphibians such as the
Banahao forest frog,
Naomi's forest frog,
Japanese bullet frog,
common forest tree frog, the ''
Sphenomorphus steerei'' and ''
Platymantis montanus''.
The park is also home to a threatened and restricted-range bird population recorded in 2001 such as the
Philippine eagle,
Philippine eagle-owl,
Flame-breasted fruit dove
The flame-breasted fruit dove (''Ptilinopus marchei'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is endemic to the Philippines only being found in the mountains of Luzon.This is a large dove reaching 42 cm long, being the largest fru ...
and
Philippine cockatoo.
It also hosts a number of unique flora including palms, ferns and mahogany trees such as the ''
Aglaia banahaensis
''Aglaia'' is a genus of 117 species of woody dioecious trees belonging to the Mahogany family ( Meliaceae). These trees occur in the subtropical and tropical forests of Southeast Asia, Northern Australia and the Pacific.
Some species are impor ...
''.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mounts Banahaw-San Cristobal Protected Landscape
Protected landscapes of the Philippines
Geography of Laguna (province)
Geography of Quezon
Tourist attractions in Laguna (province)
Tourist attractions in Quezon
Protected areas established in 1921
1921 establishments in the Philippines