Mount Guiting-Guiting is the highest mountain in the province of Romblon, located in Sibuyan Island, in the Philippines, with an elevation of above sea level. Its steep slopes and jagged peak, have earned it a reputation as one of the most technically challenging mountains to climb in the Philippines. It is ranked as the 11th-most prominent mountain in the Philippines, and 71st-highest peak of an island in the world. Located at the heart of Sibuyan, it dominates the landscape for miles around. Guiting-Guiting, in the Romblomanon dialect means "jagged". It is one of the focal points of Sibuyan's declaration as a biodiversity haven and has been dubbed by some local and international natural scientists as The Galapagos of Asia. The island of Sibuyan has often been compared with the biodiversity endemism rate of the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador. This high endemism prompted much of the mountain and its slopes to be protected in 1996 as the Mt. Guiting-Guiting Natural Park. The park also encompasses the nearby 789-metre (2,589-ft) high Mount Nailog to the west.
Hiking
Guiting-Guiting is often referred to as Mount G2, although the nickname is not accepted by the locals as it disrespects the indigenous name of the sacred site. The mountain is open all year round for hiking, with two established trails; the Tampayan Trail from the north, and the Olango Trail from the south. Hiking permits and guides are secured from the DENR office in Magdiwang town. The entire upper trails consist of exposed, broken, and sharp ultramafic rocks and boulders. The summit area of Mount Guiting-Guiting is primarily a heath land and grassland with exposed rocks on the serrated ridges of the peak.
Though the length and duration of the climb is relatively short, from one to three days depending on experience and trail difficulty, this mountain is still acknowledged as one of the most difficult and technically challenging Philippine mountain to climb, with 9/9 difficulty.