Manila's Green Lung: Arroceros Forest Park

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Manila's Green Lung: Arroceros Forest Park
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I bet a lot of Manileños today haven't visited or probably even heard of Arroceros Forest Park. Unlike most parks, this park is closed in, surrounded by high, metal fences and if I wasn't part of a tour group, I wouldn't even know that this place was open to the public. My first impression was that it was secluded, private and guarded.

Arroceros Forest Park building

To Get There:

The Arroceros Forest Park is situated at the heart of Manila, just a few meters walk from the Manila Metropolitan Theater. So same as the Post Office and Met, just get off from a G-liner bus at the Met and just walk to it. Alternatively, the entrance to the park is right across the LRT Central Terminal Station.

So now we continue on with the Philippine Postal Heritage Tour. Outside the park is a large sign stating who is currently managing the place, namely: the Winner Foundation Inc. The park was closed to the public when former Mayor Lito Atienza converted it into a government office. Fortunately, Mayor Alfredo Lim reopened it to the public in 2007.

Overall, the park is quiet and cool. But personally, I wouldn't want to linger here. The place doesn't look well maintained. The plants look overgrown, the benches have vandalism and I could see litter in some areas of the park. There were cages where animals once-alive used to be displayed. The guard told us the birds in the cage was eaten by a snake. (Yikes!)

Somehow, the Pasig river doesn't look dirty but our guide said that in the summer, it'll be stinky.

Pasig River as seen from Arroceros Forest Park

Still, it has a good view of the Pasig River and the trees provide a nice place to commune with nature and get a breath of fresh air in the heart of Manila.

Interested to join Mr. Chan's weekly tours? View his tour schedules here.