Mount Tapulao
| Mount Tapulao | |
|---|---|
| High Peak | |
Pine forest of Mount Tapulao
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 2,037 m (6,683 ft) |
| Prominence | 2,015 m (6,611 ft) |
| Listing | Ultra |
| Coordinates | 15°28′51″N 120°7′16″E / 15.48083°N 120.12111°ECoordinates: 15°28′51″N 120°7′16″E / 15.48083°N 120.12111°E |
| Geography | |
.svg)
 Mount Tapulao
Location within the Philippines
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| Location | Luzon |
| Country | Philippines |
| Region | Central Luzon |
| Province | Zambales |
| Municipality | Palauig |
| Parent range | Zambales Mountains |
| Climbing | |
| Easiest route | Dampay Resettlement Area, Brgy. Salaza, Palauig |
Mount Tapulao (also known as High Peak) is the tallest mountain in the Zambales Mountain range and in the province of Zambales in the Philippines. The peak, which rise to an elevation of 2,037 metres (6,683 ft), is located in the municipality of Palauig, Zambales. Its name is derived from the abundance of Sumatran Pine trees in the area, known in the local Zambal dialect as tapulao.
The mountain was once a site of a large-scale chromite mining operations. The destruction of the beautiful natural scenery is visible in the mine pits on the summit as well as other related structures along the trail. The summit offers a 360-degree vista from where you can see the other Zambales mountains on the eastern side, Lingayen Gulf to the north, and on the western side, the Zambales lowlands and the South China Sea stretching to as far south as Pundaquit in San Antonio, Zambales.
The trail to the top of Mount Tapulao is on rolling and gradual terrain that takes hikers through a number of distinct ecosystems: from lowland grass and scrubland dominated by talahib (cogon grass) to its flanks of secondary to primary dipterocarp forest, mossy montane forest and pine forest above 1,800 metres (5,900 ft) that extends to the adjacent mountains.
During wet weather, limatik or forest leeches abound especially near the streams along the way. Parts of the trail become rivulets that trekkers easily attracts these critters without noticing being bitten, sticking on the human skin.
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Wikipedia