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Mount Sungay, also known as Mount Gonzales, is a mountain in the province of Cavite in the Philippines. Located in eastern Tagaytay, the inactive stratovolcano(2008-07-30). "Inactive Volcanoes of the Philippines Part 7" . Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. Retrieved on 2013-10-22. is the highest point in the province of Cavite, at . "Mount Sungay" . Mountains Mounts. Retrieved on 2012-02-04. "Mount Sungay elevation". Google maps. Retrieved on 2013-10-21. The slopes of the mountain are the headwater of the San Cristobal River that flows from the mountain to Silang, Cavite down to its mouth at Laguna de Bay in Calamba, Laguna.Philippine Commission (1905). "Fifth Annual Report of the Philippine Commission, 1904, Part 1", pg. 793. Government Printing Office, Washington (from Google Books).
The mountain's former sharp peak and readily distinguishable shape made it a reliable landmark for bearing checks when sailing in and around Manila Bay during the early days of navigation.
Mount Sungay was destroyed with the 1979 construction of First Lady Imelda Marcos's Palace in the Sky, a mansion originally intended as a guesthouse for former California Governor Ronald Reagan, who never arrived. This drastically changed the landscape of the Cavite highland, as the mountain was levelled to about half of its former height for the structure. The mansion remained unfinished after the People Power Revolution in 1986 that toppled the dictatorship of President Ferdinand Marcos. The new government renamed it the People's Park in the Sky, kept to show the excesses of the ousted regime.Cruz, Sarah (2011-06-03). "Palace in the Sky in Tagaytay" . Tagaytay Hotels. Retrieved on 2013-10-22.
Mount Sungay is located at Dapdap West and Dapdap East in Tagaytay, approximately east from the Tagaytay City Circle. A narrow road takes visitors near the top to the parking lot and entrance of the park. The mansion can be reached by a walk or by a jeepney.(2012-03-19). "Tagaytay City - People's Park in the Sky (Palace in the Sky). Pinas Hangouts. Retrieved on 2013-10-22.
Destruction
The mountain peak was previously much higher with an elevation of ,Census Office of the Philippine Islands (1920). "Census of the Philippine Islands Vol. I, 1918", pg. 131. Bureau of Printing, Manila. Its former profile, "a sharp peak at the eastern end of a table of land (Tagaytay Ridge)", was one of the visible used by early navigators when sailing to and around Manila Bay.Coast and Geodetic Survey (1906). "Philippine Island Sailing Directions, Third Edition, 1906", pg. 72. Bureau of Printing, Manila (from Google Books). It was conical in shape with steep sides deemed "inaccessible", "Annual Reports of the War Department, 1903, Volume III", pg. 411. Government Printing Office, Washington. (From Google Books). topped by distinct rock formations that resembled horns, (Tagalog language: sungay), hence the name.
People's Park in the Sky
The People's Park in the Sky, in now poised at the top of Mount Sungay, the highest point of the Province of Cavite. The park stands on a of solid ground and provides a 360-degree view of Cavite and the bordering provinces of Batangas and Laguna, to as far as Manila with a straight-line distance of about . It overlooks four bodies of water – Taal Lake, Balayan Bay, Laguna de Bay and Manila Bay. Nearby mountains visible from Mount Sungay include Mount Makiling in Laguna-Batangas border; Mount Malepunyo and Mount Macolod in Batangas; and Mount Banahaw in Quezon.
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