Loreto
Mt. Redondo Natural Bonsai Forest
Roughly 100 hectares of naturally stunted trees, most of them around two feet tall, on the province's highest peak.
Nothing here was pruned. The trees on Mt. Redondo grow to about two feet and stop, stunted by the mineral-rich soil they root in, so an entire mountaintop reads as a single low canopy rather than a forest you walk beneath. Carnivorous pitcher plants (Nepenthes) grow through it.
The provincial tourism office puts the forest at around 100 hectares, in Barangay Santiago, Loreto — the far north of the province, and a long way from San Jose. A miniature of it is held at the National Museum of Natural History.
Source: the Dinagat Islands provincial tourism office (dinagatislands.gov.ph).
- How to get there
- Reached overland on a Loreto land tour — a full day, and the only stop on it. The provincial tourism office describes a 45-minute to one-hour ride from the Loreto municipal pier by motorcycle or four-wheel vehicle. This route is run by our accredited guides but is not yet published as a fixed-price package. Tell us your dates and party size and we will quote it.
- Travel time
- A whole day. Loreto is at the northern end of the province, well beyond the heritage circuit's range, and our guides run this as a dedicated land tour rather than an add-on to anything else.
Visitor reminders
There is no sea leg, so this one is not at the mercy of Coast Guard clearance — but it is a long day on the road. Come prepared for that rather than for a beach.