Philippine Travel Articles (courtesy of )

Homepage
RJ Fernandez drives through tranquil Bukidnon amidst a breathtaking back­drop of mountain ranges and vast pineapple plantations.
Photographs by RJ Fernandez
IT IS 2002, and I'm in a 4x4 driving through rough roads across a plantation of pineapples as far as the eye can see. I am with a photographer and a friend. We kick up a storm of dust as we pass, but the road ahead is clear. The sky is a wide expanse of blue, the sun is on my face and the wind is blowing fiercely through my hair. We are on the open road and this is Bukidnon.
On the way to Malaybalay
Malaybalay is located 91 kilometers south of Cagayan de Oro, a two-hour drive from the city. A great percentage of it is clas­sified as forestland, and being a landlocked area with an average elevation of 3,000 feet above sea level, it enjoys a cool climate and is far from the typhoons that visit the country each year.
Progress has arrived in Malaybalay, and
what used to be a sparsely populated town is now at the tipping point of developing into a full-fledged city. Still, you could feel its raw nature when driving past trucks filled with sugarcane, jeepneys loaded with baggage inside and people on top, and fields upon fields of land.
Monastery of Transfiguration
Fifteen minutes away from the city is the Monastery of Transfiguration. Built by the famed architect Leandro V. Locsin, the pyramid-like edifice invokes an aura of serenity. It is a place where Benedictine monks spend their lives in prayer and contemplation. There is some­thing about the place that makes
Several indigenous tribes like the Talaandig and Higaonon call the sprawls-ing 40, 1 76 hectare Mount Kitanglad National Park their home.
you stay quiet, the simple structure belying an intensity that surrounds it. I walked around and felt a certain sense of peace and comfort, praying I would see the Bukidnon I had met before.
Pineapples and Plantations
Thirty minutes from leaving Cagayan de Oro, we reached the town of Manolo Fortich, where the Del Monte Plantation and the Cawayanon Golf Course are
found. Built in 1928, the par 72 course is carved out of a plateau and is surrounded by the Kitanglad moun­tain range, making it one of the most scenic golf courses in the country. The spread­ing trees and natural and man-made lakes also make it one of the most challenging ones.
It knew it was time to go farther up and into the mountains. It was time to get off the road and into the land. Further into Malaybalay are the MKAVI and Celebrate Life Agriculture plan
tations. The former has one of the most beautiful and scenic pineapple and banana plantations in the province. With the majestic Mount Kitanglad in the background and the Kalatungan mountain range on the other side, their plantations are awe-inspiring to behold. I spoke briefly with some of the heads of the companies and am happy to report that they practice both sustainable devel­opment and ecologically sound techniques to take care of the land. Some of the land is contoured as a means of soil conservation to minimize erosion, while various trees are planted surrounding the plantations to create a diverse and sound environment. The Celebrate Life group is also dedicated to eventually making their workers—some of whom are part of the different tribes in Bukidnon such as the Talaandigs—part-owners of the land.
I made a quick visit to the
Cinchona Reforestation
Project, and was greeted by
the sight of tri-athletes in
training, charging their
mountain bikes through a
beautifully forested area
overlooking the low plains.
The place has old American
The Mangima Canyon is dubbed the Kennon Road of the South, because of the zig-zag roads they both share.
style log cabins, and several Cinchona (or Singkona) trees, that are a natural source for anti-malaria medicine. These environment-specific trees flourish in this lush and misty area. It is a nice place to picnic and wander around.
Lumuluyaw, Mount Maagnaw, Mount Tuminungan and Mount Dulan-Dulang, the second highest mountain in the country. Several caves, waterfalls and hot springs are within the densely forested range. Home of the Philippine eagle, the range is the best place in the country to spot one in the wild. It is iden­tified as one of the richest areas of flora and fauna biodiversity.
Rough Roads and Rodeos
Malaybalay is famous for its Kaamulan Festival, a yearly celebration of the cul­ture and customs of the seven ethnic hill-tribes of Bukidnon: the Tala-andig, Higa­onon, Umayamnon, Manobo, Tigwahanon, Matigsalug and Bukidnon. Kaamulan in the local dialect means a "gathering for a purpose," either a ritual, a wedding cere­mony, or a festival to celebrate the harvest season. Alongside this cultural festival are the not-so- indigenous competitions of
Mount Kitanglad National Park
The name Kitanglad came from a legend: a great flood sub­merged the native lands and only the tip of the mountain, the size of tanglad (lemon grass), remained visible [kita in Filipino). Today, it is the ancestral domain of several Indigenous Cultural Communities like the Talaandig, Higaonon and Bukidnon.
The Mount Kitanglad National Park has a land area of 40, 176 hectares, including five high elevation mountain peaks: Mount Kitanglad, Mount
Datu Balawian of the Tala-andig tribe poses with his wife
Homepage