Mount Malepunyo, East of Lipa

Due east of the City of Lipa in Batangas is a mountain range that borders the city of Santo Tomas in Batangas, the municipality of Alaminos and the outer fringes of San Pablo City in Laguna, and the town of Tiaong in Quezon¹. The range is frequently mistaken as “Mount Malarayat,” a name that properly belongs to a much smaller hill near the modern golf and residential estates that helped popularize the label².

Mount Malepunyo is the highest point of the Malepunyo Range at roughly 1,077 meters above sea level. It is classified as an extinct stratovolcano, meaning it was formed by layers of hardened lava and ash but has had no recorded eruption in historical or geological memory³. Its last eruption is unknown, and the volcano is considered inactive within the broader Macolod Corridor, the volcanic zone that also includes Makiling and Banahaw.

The range has three principal peaks. The highest is Mount Malepunyo itself, a forested summit that dominates the skyline east of Lipa. To its north is Bagwis Peak, also called Susong Cambing, a prominent cone-shaped rise that appears clearly in topographic surveys⁴. To the west is Mount Dalaga, more popularly known to hikers as Mount Manabu, a rounded peak with established trails and a long history as a local pilgrimage destination⁵.

The Malepunyo Mountain Range east of Lipa City.

Many people confuse the entire range with “Malarayat,” but this is incorrect. Malarayat is a small hill near the modern golf course and residential estates, and it does not form part of the main volcanic chain⁶. The confusion likely arose because the hill is visible from Lipa’s urban center and because the golf club popularized the name. In contrast, the Malepunyo Range is a long volcanic ridge that stretches across three provinces and is far larger and older than the hill that carries the Malarayat name.

The range also has historical significance. In 1945, during the final phase of the Second World War, American forces of the 11^th Airborne Division fought Japanese units entrenched in the Malepunyo highlands⁷. The capture of the range was one of the last major operations in Batangas and contributed to the collapse of Japanese resistance in Southern Luzon.

The mountain also figured in earlier frontier disputes. During the Spanish era, the boundary negotiations between Lipa and Tiaong were settled at a brook in what the Historical Data of San Celestino called the “Malarayat Mountain,” the same mountain mass now known as the Malepunyo Range⁸. This meeting point, later called the Bulahan Brook, became the official boundary line between the two towns.

Mount Malepunyo remains one of the most recognizable natural landmarks of Southern Luzon. Its peaks, forests, and wartime legacy make it an important part of Batangas history and geography.