A magical trip through Siquijor’s Bandila-an Nature Park

To religious pilgrims, it’s one of the best places for ritual. To faith healers, it’s one of the best sources of medicinal plants. To nature trippers, it has everything to excite the senses.

Welcome to Bandila-an National Park, a natural wonder which has emerged as one of the best reasons for going to Siquijor Island. Sitting on a 244-hectare area which traverses six municipalities, and situated 600 meters above sea level, the place is now being developed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) as one of the country’s eco-tourism destinations.

"With its flourishing array of flora and fauna, and with Siquijor’s known reputation as a mystical place where supernatural legends of witchcraft and sorcery thrive, Bandila-an Park has an appeal all its own for tourists and travelers," says Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer (PENR) Oscar Magallones "Its rehabilitation has been going on and off since after World War II. Hopefully, the time has come for the park to come on its own."

Formerly known as Mt. Malabahok, its name was changed to Bandila-an in honor of the Filipino guerilla who hoisted the Philippine Flag on its peak during the war. After the war, it became a major reforestation area where premium forest tree species such as Philippine teak, mahogany, molave, narra, had been planted.

Lenten Attraction

This Lenten season, Bandila-an Park is expected to attract hundreds of religious pilgrims who will visit its grotto, the Our Lady of Lourdes, and hold the Station of the Cross on its sloping terrain. For these visitors, there are hundreds of concrete footpaths that go through the forest to make their ritual more convenient.

But more fascinating is the park’s reputation as a favorite destination of local witchcraft practitioners and sorcerers who search the dense forest for plants, herbs, and vines, the exotic and mysterious ingredients of a sorcerer’s brews and concoctions.

The park is full of wonders and surprises, even for frequent visitors. Step into the woods and feel at once the brooding presence of tall trees and clinging vines, as if some creatures are lurking in the shadows or just behind the trees.

Venturing further into the woods, you will find yourself standing in front of what appears to be the mouth of an alligator, but is in fact a cave whose grotesque stalactite formations can easily be seen.

Walking on, you hear the faint sounds of falling rain behind the leaves.

Then suddenly it appears before your eyes: a mini-waterfall whose gently swirling waters are as clear and cool as crystal. Deeper inside the forest come the hypnotizing sounds of cicadas, crickets and other creatures flitting through the trees.

On the other side of the road, uphill, the first Station of the Cross can be found, a quiet testimony to the local people’s religiosity. Climbing slowly as you mumble familiar prayers, you will see the grotto of the Mother of Christ. Upon reaching the peak of the mountain where the Final Station is located you will be treated to an exhilarating panoramic view of Siquijor province.

Mt. Bandila-an has become a melting pot for day trippers, religious pilgrims, and colorful faith healers especially during Lent. "These religious pilgrims and faith healers have all come faraway places," says Orciso Calamiton, Mt. Bandila-an park manager. "When they arrive here they each have their own mission, and they all go away satisfied, after which they will make plans to come back again."

Calamiton cites Mt. Bandila-an’s unique attractions as the reason for its being a favorite mystical and religious destination. One attractive feature is its high location. Trekking the 300-plus steps in the sloping mountain is already a sacrifice for the pilgrims, but the reward for the long climb is the breathtaking view on top that makes up for the Last Station.

Strange Brew

The park boasts of having rare plants and herbs that are nowhere to be found in the country. Thus, the healers gather in the area especially during Lenten season where they believe that the herbs will make their potion more potent. This is also the place where they cook their precious herbs (medicine or potion) which they called tambal to the maladies that some of their colleagues inflicted on their victim.

Based on DENR records the important flora found inside Mt. Bandila-an with special interest and value especially for the healers are hibi-hibi, tulay, baknit lamay, manombalik, dalupang, aloloy, sapinit, lupit, alayopyop, sebog balik, tagihumok and tawa-tawa. The names of these special plants already give a clue as to the supposed effects on people. The balik balik plant, for example, is a sort of love potion guaranteed to create romantic attraction. The lupit is supposed to counter a harsh penalty inflicted on a witchcraft victim. Tawa tawa is supposed to make one laugh for no reason, and baknit lamay is meant to extract the worst punishment of death.

The plants mentioned are used by the faith healers to heal a victim of sorceror kulam. According to Siquijordnon’s the witches inflict harm on their victims after which the mananambal or faith healers try to save the victim from physical punishments.

The park with its undisturbed diverse forest ecosystem, is a habitat/refuge of several endemic wildlife species. In fact, Mt. Bandila-an boasts of 27 identified bird species, such as pigeons, jungle fowl, Philippine woodpecker, Philippine turtle dove, owl among others. There are also mammals in the area which include long tailed Macaque, leopard cat and over a hundred identified species of butterfly.

The DENR has established a butterfly garden in the area where one can enjoy the flowers and a total of 103 species of butterflies, such as Papilio rumanzovia, Papilio alphenor, Eurema brigitta siquijorana, Hyplimnas bolina philippinses, Graphium agammemnonl Bachliopta phegeus, among others. Eurema brigitta siquijorana is endemic in the area.

The area also boasts of 187 identified flora, such as narra, ipil, molave, kubi, white lauan, kalingag, apitong, nato, sagimsim, teak, rattan, among others. As one of the first reforestation projects in the island started in 1938, the area has been planted with Benguet pine, ayangile, lumbang, and siar. Now, it has regenerated into what people called the nature’s way of healing itself and has appeared to be all natural except for the fact that it was a reforestation area.

Another feature is its ecological value. The highest peak at the Mt. Bandila-an serves as the focus of attraction in terms of nature appreciation, recreation, education and researches. Thus, the attraction is not centered only on its uniqueness but the essentially well-kept diversified forest condition surrounding the area.

The area is ideal for individuals and groups seeking adventures, outdoor activities and fun, as well as for researchers and scientists looking for new discoveries.

Several caves still waiting to be explored, various medicinal plants are waiting to be identified, many species of flora are yet to be inventoried and named.

Protected Area

Because of the importance of Mt. Bandila-an to biodiversity conservation as well as a watershd (it is a source of water in Siquijor) the DENR is pushing for the proclamation of Mt. Bandila-an as a protected area to ensure its protection and conservation.

At present the classification of Bandila-an as a reforestation area protects the park from poachers, informal settlers and other activities that will disturb the natural face of the park. Local residents, however, are still allowed to gather firewood for their cooking fuel.

Bandila-an can be reached through several all-weather barangay and municipal roads from the surrounding barangays and municipalities. It is approximately 25 kilometers through the municipality of Siquijor from Larena which is the main entry to the island Siquijor.The major means of transportation in reaching the area is the motorcycle locally called the habal-habal for a fee of P50 or P100. The services of public utility vehicles (PUJs) can also be availed of as a charter on a pakyaw basis.

Visitors of not more than 10 can be accommodated overnight for free at the DENR guest house inside the park, but visitors are required to make prior arrangements with the provincial DENR office beforehand.

More than half a century after the war that damaged its vegetation, the park now exudes a charm all its own. Starting early afternoon, a shroud of mist starts gathering at the top of the trees. Sunlight that peeps through the branches of trees touch the floor of the forest covered by frail brown leaves disturbed only by occasional visitors.