MCPB - Campo 7 Manipis

Rediscovering the Campo 7 Man-Made Forest in Minglanilla

This wasn’t my first time at the Campo 7 Man-Made Forest in Minglanilla, Cebu, As a matter of fact, I have passed through this forest more than a dozen times in the past. I have to admit, however, that back then, I didn’t know what it was called. So, imagine my surprise when I found out that Campo 7 and the ‘new’ spot that everyone’s been talking about in social media these days, were actually the same thing!






New Adventure

Since I didn’t have anything planned, I decided to get on my bike and finally investigate. According to materials I found online, the man-made forest was about 15 kilometers from the Tabunok flyover in Talisay City. A completely different scenery and vibe just around 30 kilometers from home? I think it’s worth it!

Plus, you get to enjoy the amazing views along the way. Take a look at this engineering marvel, for example.

A big chunk of the highway was still a work in progress. I’m guessing it’s because of the crazy weather these past few months. Aside from the occasional mud and landslides especially in Manipis, however, the road is pretty spectacular.

Remembering the Past

I remembered that a few years back, the entire stretch was very quiet and actually pretty scary. Today, however, it has become very busy and full of life. I also saw a handful of decent food outlets along the way! (I dropped by one of them and will be posting about it next!)

When I was much younger, I would get on my dad’s back seat and we would drive aimlessly for hours. As an adventurer, he would always try the lesser-known ‘paths’ just to be able to say, “Ahhh! So this is where this road takes us!” at the end of each trip. And I must say that I’ve already passed through this road many times before because I could still vividly remember the sights and sounds that truly amazed and thrilled me.

Today, I finally found out that this place was called the Campo 7 (Camp 7) Man-Made Forest in the town of Minglanilla.

Campo 7 Man-Made Forest

According to one of the notice boards, the area is actually an experimental forest station. What does it mean, you ask?

Camp 7, located in both Manipis, Talisay City and Minglanilla, is just a portion of the Osmena Reforestation Project in Camp 7 in Minglanilla. The 123.4-hectare protected property sits close to the Talisay-Minglanilla border.

In 2004, the area was declared as Experimental Forest Station (EFS)

An Experimental Forest Station is an area that serves as a demonstration and training center for the conservation and management of forest plantation as well as seed production.

The area is also identified as a field laboratory for ENR technologies and as an ecotourism destination.

In recent years, however, the area has been steadily getting the attention of people from all corners of the island because of several social media posts made by visitors.

And with cycling and mountain-biking becoming such a huge hit due to the pandemic, the area is now frequented by both serious and casual bikers.

Each day, hundreds of visitors visit the area to just park along the road and just enjoy the fresh scenery. In fact, some visitors even use hammocks to just relax and be one with nature for a couple of hours.

Those who do not have time to pull up on the side of the road make sure to reduce their speed to be able to enjoy the cool fresh breeze within the man-made forest.

Along the road, you will also notice a creek that flows quietly down the slope.

I’m glad that I finally made this trip. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have rediscovered this amazing gem that every Cebuano should be very proud of.






Check out this quick video I took during my drive through this lovely man-made forest.

Have you been to the Campo 7 Man-Made Forest in Minglanilla? What do you think of this place? Let us know in the comments below!

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