The Quezon Protected Landscape is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

in the Republic of the Philippines, spanning the municipalities of Pagbilao, Padre Burgos and

Atimonan Atimonan, officially the Municipality of Atimonan ( tgl, Bayan ng Atimonan), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Quezon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 64,260 people. It lies on the eastern shore ...

in Quezon province. The park is situated north of the narrowest section of Luzon in Quezon province, located about southeast of Metro Manila."Quezon National Park"
. World Wildlife Adventures. Retrieved on 2012-06-19.

Protected area

The park was first established as 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 ...

on October 25, 1934, with Proclamation no. 740. The parks has a total area of and was named as Quezon National Park. The park was enlarged to with Proclamation no. 594 on August 5, 1940. After the implementation of the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) in 1992, the park was reclassified as a protected landscape. The park was reestablished as Quezon Protected Landscape on June 2, 2003, by Proclamation No. 394, with a smaller area of .

Park features

Quezon Protected Landscape is situated in the southern Sierra Madre mountain range on Luzon island. The landscape is lowland

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

with

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

landscape and vegetation. Activities in the park include bird watching, hiking to Mount Mirador (See

below Below may refer to: *Earth *Ground (disambiguation) *Soil *Floor *Bottom (disambiguation) Bottom may refer to: Anatomy and sex * Bottom (BDSM), the partner in a BDSM who takes the passive, receiving, or obedient role, to that of the top or ...

), trekking to view the flora and fauna, or trekking to the Bantakay Falls in Brgy. Sta. Catalina. There are least five waterfalls in the park with Bantakay, the most accessible. Near the falls is Bantakay Caves which is open for exploring. Some of the other caves in the park include Cueva Santa and Nilubugan Cave. Inside the park are several areas cleared for camping with Niyugan campsite as one of the preferred campsite.

Fauna

The park is known for its virgin forest teeming with numerous wildlife, with several species endemic to the Philippines. Some of the species in the park are the

monitor lizard Monitor lizards are lizards in the genus ''Varanus,'' the only extant genus in the family Varanidae. They are native to Africa, Asia, and Oceania, and one species is also found in the Americas as an invasive species. About 80 species are recogn ...

monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...

, deer,

wild pig A wild pig may be: *Suina, a suborder of even-toed mammals, including: **Suidae, a family of animals that are pigs or pig-like, including the Suinae and more distantly related extinct Old World tribes ***Suinae, a subfamily which includes the ''S ...

, parrot, dove, pigeon, jungle fowl (''manok labuyo''), yellow bittern, cinnamon bittern, buff-banded rail, barred rail, white-browed crake, marsh sandpiper, long-toed stint,

Swinhoe's snipe Swinhoe's snipe, (''Gallinago megala''), also known as forest snipe or Chinese snipe, is a medium-sized (length 27–29 cm, wingspan 38–44 cm, weight 120 gm), long-billed, migratory wader. The common name commemorates the British na ...

striated grassbird The striated grassbird (''Megalurus palustris'') is an "Old World warbler" species in the family Locustellidae. It was formerly placed in the family Sylviidae. It is now the only species placed in the genus ''Megalurus''. It is found in Banglade ...

, rufous hornbill, Luzon hornbill, pink-bellied imperial pigeon, guaiabero, colasisi,

blackish cuckooshrike The blackish cuckooshrike (''Edolisoma coerulescens'') or the blackish cicadabird or Luzon graybird, is a species of bird in the family Campephagidae. It is endemic to the Philippines. Some taxonomists place this species in the genus Analisoma ...

flaming sunbird The flaming sunbird (''Aethopyga flagrans'') is a species of bird in the family Nectariniidae. It is Endemism, endemic to the northern Philippines. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. References

Aetho ...

and flowerpecker. In April 2010, the Northern Sierra Madre Forest monitor lizard ''

Varanus bitatawa The Northern Sierra Madre forest monitor (''Varanus bitatawa''), also known by the local names ''bitatawa'', ''baritatawa'', and ''butikaw'', is a large, arboreal, frugivorous lizard of the genus '' Varanus''. The lizard is a distinctive food of ...

'' (local name: ''butikaw'') was discovered by the western world. The lizard has long been known to the Aeta and Ilongot indigenous peoples who have used it as a food source.

Historical significance

The highest point of the park at is Mount Mirador. During the Philippine Revolution, the Philippine flag was raised on the mountain signifying the conquest of the region. The American and Japanese flags were also hoisted on the mountain during their colonization, and in 1946 when the Philippine flag was raised there again after the country gained independence. Also called Mount Pinagbanderahan, literally meaning "where the flag was hoisted", the mountain is easily accessible via a stairway, which takes about an hour or so to climb. The summit is a vantage point for viewing nearby mountains like

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 ...

, the island provinces of

Marinduque Marinduque (; ), officially the Province of Marinduque, is an island province in the Philippines located in Southwestern Tagalog Region or Mimaropa, formerly designated as Region IV-B. Its capital is the municipality of Boac. Marinduque lies be ...

or Mindoro and the major towns of Quezon."Mt. Pinagbanderahan, Bantakay Falls, and Quezon National Forest Park"
Pinoy Mountaineer. Retrieved on 2012-06-19.

Accessibility

The park is located about southeast of Manila, the capital of the Philippines and main gateway to the country. The protected landscape is easily accessible via the Pan-Philippine Highway, the national highway that connects the whole country, which traverses the middle of the park. That road that cuts through the park includes a zigzag section (also known to the locals as "''Bitukang Manok''", in english "Chicken gut") open only to light vehicles. A longer diversion road bypasses that part of the road."Quezon National Park"
Google Maps. Retrieved on 2012-06-19.

References

External links

Philippines Department of Tourism Brochure - Quezon National Park
{{Calabarzon attractions Protected landscapes of the Philippines Forests of the Philippines Protected areas of the Sierra Madre (Philippines) Protected areas established in 1934 1934 establishments in the Philippines Military history of the Philippines during World War II Geography of Quezon Tourist attractions in Quezon