Mount Bongao (famously known as Bud Bongao) is a mountain located on Bongao Island in the province of Tawi-Tawi. It is a mountain formed with six limestone pillars that serves as its six peaks. It is the Philippines' southernmost peak.[2]
Mount Bongao | |
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Bud Bongao | |
Highest point | |
Elevation | 342 m (1,122 ft)[1] |
Prominence | 342 m (1,122 ft) |
Coordinates | 5°01′07″N 119°44′52″E[1] |
Naming | |
Native name | Bud Bongao (Sama) |
Geography | |
Mount Bongao Mount Bongao | |
Country | Philippines |
Region | Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao |
Province | Tawi-Tawi |
City/municipality | Bongao |
Climbing | |
Easiest route | Barangay Pasiagan [1] |
Bud Bongao is inside the Bongao Peak Eco-Tourism Park that was inaugurated on July 3, 2017.[3] It is a 250-hectare forest that is one of the last remaining moist forests in the Sulu Archipelago.[4]
The mountain is of spiritual and traditional importance to the indigenous Sama Dilaut people.[5] The mountain is also considered sacred where it is believed that two Islamic preachers[6] who were direct followers of Karim ul-Makhdum, are buried under what is called Tampat Rocks,[4] although the site was already sacred even before Islam arrived. Karim ul-Makhdum brought Islam to the Philippines in the year 1380.[7]
Bud Bongao is composed of six limestone pillars that form six of its peaks, which serves as view points for the islands and locations they are named after.[6] These peaks are Bongao, Pajar, Sibutu (summit), Simunul, Tambisan, and Tinondakan.[1]
Mount Bongao hosts one of the last remaining moist forests in the Sulu Archipelago.[4]
Monkeys endemic to Bud Bongao include Macaca fascicularis.[6] The red dragonfly, orange albatross, mangrove blue flycatcher, Philippine pitta are found on the mountain.[8] Bongao and its surrounding islands—Sanga-Sanga, Simunul, Tawi-Tawi—are also home to the vulnerable Tawi-Tawi forest rat and the Philippine slow loris.[9] The jungle flycatcher was once observed in 1973.[9]
Aside from being a sacred mountain, Bud Bongao is also famous for hikers. A 3,608-step cobblestone trail[6] has been constructed from the jump-off at Barangay Pasiagan that ends at a view deck constructed on Tambisan Peak. The view deck offers a vantage point overlooking Celebes Sea and Tambisan Island in Sabah at 317 metres (1,040 ft) above sea level.[1]
Media related to Mount Bongao at Wikimedia Commons