Neha Patil (Editor)

Kibungan, Benguet

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Country
  
Philippines

Time zone
  
PST (UTC+8)

Area
  
254.9 km²

Local time
  
Monday 8:35 PM

Barangays
  
7 (see Barangays)

ZIP code
  
2611

Province
  
Benguet

Kibungan, Benguet wwwunchartedphilippinescomimagesphilippineski

Region
  
Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR)

District
  
Lone district of Benguet

Weather
  
21°C, Wind S at 2 km/h, 96% Humidity

Kibungan, officially the Municipality of Kibungan (Ilocano: Ili ti Kibungan; Filipino: Bayan ng Kibungan), is a municipality in the province of Benguet in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) of the Philippines. The population was 17,292 at the 2015 census. In the 2016 electoral roll, it had 8,679 registered voters.

Contents

Map of Kibungan, Benguet, Philippines

Geography

Kibungan is located at 16°57′16″N 120°39′56″E, at the northwestern section of Benguet. It is bounded by Bakun on the north, Buguias on the mid-east, Kabayan on the southeast, Atok and Kapangan on the south, and Sugpon on the mid-west.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the municipality has a land area of 254.86 square kilometres (98.40 sq mi)  constituting 7000920000000099999♠9.20% of the 2,769.08-square-kilometre- (1,069.15 sq mi) total area of Benguet.

Kibungan is known in the province of Benguet as the town with unique mountains often mistaken to resemble those of Switzerland. Deep ravines and cliffs separate and isolate many sitios and some barangays. Although some plateaus, hills and small valleys can be seen in the locality, Kibungan is dominantly mountainous.

The municipality is within a cool highland mountainous zone with elevations at more than 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) above sea level. During its coolest months of December to January, Barangay Madaymen experiences chilling temperature of 0 °C (32 °F), causing the famous Frost of Madaymen.

The municipality is located 62 kilometres (39 mi) north of Baguio.

Barangays

Kibungan is politically subdivided into 7 barangays.

Demographics

In the 2015 census, Kibungan had a population of 17,292. The population density was 68 inhabitants per square kilometre (180/sq mi).

In the 2016 electoral roll, it had 8,679 registered voters.

Tourism

  • Les-eng Rice Terraces: These terraces can be reached after 6-hour hike through lush pine forests in Barangay Tacadang.
  • Mayos River: located at the north-eastern part of Barangay Poblacion. It is approximately 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) in length and is about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) away from Poblacion Proper. The river originates from ridges of nearby Barangays Madaymen, Palina and Tacadang; and supplies water to rice paddies and vegetable farms along the vicinity.
  • Palina Rice Terraces: In Barangay Palina at the foot of Mount Kilkili, believed to be a former volcano because of its conical shape. It was constructed following a century-old system of rice terraces built with stone walls and neatly arranged one after the other. The rice terraces are at their best in December and June when the rice paddies turn golden yellow, near harvest time. The Palina rice terraces is known as the municipality’s rice granary.
  • A road network links the area to the town proper and other barangays but public transport vehicles are limited.

    • In order to promote the uniqueness of the municipality's ecotourism, the people want the tag "Switzerland of Benguet" removed as of 2007. The tag was created in good faith as the municipality is a mountainous region and has a cool climate that is associated with Switzerland. However, this gives the wrong impression that the municipality has snow-covered peaks for skiing.

    Public schools

    As of 2014, Kibungan has 24 public elementary schools and 3 public secondary schools.

    References

    Kibungan, Benguet Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA