Mt. Banahaw National Park
The 3,539 ha Mt. Banahaw was proclaimed as a national park in 1941. Located 100 kilometers southeast of Manila and bounded on the north of Laguna Lake, the southeast of Bicol Peninsula and the end tip of Sierra Madre Mountains in the east. The mountain of Banahaw has a towering peak of 2,158 m above sea level. The mountain is considered to be an inactive volcano in which the last recorded eruption was in 1721. This sacred mountain is believed to be a storehouse of psychic energy. The geographical position of Mt. Banahaw is on the point wherein lines of the earth intersect, thus it create fields which allow higher rate of frequencies physiological or psychological.
The park has lush vegetation and houses a wide variety of animals. Some of the habitats in the park are wild pigs, deer, monkeys, and species of birds such as brown doves, hornbills, jungle fowls, tailor birds, orioles, and parakeets. Also found in the area are species of snakes and ground lizards. Varied flora can be seen in the area such as ferns, mosses, aerial plants and species of tree including red lauan, tanguile and mayapis. In 2004 a group of Filipino and American biologist discovers an unusual animal in the area. A small bright orange mammal (unusual to the other rodents found in the country), looks like a mouse and has a length of 8 cm and a 10 cm tail with a weight of 15 g, large head and heavily muscled jaws. One amazing characteristics of the mammal is the power of its small teeth that can open some very hard nuts of trees and the ability to eat the seeds of nut. This remarkable discovery is just a proof of how rich is the biodiversity in the area.
The park features unique stone formation, mystical cave and medical springs. Some of the well known caves in the area are Cave of Suffering, Cave of the Holy Mother with holy Water, Cave of the Virgin of Peace, Cave of the Nazarene, Cave of St. Paul, Cave of St. Peter, Cave of the Holy Child and Cave of St. Anges. Another attraction of the area is the series of waterfall.
