Bird-watching in Manilla

THE lush environment, as well as its viability as an area of study for natural resources, makes the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) campus an important venue for the application of ecotourism.

The 5,000-hectare UPLB campus is home to premier institutions of research that continually produce breakthroughs in the areas of agriculture, plant and animal science, biotechnology, food processing and technology, and forestry, all under the watchful gaze of Mt. Makiling, where a significant tract of virgin rainforest is being preserved.

UPLB is also a gateway to Mt. Makiling, via the Makiling Forest Reserve (MFR), which is dotted by geological attractions like mudsprings, caves and peaks. The MFR caters to more serious hiking and other eco-friendly pursuits such as mountaineering, nature walks, biology classes, camping, and bird-watching, among others. Endangered and threatened species of animals – the Philippine deer, wild boar, civet, monitor lizards, cloud rats, different species of bats, doves, eagles, kingfishers, and parrots – roam freely, affording hikers closer examination of thriving local fauna.

...bird-watching in a different country would be fascinating...

Manila Bulletin Online

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