Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Bukidnon: Manolo Fortich: A Must to Do, See and Visit

by lakwatserong tatay

I'm not a local from Bukidnon, but some of my relatives are living at Malaybalay, which i missed out to visit when i had the chance to go to Bukidnon. But as far as talking to them, i'm surely be back to Bukidnon and hope to visit most of the scenic and tourist spots that Manolo Fortich can offer and other towns of Bukidnon could share to travelers alike us. As i could not express the feeling that i really feel in love with Manolo Fortich and hope to go back and stay there for a meanwhile....

Here is some information about Manolo Fortich:

Manolo Fortich is a 1st class municipality in the Province of Bukidnon, was formerly known as Municipality of Maluko, the town was renamed in 1957, to Manolo Fortich, named after Don Manolo Fortich, a provincial resident of Barrio Damilag being the first Governor (1902-1914) of District of Bukidnon.

Before the coming of the Spaniards, the term "Bukidnon" referred to as the semi-sedentary indigenous inhabitants of the high plateaus and rugged mountain ranges of Central Mindanao. The more prominent of these peoples were the "Manobos" who were the earlist settlers of this region. Located on the Northern part of Bukidnon, which is the Municipality of Manolo Fortich.

This town is endowed with beautiful and scenic spots. Both natural and manmade attractions alike are the tourism magnets of the municipality. Its Annual Charter Day celebrated every 21st of June known as "Pamahandi Ta Tankulan". A range of activities are undertaken to celebrate this significant event of Manolo Fortich.

Places to see in Manolo Fortich:


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Mt. Kitanglad Range Natural Park (ASEAN Heritage Park) - a famous destination for mountaineers alike over the world. Declared as Protected Area as of Year 2000 by Republic Act 8979. Officially declared as the fourth highest mountain in the Philippines and has an approximate height of 2,899 MASL.Mt. Kitanglad has an extensive mountain range with about a dozen peaks, popular bird-watching site, which is known to be the home of Philippine Eagle, a major watershed provider of Bukidnon and Misamis Oriental.


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Mangima Canyon - located along the Sayre Highway, w/ views of rivers and hills, making it one of the most interesting spots in Bukidnon. A zigzag road that is dubbed as the Kennon Road of the South.
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Mangima Canyon Springs and Country Park - situated along Mangima Canyon, is a local government unit operated resort with an area of around 6 hec.  of hills, mountains and trees.
The resort houses 4 swimming pools, one pool sizes as an olympic type pool. Has function rooms with 3 dorm-type rooms great for large group of guest.
One unique attraction of these resort is its off-road track which has natural terrain challenge, best for off-road enthusiasts could try on.




Two more attractions that can be seen in Mangima are Mangima Old Bridge and Mangima Heroes Shrine.

Mangima Old Bridge - remnants of the guerilla activities in Bukidnon during World War II, these bridge attests the bravery and patriotism of the locals of Manolo Fortich. The bridge was used as the main route of transportation which strategically blown up by the guerillas to sabotage the Japanese Armies movement of supplies and reinforcement to Central Mindanao. As of now, the only remains of the historic structure was bridge's foundation and support pillars that serves a grim reminder of the numbers of Japanese soldier' death when the time of bridge destruction.

Mangima Heroes Shrine - located within Mangima Canyon Springs and Country Park, the shrine stands for historic symbol of valor and nationalism for the heroic acts of the local of Manolo Fortich during WWII. It was on the plateau overlooking the Mangima Old Bridge where the command for the historic ambushed of Japanese Army took place.  The shrine was erected as a tribute to the local heroes led by Capt. Ramon M. Onahon.

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Sumalsag Cave - located in Dalirig, the longest cave in Northern Mindanao with approximately 1,859 mtrs. from the entrance to its exit where one has to dive underwater to see the outsite world. The height of the cave varies from 1 mtr to 20 mtrs, its width varies also. The cave boasts of its abundance of stalagmites and stalactites.
Spelunkers alike needed to be ready to slide, crawl, swim or even wriggle your body as you move about inside this magnificent cave.




Montegelo - is a farm that can be found in Brgy. San Miguel. This farm is a great venue for weddings, debuts, corporate meetings, retreats, and outings. Montegelo Farms has an spring water pools and scenic surroundings, aside from their scrumtious culinary delights. This hidden valley that looks and feels like a secret garden is a favorite place of celebrities to stay when in Manolo Fortich.

