Tag Archives: Mt. Balbalasang

Balbalan, Kalinga

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I first saw the sign “To Balbalan” from Pinukpuk, the first town in Kalinga from Apayao. But I was so tired I decided to skip this town I had earlier planned to see, thinking I can do it another day. Or maybe even skip it for other places in Kalinga.

But then Balbalan cropped up again in my conversations with the owners and managers of Gran Zion, the hotel I checked into. It was supposed to be the best route to Abra which I wanted as my exit point from Kalinga.

So off to Balbalan I went. Via the provincial road thru Pasil.

 

 

After the long, almost torturous ride thru unpaved and muddy roads in Pasil, even with some stretches of concreted roads, I was at that point where I would have turned if I took the way from Pinukpuk to Balbalan. Now I am imagining – – could the roads have been better? or even more difficult? Oh well.

Balbalan is famous for its rice terraces. And also for Mt. Balbalasang which is where the Balbalasang Balbalan National Park sits. I have a separate story about Balbalasang.

Balbalan is a 3rd class municipality and, according to Wikipedia, “draws its name from an ancient practice. It was said that war parties coming from certain areas in northern Kalinga (probably, the ancient place of Salegseg) used to meet by a creek when mapping out their plan of attack against or when regrouping after attacking a certain village. Since they would always wash (balbal, in the local dialect) their blood-stained bodies and weapons in the creek, the place and its adjacent areas came to be known as Balbalan. Since its tribal war days, Balbalan has become one of the most peaceful place in Kalinga as dramatized by the selection of one of its ethnic sub-groups, the Salegseg.”

The town has 14 barangays, the farthest of which borders Abra province.

 

At the other end of Balbalan , one finds this signage in Abra.

This town in the mountains of Kalinga is very sparsely populated. In the 2015 census, the population of Balbalan was 12,195 people, with a density of 22 inhabitants per square kilometre. Truly an adventure traveling thru its mountain rods and hardly seeing anyone on long stretches.

Balbalasang, Balbalan in Kalinga

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Balbalasang is a barangay within Mount Balbalasang in the town of Balbalan, Kalinga.

At the heart of this barangay is the Balbalasang Balbalan National Park, dubbed as “the green heart of the Cordillera”

From wikipedia:

“The Park belongs to the Luzon Biogeographic Region, a unique center of endemism in Luzon. It is composed of two mountain ranges within the Cordillera Central with numerous rivers and creeks all draining towards the Saltan River. Mount Sapocoy is the highest peak at 2,456 meters. It is located at the western boundary of the park overlooking the Ilocos and Cagayan Valley. The lowest point in the park, with an elevation of 700 meters, is at Balbalan in the eastern portion.

An important center for biodiversity conservation, the park is home to 89 species of birds, of which 39 are endemic to the Philippines and 2 of them can only be found in Luzon, the Isabela oriole (Oriolus isabellae) and flame-breasted fruit dove (Ptilinopus marchei). While none of the recorded species in the park is critical or endangered, four species of birds are categorized vulnerable (2002 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species), among them are the whiskered pitta (Pitta kochi), Luzon water-redstart (Ryacornis bicolor) and Luzon jungle flycatcher (Rhinomyas insignis).

In addition, 23 species of mammals, 13 species of amphibians, 13 species of reptiles and 25 species of earthworms have also been documented. Among them are the Philippine warty pig, Luzon striped rat, Northern Luzon giant cloud rat, Kalinga narrowmouth toad, and Luzon narrow-mouthed frog. Two of these mammal species are listed as endangered, namely the Luzon pygmy fruit bat and the Luzon bushy-tailed cloud rat.

At elevations above 1,000 m., the park consists of hardwood, pine and mossy forests. A species of Rafflesia flower has also been discovered in the park. ”

boyplakwatsa chanced upon this beautiful site on way to Abra via the provincial road that traverses Balbalan.

A beautiful community sits beside the rice terraces

As I understand it, the mountain park is presently closed for climbers. But no one is stopped from visiting this beautiful, albeit extremely hard to visit, barangay.

An onward journey takes one to even more rugged, muddy mountain roads leading to a town in Abra for indigenous people.