Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Sta. Cruz adopts new Mt. Apo trekking policy



STA. CRUZ, Davao del Sur, July 14 (PIA) – Sta. Cruz Mayor Atty. Joel Ray Lopez approved Sangguniang Bayan Resolution No. 189-15 adopting the Common Trekking Policy among all local governments in Mt. Apo Natural Park (MANP) as earlier imposed by the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB).

In the new policy, all entry points to Mt. Apo with existing open trails will adopt a unified system of climbing registration, trekking fees, policy on guiding and portering among others.

As a salient point of the policy, the new uniform trekking fee will now become P1,000 per climber for regular season and P1,500 per person during peak season which is during Holy Week from Holy Monday to Easter Sunday.

The same amount shall also be collected as exit fee for climbers who decide to traverse to other trails.

Prior to crafting of the policy, the very reason why the PAMB came up with this is that mountain climbing has not been religiously regulated in the past which also became the reason why a lot of garbage were left in the country’s highest peak.

Sta. Cruz host a major portion of MANP and it is one of the open trails to Mt. Apo for trekking and mountaineering activity.

One of the unique features of Sta. Cruz trail is its iconic Boulder Face, a volcanic portion of the mountain occupied with huge rock formations and sulphur vents.

For inquiries about Sta. Cruz trail, one can visit the Tourism Office of Sta. Cruz or contact the personnel in-charge through telephone number 082-2720741 or mobile number 09208567991. (CDIO-Sta. Cruz/Julius R. Paner)

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