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Saddle Ridge Camp - feel and live like a cowboy, located within vicinity of Dahilayan Adventure Park. Enjoy its eco-adventure tours or experience wild west fun in trail riding or riverside camp and delight with its tasty meal at Cowboy's Grill. An overnight stay at the camp with its unique  accomodation such as the rolling house, van wagon and nipa huts.
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Kampo Juan -  located Brgy. Dicklum, the newest eco-adventure destination. Named in honor of Dr. Juan Acosta, a horticulture and plant breeding scientist in our country. Its biggest attraction is the Philippine's 1st and only Anicycle where you get to ride a bicycle on a cable hanging 100 ft above and expanse the length of 600 ft. Aside from this, a hanging bridge w/c spans 360 ft across and 200 ft above the river is one heck of an adventures. They also offer zipline rides, rappelling, paramotoring.
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Bagalangit Ultimate Bivouac -  located in Sitio Bagalangit, Brgy. Kalugmanan, and just 10 mins away from Dahilayan Adventure Park. It offers camping grounds, uniquely designed teepee huts and military bunkhouses. Challenge your skills in archery, tactical shooting, airsoft games, wall climbing, rappelling and team building obstacle courses. Great for youth camps, weekend getaways for family, friends and travelers alike.
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Gen. Douglas MacArthur Landmark - built through effort of the Rotary Club of Northern Bukidnon, the memorial landmark is found in Brgy. Dicklum, an airfield of the US Army Air Corps before WWII and named Del Monte Airfield due to its close location to the large Del Monte Pineapple Plantation. On December 8, 1941 Clark Airfield was destroyed by the Japanese with a devastating air attack. Thus, with its destruction, most of the air operations were moved to the Del Monte Airfield and thereafter, the Del Monte base was used as a staging area for missions flown from Australia and evacuation flights.

This historic landmark is name after Gen. Douglas MacArthur since it is the place where General, his family and key staff members took off on their historic flight to Australia before the fall of Bataan and Corregidor by B-17 on March 17, 1942. Contrary to what most Filipinos have known, it was actually in Manolo Fortich where Gen. Douglas MacArthur has said his final farewell from the Philippines.

How to get to Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon:

The municipality is located in Northern part of the Province of Bukidnon. Bounded on the north by Cagayan de Oro City and municipality of Malitbog, on the east by the muncipality of Sumilao and Impasugong, in the west are municipality of Libona and Baungon and in the south are the rugged ranges of Mt. Kitanglad.

By Air: Although there are public and private air-strips in Bukidnon, there are no direct commercial flights been offered. The nearest airports is the Lumbia Airport of Cagayan de Oro City, catering domestic flights from Manila, Cebu and Davao. From CDO, a travel by land must be taken to reach Bukidnon.

By Land: Bus travel is one of the most convinient way to reach Bukidnon. About 104 kms. road distance from CDO and approximately 1hr and half land travel straight to the capital city of Bukidnon, Malaybalay.
Other public transportation is also available, like public utility jeepneys and vans for hire.

By Sea: Since Bukidnon is a landlocked province, the only closest sea port is port of Cagayan de Oro then takes land transportation to reach the cities and municipalities of Bukidnon. Several ferries are available connecting Cagayan de Oro to seaports in the cities of Manila, Cebu, Bohol and other ports in Luzon and Visayas.

For more information about the Province of Bukidnon, its cities and municipalities:

checkout their website: http://www.bukidnon.gov.ph  and for Manolo Fortich : http://manolofortich.com.ph/

Done with Bukidnon Series of Adventures and already shared what i really love with Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon. Next stop, the Province of Lanao Del Norte, Iligan City. We visited Iligan's Cathedral Church, X-plored  NPC's Nature Park, First Glance with the Mighty Maria Cristina Waterfalls, Photo opps within Maria Cristina Powerplant and Habal-habal ride and trek to Tinago Waterfalls. Last but not the least, The time we have to say Goodbye to Northern Mindanao, its time to go back home.....^_^



This is part of our 6-Days Northern Mindanao Escapades. Visited and X-plored 4 Provinces: Misamis Oriental, Camiguin Island, Bukidnon and Lanao Del Norte. Our third stop is Bukidnon, that is known as the "Home Basket of Mindanao and Home of the 2nd Highest Mountain in the Philippines", the 3rd province of Northern Mindanao.


Tours & Activities:
En Route to Camp Phillips: Del Monte Pineapple Plantation
Dahilayan Adventure Park: Our Ride to Asia's Logest Dual Zipline
A Must to Do, See and Visit in Manolo Fortich

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