Mount Makiling offers several outdoor recreation spots. Listed below are the most notable of these places. Make sure to visit our galleries for a preview of these destinations!
The Makiling Botanic Gardens is situated at the lower elevations of the Molawin-Dampalit watershed. The Maralas and Molawin creeks join within the park vicinities and is drained towards the UPLB campus and finally to the Laguna Lake. MBG hosts several native, endemic, and exotic plants for the visitors to experience.
Flatrocks is on of the most frequented place in MFR by visitors. In this place, Molawin Creek flows on large slabs of rocks with forming natural pools. The Flatrocks area is a few hundred meters walk from Checkpoint # 1.
Mudsprings are formed due to Mount Makiling’s volcanic history. Within the boundaries of MMFR there are occurences of mud pots, a type of hot spring where volcanic heat and sulphuric acid break down surrounding rocks into clay. The Mudspring is located within the Molawin-Dampalit watershed, 6 kilometers along the Makiling trail from the first checkpoint.
Three Peaks crown the Mount Makiling, a dormant volcano. Seen from above, Mount Makiling has a collaped caldera facing towards Batangas evident of its violent past. The rim of the broken caldera forms the three peaks, Peak II being the most accessible and famous among the public.
The Mariang Makiling Trail is an 8-kilometer trek toward Mount Makiling’s Peak II. The trail officially starts at Checkpoint # 1 near the Makiling Center for Mountain Ecosystems office and ends at Checkpoint # 30 at Peak II. The trail winds through the eastern slopes of Mount Makiling within the Molawin-Dampalit Watershed Zone. As you trek the Makiling trail, you can observe that the vegetation types change from tall and broad-leaved plants and trees to stunted and moss-covered plants and small trees.