{"id":1452,"date":"2014-05-17T21:12:13","date_gmt":"2014-05-17T13:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.getwet-asia.com\/philippines\/?p=1452"},"modified":"2014-05-18T22:48:42","modified_gmt":"2014-05-18T14:48:42","slug":"sibuyan-hiking-explorer-adventure-travel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.getwet-asia.com\/philippines\/sibuyan-hiking-explorer-adventure-travel\/","title":{"rendered":"Sibuyan Hiking Explorer Adventure Travel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n
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\"mt\"mtHiking Sibuyan – Mt. Guiting-guiting<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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Photo courtesy: Juliet Solar<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Few know where Sibuyan is, fewer still know Sibuyan better than the forest rangers and hiking tour guides. If you are considering hiking with Mother Nature for an explorer holiday on a tropical island then you need to visit Sibuyan . . . Sibuyan is the one place on Earth where the Environment is predominant and consumerism virtually non-existent.<\/p>\n

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Sibuyan is no doubt the Galapagos of Asia. The island was formed independently from the rest of the Philippine archipelago from an enormous rupture in the Earth’s crust. Geological distinct, its forest and animals have grown up over hundreds of thousands of years, with virtually no contact with the rest of Asia.<\/p>\n

Seeds blown on the wind or pushed gently by monsoon breezes across the surface of the sea, eventually reached the island’s shores. Plants sprouted and pushed their roots into the virgin soil. Migrating birds found perch in their branches and some stayed to call Sibuyan home. Bats, following the scent of the flowering plants carried on the wind to distant isles, found an island waiting to be pollinated and propagated.<\/p>\n

Growing in isolation, evolutionary branches of birds and bats created unique species as did the flowers, bushes and trees that benefited from their presence.<\/p>\n

On Sibuyan today there are a reported 123 species of trees; 54 tree species are endemic – found nowhere else on the planet. In fact, the forest within the 157 square kilometres of the Philippines Natural Park of Mount Guiting-guiting (elevation 2,058 metres) is recorded as having the densest rainforest on Earth – at least 1551 trees (having a trunk diameter of greater that 7.5 centimeters) per Hectare.<\/p>\n

As many as 131 species of birds have been recorded in Sibuyan along with ten species of fruit bats. There are frogs and snakes and all manner of bugs and grubs that have yet to be described. Numerous flora and fauna have been recorded as endemic, being given scientific names that include sibuyanensis or sibuyanicum.<\/p>\n

Hiking Sibuyan can be easy or challenging depending on the time and stamina you have available. The largest and most exhilarating challenge is the hike to the summit Mt. Guiting-guiting where, near the summit, you will traverse the dramatic, sawtooth ridge that gives the mountain its name. This three-day hiking adventure includes a two-day hike up and a one-day hike down, most of the way through virgin forest. Forest Ranger guides are a requirement for this hike and you can expect to pay a US$7 Park entrance fee plus US$70 for each guide, porters are additionally available.<\/p>\n

Other, easier hiking trails, from half a day to a whole day, are available and can be arranged from most resorts, tourist inns and homestays. Some of the hiking trails will take you along river courses where various levels of bouldering experiences can be enjoyed. Waterfalls punctuate almost all the rivers and there will be ample opportunity to get wet in the cool, forest spring fed pools.<\/p>\n

What is guaranteed on all the hikes is that you will discover where many of our common medicines and drugs originate plus some things that the forest provides that are more than just surprising to the modern World. If you are also a bird watching enthusiast then Sibuyan’s unique selection of endemic and migratory birds along the way will sate you camera’s hunger for originality and color.<\/p>\n

Famous to the Spanish for the island’s gold, which the original inhabitants of the island once used only for personal decoration, Sibuyan’s battle between preservation and mining has been raging for decades, with preservation currently winning by a very small margin. This mineral rich island is intent on further development of its explorer-tourism industry, where hiking is just one of the World-class tourist attractions that Sibuyan offers.<\/p>\n

Hiking Sibuyan anytime during the months of September to May will deliver a totally unique explorer-tourism experience. January through May are the best months for hiking trails that include river crossings. June through August are the peak months of the rainy season, when some rivers are too swift to cross.<\/p>\n

For more information about explorer hiking vacations in Sibuyan contact the CASAMA Tour Guide Association of Sibuyan: tel +63 905 841-0418<\/p>\n

For additional information about how to get to Sibuyan and other activities there, visit the All Sports Philippines dot com website, Sibuyan<\/a> pages, dedicated to this unique eco-tourism island, the Galapagos of Asia.<\/p>\n

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Hiking Sibuyan – Mt. Guiting-guiting Photo courtesy: Juliet Solar Few know where Sibuyan is, fewer still know Sibuyan better than the forest rangers and hiking tour guides. If you are considering hiking with Mother Nature for an explorer holiday on a tropical island then you need to visit Sibuyan . . . Sibuyan is the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[37,18,309,617,24],"tags":[620,618,691,619,5,604,621],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.getwet-asia.com\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1452"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.getwet-asia.com\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.getwet-asia.com\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.getwet-asia.com\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.getwet-asia.com\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1452"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/www.getwet-asia.com\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1452\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1463,"href":"http:\/\/www.getwet-asia.com\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1452\/revisions\/1463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.getwet-asia.com\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.getwet-asia.com\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.getwet-asia.com\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}