| MOUNT PICO DE LORO
LOCATION: Cavite-Batangas Province
ELEVATION: 664 meters above sea level
LEVEL: Minor Climb, Level I, Easy
JUMP-OFF POINT: Ternate Cavite, Nasugbu Batangas
INFORMATION:
Pico de Loro is located 85 kilometers southwest of Manila.
It is bounded by the island of Corregidor and the Caraballo
Mountains in the north, Nasugbu Batangas in the south, Maragondon
on the east and the South China Sea on the west. With the
height of 664 meters above sea level, it is considered the
highest mountain in the generally flat Cavite province. Pico
de Loro is the highest point on a series of rolling hills
and mountains within the boundary of Cavite and Batangas.
Though not really that high, the view from the summit is awesome,
facing the tranquil seas on the north-eastern side particularly
the Manila Bay area giving you a good vantage point to watch
the ships passing by while the entire Batangas and Cavite
on the south-eastern side will give you a glimpse of the south-eastern
mountains like Batulao and Talamitam. Pico de Loro has a majestic
view when seen near the base camp wherein it resembles a mighty
rock-face with exotic flora along the sides resembling the
North American rocky mountains, though on a smaller scale.
Pico de Loro is somewhat part of the vast naval military
park in Ternate Cavite because of its strategic location giving
a vantagepoint of the strategic Corregidor Island. It was
used strategically as an observation post for Japanese naval
movements during World War II.
Pico de Loro is currently on a constant threat against modernization.
The place has been controversial when a plan to make a highway
connecting Nasugbu and Ternate was proposed. It seems that
several thousand of trees will be cut to make way for this
project. Another issue was the Hacienda Looc controversy,
which is generally the fight for ownership of the lands within
the Pico de Loro area.
LEGENDS:
According to legends, the mountain got her name from the
first Spanish colonizers. They have seen the mountain from
a distance while they were cruising their way to Manila bay
and have noticed the peak resembling a parrot’s beak
hence was it called "Pico de Loro" from the Spanish
word "Parrot’s Peak". Another story goes that
early Caviteños named the mountains from the tropical
birds, a specie of the parrot family, which they often encounter
while they were hunting for food within the mountains.
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