Day Hike Club+

MT APO
Exploring party from the Division of Mines on the summit of Mount Apo, Davao Region Philippines, 1911.

Photo by W. Smith/Royal Geographical Society

As you take your journey this coming Mt.Apo reopening season remember the people who once took the first step so you can follow, render your outmost respect to the mountain and its surrounding communities and keep in mind that you/we are just visitors.

See you!😊

Mt. Apo GeoPark Day Hike guidelines
via Sta. Cruz Trail
-Have climbed any major mountain in the Philippines or abroad with elevation gain not lower than Mt. Apo.
-Have finished a Trail marathon or half marathon.
-Have completed a three minor hikes of atleast 1,000 MASL.

Mt. Apo GeoPark via Sta. Cruz Trail.
A quick information guide to Mt. Apo Geological sites. Enjoy your adventures and please be on the safe side always.🙂

Mt. Apo Double Cross Day Hike
September 1, 2026 (reopening day)
Sta. Cruz to Bansalan Trail (2x)
33 kilometers of pure suffering and fun.

Note:
-For experienced hiker/trail runner with skills only.
-This is not a race. Mountain stroll only.

Interested? Feel free to message directly.🙂

MT. APO Geo-Park Day Hike Schedule
September
1- Double cross day hike (reopening climb)
6- 7 slots available
12- Exclusive
14- Exclusive
20- Open slots
27- 7 slots
October
4- 8 slots available
11- 10 slots available
18- 9 slots available
25- 7 slots available

-Open for joiners and exclusive groups.
-Well disciplined and experienced mountain guides.
-We do cater multi-days (3d2n/2d1n) hikes.
-Davao City based organizer.

Are you up for a challenge? Drop a message.🙂

Mt. Kitanglad 2,899 MASL (9,511 feet)
4th highest mountain in the Philippines.
Day hike schedule
August 23, 2026

See you!😊

Mt. Kitanglad Day hike
T-32-2026

Smooth sailing hike with friends. All are qualified for a Mt. Apo challenge soon. Congratulations! 👏👏👏

The Mindanao treeshrew "Tupaia everetti" locally called “tingkolit,”
endemic in Mindanao region and present in Mt. Apo Geo Park.😊

TINGKOLIT SIGHTING 🌿

A tiny mammal in Mt. Apo is helping scientists read the story of Mindanao’s forests.

The Mindanao treeshrew, scientifically known as Tupaia everetti and locally called “tingkolit,” was documented in Mt. Apo Natural Park during a biodiversity monitoring survey in 2026.

The record may seem small at first.

But in conservation, even a small animal can carry a big message.

The tingkolit is an endemic mammal of the Mindanao Faunal Region, meaning it is naturally found only in this part of the Philippines. It is a fast-moving, ground-dwelling treeshrew that may look like a squirrel at first glance, but belongs to a different group of mammals.

What made the Mt. Apo record significant was not only the species itself, but where it was found.

During the monitoring survey, researchers recorded the Mindanao treeshrew in a mid-montane zone inside the protected area. This suggests that the species may occupy a broader elevation range than previously understood, adding new information to what scientists know about its habitat and distribution.

Findings like this matter because biodiversity monitoring does more than list species.

It helps scientists understand which animals are still present, where they are surviving, and how healthy their habitats may be. Small mammals such as treeshrews can be sensitive to changes in habitat quality, making them useful biological indicators of forest condition.

Mt. Apo Natural Park is one of Mindanao’s most important protected landscapes, home to high-elevation forests, rare wildlife, and ecosystems that continue to reveal new information through field research.

The tingkolit reminds us that not all important wildlife is large, famous, or easy to see. Some are small, quick, quiet, and hidden near the forest floor — yet they can still help scientists understand how much life remains in a protected landscape

Newly discovered Helmet Orchid species "Corybas Apoensis" endemic in Mt. Apo Geo Park.😊

NEW ENDEMIC ORCHID 🌸

A tiny orchid found in the mossy forests of Mt. Apo has officially joined science under a new name: Corybas apoensis.

The newly described plant is a helmet orchid under the family Orchidaceae and is considered endemic, meaning it is known from the Philippines and is specifically tied to Mt. Apo in Mindanao.

Its name, apoensis, points to the mountain where it was found.

The species was formally published in Phytotaxa on July 7, 2026, in a paper titled “Corybas apoensis (Orchidaceae), a new endemic species from Mt. Apo, Philippines.”

The authors of the study are Kier C. Agad, Archelito L. Mallari, Danilo N. Tandang, Rene Alfred Anton Bustamante, and Daryl S. Salas.

Reports describe Corybas apoensis as thriving in mosses and humus along a ridge mossy forest, showing how even small and easily overlooked plants can hold new scientific records.

The new species belongs to a group of orchids often called helmet orchids because of their unusual flower shape.

Researchers compared it with related species and identified features that distinguish it, including its white floral background and the visible carmine veins on parts of the flower.

The discovery adds another example of how Mt. Apo continues to serve as a home for unique life forms found nowhere else.

It also reminds students that biodiversity research is not only about large animals or well-known plants. Sometimes, a new species can be waiting in the moss, hidden close to the forest floor.

For the Philippines, each newly described endemic species is both a scientific milestone and a conservation reminder.

When a plant is known only from a limited habitat, protecting the mountain ecosystem around it becomes part of protecting the species itself.