Mt. Guiting Guiting (San Fernando)

Philippines / Southern Tagalog / Espaca / San Fernando
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Mount Guiting-Guiting is saw-tooth shaped mountain located in the heart of Sibuyan Island, one of the seven islands of Romblon Province in the Philippines. Guiting-Guiting, in the local dialect means "jagged", which explains the name of the mountain.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Guiting-Guiting
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   12°25'10"N   122°33'8"E

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  • summitted twice
  • ako once lang... =( Pero enjoy dito. highly technical climb...
  • SAN FERNANDO, SIBUYAN ISLAND -- In the shadow of mystical Mt. Guiting-Guiting is “paradise” -- wonders sufficient to grab the world’s attention from the shipwreck off its pebbled shores. Unknown to many and sidelined in the global buzz over the sinking of the MV Princess of the Stars, this town in Romblon is home to the crystal waters of the Cantingas River, the gushing Busay Falls, the lush protected areas of the mountain (now a national park), and the tiny island of Cresta de Gallo with its white-sand beaches rivaling Boracay. “It seems the only concern now is the ship,” Mary Jane Arboleda, a professor at Romblon State College, told the Inquirer. “We have never experienced a typhoon like [‘Frank’]. This is the first time we experienced this kind of disaster ... because this is paradise. We have many tourist spots, and we used to have many foreign visitors,” she said. “Luxury liners used to dock close to the island, and they would come to town to see how we live, observe the culture.”
  • The town’s treasures, long the pride of the San Fernando folk, remain largely unexplored because the island is insulated by distance and the Sibuyan Sea. But the need to develop the ecotourist destinations again arose with the 1,000-strong fisherfolk population bereft of a means of livelihood because of the shipwreck and its dangerous cargo. Town officials banned all fishing, diving and swimming in the Sibuyan Sea last week, after transportation officials announced the presence of a container van of the toxic pesticide endosulfan in the sunken vessel’s cargo hold. Authorities fear leakage. Mercifully, Sibuyan’s waters have tested negative of contamination since last week. But as a result of the ban, the entire town is now dependent on relief packs of rice and canned goods from national and nongovernment agencies.
  • Getting there To get to San Fernando from Manila, one takes a flight to neighboring Tablas Island and then a boat ride of roughly three hours to Sibuyan Island. The boats set sail only in the day, and with the weather and waves permitting. Or one takes a ship from the Batangas port to San Fernando’s neighboring Magdiwang town, a ride of roughly 14 hours that also goes around towns in Tablas before docking at Sibuyan. From the Magdiwang port town, jeepneys ferry passengers in a two-hour commute to San Fernando. Once there, one can hire a tricycle and then hike from the rough road to the foot of Guiting-Guiting, which ushers water through San Fernando’s unspoiled rivers along steep gorges and into the Sibuyan Sea. Reputed to be among the country’s cleanest, the Cantingas River in Taclobo, the barangay nearest the shipwreck, is accessible by a paved path from the main road.
This article was last modified 17 years ago