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BIAK NA BATO NATIONAL
PARK
LOCATION: Bulacan Province
ELEVATION: 1009 meters above sea level (highest
point)
LEVEL: Minor Climb, Level I, Easy
JUMP OFF POINTS: San Miguel Bulacan
INFORMATION:
Biak na Bato National Park is one of the premier national
park being developed as tourist destination especially for
local tourist. The place is an ideal environment exploration
exposure with cave system, forest, river system, and mountains
especially for first timers. It also has a lot of activities
to offer like caving (lots of caves are located within the
park area), hiking (trails for minor and major hikes can be
made), climbing (Susong Dalaga of San Miguel from Mt. Mabio
or the highest point, Mt. Silid at 1009 meters above sea level),
rock climbing (I don’t know if somebody has already
done this but the place has lot of limestone walls to offer),
river trekking (from Yungib I to park entrance, it’s
a fantastic experience), kayaking (again, nobody have done
this but I tell, you, the rivers has a lot to offer), mountain
biking (they have created mountain bike trails but haven’t
seen one doing it), swimming (like the local tourists), camping
(ideal for the whole family), rappelling (from cliffs to caves)
and a lot more. A lot of local tourists come to this place
during the weekend because there are picnics grounds available
as well as swimming areas.
Biak na Bato national park covers a total land area of 658
hectares and is a part of the mighty Sierra Madre mountain
range. It lies in the north east corner of Bulacan, at the
edge of the Sierra Madre. The park has a total of around 16
named caves and a couple of unnamed and unexplored ones. This
is due to the fact that large portions of the Sierra Madre
are made of limestone compositions which is an ideal candidate
for cave formation. These caves had been carved by nature
via the rivers that flows from Calumpit Bulacan, which passes
by the park and empties at Candaba Swamp in Pampanga. This
had happened for millions of years before the present cave
system came to be. But bringing people to these caves poses
danger since lack of information can stop the evolution of
these caves or worst, even vandalization of these beautiful
natural phenomenon.
LEGENDS:
The place got its name from the distinctive natural environment
that can be found in this area, which are mountain gorges
with mountains resembling solid rock limestone cut by deep
river gorges. "Biak na bato" literally means "split
boulders". The area earned a place in history when the
Filipino revolutionaries against Spain particularly the first
president of the Philippine Republic, Emilio Aguinaldo, used
this place as their camp due to the natural cave systems and
dense forest that helped them in securing the place. Here
is where the famous historical event, the signing of a peace
treaty between the Filipino revolutionaries or Katipuneros
and the Spanish government happened. Eventually they called
that event "The Pact of Biak na Bato". From thereon,
the place became a historical pilgrim place during celebrations
such as Independence Day. It also played a large role during
the recent centennial celebrations of the Philippine independence.
Most places here can be connected to Philippine history. Some
locations are named in accordance with their functions during
the these historical days like the Aguinaldo Cave, the "La
Mesa de Aguinaldo", and the Tanggapan Cave where according
to legends, the Katipunero’s receive their guest hence
the name.
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