MT. PICO DE LORO TO OPEN AFTER 6 YEARS OF REHABILITATION

After six years of moratorium, Mt. Pico De Loro, a famous mountain within the Mts. Palay-Palay/Mataas-na-Gulod Protected Landscape (MPPMNGPL), will finally be opened to the public on January 12, 2023. 

Covering an approximate area of 3,972.70 hectares, MPPMNGPL is the only protected area nearest to Metro Manila and is one of the two contributing watersheds to Manila Bay. It is located in the mountainous forest of the municipalities of Ternate and Maragondon, Cavite and the municipality of Nasugbu, Batangas.  

The protected area is known for its three main peaks which also served as significant tourist attractions in the park, namely: Palay-palay, Mataas-na-Gulod, and Pico de Loro. Of the three peaks, the latter is the most popular tourist destination because of its summit that resembles a parrot's beak which is about 688 meters above sea level.

In October 2016, MPPMNGPL was closed to the public due to the presence of voluminous solid wastes, uncontrolled vendors along the trail, campsite, and summit, unregulated number of hikers, soil erosion, and overall degradation of the mountain. 

The moratorium gave way to the clean-up, rehabilitation, and improvement of Mt. Pico de Loro. Stalls were constructed at the DENR Park Station where the jump-off point is located, to serve as the location for the local vendors of food and souvenir items. Concrete stairs/steps were also constructed along the eroded portions of Mt. Pico de Loro to avoid further soil erosion and mountain degradation. Moreover, a system was developed for the mandatory online registration to regulate the number of hikers. 

MPPMNGPL held its soft opening from December 21-22, 2022. The activity was conducted to test the online reservation process using the newly developed website. The payment is still on site while waiting for the approval of the Memorandum of Agreement with the Land Bank of the Philippines for ease of transaction. The dry-run assessed the readiness of the personnel and tour guides of the Protected Area Management Office (PAMO) in accommodating the hikers.  

A total of 38 hikers visited the park on the first day of the trial-run while the number of visitors increased to 105 on the second day. Overall, there were positive comments and feedbacks from the hikers who experienced the newly re-opened park. They commended the DENR, PAMO, and the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) for a job well done. 

The park will be opened from Wednesdays thru Saturdays with a maximum of 90 hikers per day. It will only accommodate those who reserved or booked online. 

DENR CALABARZON invites everyone to visit the website mppmngnp.com for online booking and reservation, and to follow the official Facebook page of PAMB-MPPMNGPL @picoPAMB for announcements.

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