Mount Makiling

One of the inactive volcanoes in the Philippines is Mount Makiling. Also called Mount Maquiling, it is situated in the province of Laguna and rises 1,090 meters above sea level. The forest found in Mt. Makiling is mainly lowland in type, with some montane forest around the peak above 900 m. The forest on most of the lower slopes has been cleared or degraded, but an area of good quality lowland forest remains around the botanic garden and the campus of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB). There are approximately 2,048 different species of plant.
According to PHIVOLCS (Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology), Mount Makiling is an inactive volcano with no records of eruptions. It is showing no signs of imminent eruption although it has volcanic activity manifested by the boiling mud spring, the numerous hot springs in the area, and the geothermal resource on the mountain’s Batangas side.
The University of the Philippine Los Baños (UPLB) is assigned as the official caretaker of Mt. Makiling. Several types of agriculture can be found in the slopes of the mountain including a coconut plantations inter-cropped with coffees and fruit plantations mixed with pineapples and vegetables. The mountain also performs key ecological functions such as being a watershed and a sanctuary for wildlife.
Aside from the rainforest, Mount Makiling boosts several attractions like Makiling National Scout Reservation which is a campsite at the foot of the mountain, adjacent to UPLB managed by the Boy Scout of the Philippines and is the site used during the 26th Asia-Pacific Regional Jamboree in 2009 and 2010. You can also find the National Arts Center managed by the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the site of the Philippine High School for the Arts (a special school for young artist scholars) and the Pook ni Maria Makiling, an eco-tourism site adjacent to the Jamboree Site. The famous attraction in Mt. Makiling is the mud spring which has a maximum temperature of 80 degrees Celsius. It is the so-called ‘crater’ of the mountain where one could see pools of boiling mud.
Being a protected area, Mount Makiling has become a famous destination for mountaineers, scientists and tourists. There are three trails in climbing the mountain. The first and the frequently used trail is the UPLB route through the UPLB College of Forestry, the second trail is through Makiling Philippine Art’s Center which you can also access via UPLB and the last trail which is the most difficult and unestablished trail is the Sto. Tomas trail located at the other side of the mountain, in Sto. Tomas, Batangas.