Northwest Panay Peninsula Natural Park

Rare lowland rainforest with endemic warty pigs and hornbills

A protected area covering much of inland Malay and the neighbouring municipality of Buruanga, the Northwest Panay Peninsula Natural Park is one of the most important pieces of remaining lowland rainforest in the Western Visayas. It supports unusually high levels of endemism, including the critically endangered Visayan warty pig (Sus cebifrons) and the rufous-headed hornbill (Rhabdotorrhinus waldeni).

Visiting requires effort — the park has no developed tourist infrastructure, and serious birdwatchers usually book a guide through the Philippines Biodiversity Conservation Foundation, which runs research and conservation projects in the area. Day visits to the forest edge from Caticlan are easier, with sightings of common forest birds and butterflies almost guaranteed.

things to do sight
A story
The park protects one of the last large stands of intact lowland rainforest in the Visayas. Two of its star species — the Visayan warty pig and the rufous-headed hornbill — survive nowhere else on Earth. Both were thought to be heading for extinction until the surveys of the 1990s rediscovered viable populations here.