Mount Pulag (or sometimes Mount Pulog) is the 3rd highestmountain in the Philippines (but is currently the official 2nd highest[citation needed]). It is Luzon’s highest peak at 2,922 meters above sea level. The borders between the provinces of Benguet,Ifugao, and Nueva Vizcaya meet at the mountain's peak.
Because of its high elevation, the climate on Mount Pulag istemperate with rains predominating the whole year. Rainfall on the mountain averages 4,489 mm yearly with August being the wettest month with an average rainfall of 1,135 mm. Snow has not fallen on its top in at least the past 100 years.
The mountain hosts 528 documented plant species. It is the natural habitat of the endemic Dwarf Bamboo, (Yushania niitakayamensis) and the Benguet pine (Pinus insularis) which dominates the areas ofLuzon tropical pine forests found on the mountainside. Among its native wildlife are 33 bird species and several threatened mammals such as the Philippine Deer, Giant Bushy-Tailed Cloud Rat (“bowet”) and the Long-Haired Fruit Bat. Mount Pulag is the only place that hosts the 4 Cloud Rat species. It has one of the most diversebiodiversity of the Philippines, with the newly found (since 1896) 185 grams Dwarf cloud rat, Carpomys melanurus, a rare breed (endemic to the Cordillera) and the Koch pitta bird among its endangered denizens.[2][3]
On February 24, 1964, a large part of the mountain was designated as a National Park with Proclamation No. 56. This act aims to preserve the environment around the mountain due to threats from increased development such as conversion to agricultural lands, timber production, hunting, and increased tourism.
The Ibaloi people of Benguet mummify their dead and house in caverns in the mountain. The Kabayan mummy burial caves, one of the main attraction of the site, is considered as Philippine National cultural treasures under Presidential Decree No. 432.
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