Mount Kitanglad Range

The Kitanglad range runs across central Bukidnon with several summits above two thousand seven hundred metres, and it is one of the most biologically important mountains in the Philippines - an ASEAN Heritage Park whose montane and mossy forests shelter the Philippine eagle, one of the rarest large raptors in the world, along with a long list of species found only on Mindanao. The mountain is also sacred ground to the Talaandig and Higaonon peoples, whose ancestral domain covers it and whose elders perform a customary ritual before climbers are permitted to go up; that permission is not a formality, and quotas limit numbers. The climb itself is a two- or three-day route through dense mossy forest, wet and cold near the top, with camps along the way and a summit that is often in cloud. Below, Bukidnon's plateau is pineapple and cattle country with a very different climate from the coast.

History

Legend says a great flood once covered the lands of Bukidnon and only the tip of the mountain stayed visible, no bigger than a stalk of tanglad, lemon grass, so it was "kita", seen. The range was declared a national park on 4 December 1990, chosen in 1994 as one of 10 priority sites of a World Bank conservation project, and proclaimed a natural park on 24 October 1996 (Wikipedia, Kitanglad Mountain Range).

Highlights

• The mossy forest - lichen-hung trees near the summits.
• The eagle habitat - one of the species' last strongholds.
• The summit ridges - high ground above the Bukidnon plateau.
• The ritual ground - where climbers receive permission.

When to go

February to May for the driest trails. Permits, guides and the customary blessing must be arranged well ahead, and quotas restrict numbers on the mountain.

Good to know

Access is granted by Indigenous authorities, not assumed - the ritual and permit process is required. The climb is multi-day, cold, wet and muddy. Eagle sightings are rare and never part of the plan.

Nearby

Malaybalay and the Bukidnon plateau are below; Cagayan de Oro and the Cagayan River rapids are north.

Key facts