| |
MOUNT MAKILING
LOCATION: Laguna Province
ELEVATION: 1,110 meters above sea level
LEVEL: Minor Climb, Level II, Moderate
JUMP-OFF POINT: UPLB Los Baños Laguna
& Sto. Tomas Batangas
INFORMATION:
The legendary, Mt. Makiling, one of the most, if not the
most famous mountain in Luzon, has inspired a number of poets,
writers and lyricist for a long time. It is a perfect site
for hiking even for first timers since trails are from easy
to moderate. The place also has picnic grounds where you can
camp and enjoy nature with your family even for non-hikers
and unfit individuals since vehicles can climb up to this
area. Found in the locality of the famous Los Baños
Hot Springs and is home to the University of the Philippines
Los Baños (UPLB), Mt. Makiling has three known trails.
The first trail, the most popular and frequently used, is
the UPLB route through the UPLB College of Forestry, another
one is at the Makiling Philippine Art’s Center which
you can also access via the university and the third one,
the most difficult and unestablished, is the Sto. Tomas trail
located at the other side of the mountain, in Sto. Tomas Batangas.
The UPLB route has a well-established trail wherein you can
even drive your way up three-fourth to the summit. Mt. Makiling
is actually an in-active volcano. It has a "mud-spring"
park with sulfuric vents, which are located near the picnic
grounds. Makiling is the source of Los Baños’
hot springs. Makiling has three peaks, the highest and the
usual destination is the Second Peak.
LEGENDS:
Makiling is one of the most famous mountain in the archipelago
and with that comes a lot of folklore and legends about the
mountain and the goddess that lives in the mountain, Mariang
Maikiling. In fact people living within the towns under the
shadow of the mountains has always describe the silhouette
of the mountain peak as that of Makiling lying down.
One of the famous stories is about an enchanted woman who
lived in the quiet woods at the foot of Mt. Makiling. The
people named her Maria Makiling because of where she lived.
She was a young and beautiful woman. The beauty abundance
and serenity of this enchanted place complimented her rare
qualities. She was kind and compassionate to the town people.
She shared the full and rich abundance of her enchanted places;
fishes in the lake, food and crops, fruits and trees. All
were for free. People could borrow from her whatever they
need, whatever they wanted. Her kindness was known far and
wide. One afternoon, a hunter came by and wandered into her
kingdom. When he saw her beauty, he fell in love with her
and she too felt the same way for him. They met and talk everyday
and promised to love each other forever. Until one day Maria
waited for him but he did not come. Maria discovered that
he found a real woman and got married. She was very sad and
frustrated. She felt deeply hurt and realized that the town
people could not be trusted because she was different from
them and they were just using her. Forgiving was really difficult.
Her sadness and frustration turned into anger that she refused
to give fruits to the trees. Animals and birds were no more.
Fish no longer abound the lakes. People seldom saw her. It
was only during g pale moonlit nights that they sometimes
see her.
Another story is about three suitors who intensely battled
for the heart of Makiling. One was a Spanish soldier, another,
a Spanish-Filipino mestizo and the third, a Filipino farmer
named Juan. In the end the Filipino won the heart of Maria
Makiling which angered the two other suitor. They have plotted
to kill him through a fire that broke down on the garrison,
which they blamed against Filipinos including Juan. They shot
Juan as punishment and before dying he shouted the name of
Maria. Maria went down in the mountain and cursed the two
as well as the other men who cannot accept failure in love
then she went back in the mountains never to be seen again.
The Spanish soldier died during the revolution while the mestizo
died of illness. When somebody gets lost in the mountains,
people attribute it to the curse on Makiling.
|
|
