Mt. Guiting-guiting is located in
Sibuyan Island, Romblon, the marble capital of the Philippines. It serves as
the boundary of the three municipalities of the island: Magdiwang, San
Fernando, and Cajidiocan. In the world of mountaineering, it is considered as
one of the most technical mountains in the Philippines, garnered 9/9 rating.
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| The beauty of Sibuyan Island |
Sibuyan Island has unspoiled beauty, both flora and fauna. The
island is surrounded by crystal clear waters which has an amazing underwater
wealth, plus white sand beaches. This island is covered with relaxing green
color coming from the trees and plants covering the entire island. Sibuyan is
the home of one of the cleanest river in the Philippines.
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| Side view of the Knife Edge |
During our first day, from the
village to DENR, it was an uphill trail with river crossing. The trail is well
established but has fork trails. Terrains are still untouched because it is
being maintained by the locals and DENR. While taking the photo above, I got goose bumps for some reason. Taken at the bonsai area. Photos below were taken while on trail
to Mayos Peak.
From the DENR area, it was an
uphill and the terrain was still covered with plants and trees. While walking
on the trail, I noticed that Mt. Guiting-guiting has an amazing virgin forest
and the ambiance is cool. From Bulod
spring (the water source) to Mayos
Peak, it was a 30 to 45 minutes continuous assault. Photo above was taken
before the sunset at the Bonsai area
From Mayos Peak to Durungawan, it’s just a 10-15 minutes’
walk. Durungawan is the perfect spot
where you can see the beautiful shape of Mt. Guiting-guiting. From afar, you’ll
see the perfect shape of the Knife Edge
and the summit. The trail on the knife edge to the summit were the challenging ones. Photos below will clearly explain:
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| Rock scrambling is one of the challenging part of G2 |
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| Kiss the Wall |
Aside
from the Knife Edge, Kiss the Wall is
also one of the famous features of Mt. Guiting-guiting. It is a side wall of a
huge boulder, for about a meter, which is a part of the trail that needs to be
crossed. It is the most accessible but a challenging passage to the summit.
Because it is a cliff hanging part, hiker will literally kiss the wall of the
boulder while crossing this side. After kiss the wall, here’s the terrain to
the summit and descending.
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| The trail from the summit to descent |
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| The Crash Site |
Another feature of Mt. Guiting-guiting is the crash site (photo above).
According to our guide, there's a plane crashed on this site. The
pilot didn't saw the mountain because it was covered with thick fog. And the
search and rescue operation focused to Mt.
Halcon, another giant in Mindoro island. Today, there are metals scattered on the trail
because some of the locals tried bringing it down for money.
Before leaving the beautiful Sibuyan Island, while on the RoRo, I captured a gorgeous photo, where the saw tooth like knife edge is noticeable. The mountain was playing trick with my camera, it's hiding in the clouds every time that I point my camera to it.
How to Get Here
| On EDSA, I rode in a bus bound for Batangas Port. At the port, I rode
in a RoRo to Romblon, Romblon Port and another RoRo ride to Ambulong
Port, in Sibuyan island. Chartered a tricycle to our guide's house.