Lateral Trek in the Malinta Tunnel

Have you feel the total darkness and the deafening silence in a particular place? 

I can consider it as one of the unique experiences that I ever had in a tour, to feel the total darkness. It was such an exciting but thrilling moment while walking in a tunnel in the middle of the darkness. I don't know where is the next location and the feeling that the road gets smaller and narrower when I pass the tunnel, but when the guide turned on the flash light, the pathway is still wide. In addition, I experienced the deafening sound of silence where nobody is speaking and the echo of quietness is the only thing that I heard inside the tunnel. That is my most memorable experience in the lateral walk in Malinta Tunnel.

The entrance of Malinta Tunnel.

The lateral walk at the Malinta Tunnel is one of the interesting activities in the Corregidor Island day tour. The place comes from Tagalog word "ma linta" meaning "many leeches." Malinta Tunnel was built by United States Army Corps of Engineers which was used as bomb-proof storage and personal bunker and later become a 1,000-bed hospital. During the Battle of Corregidor, the tunnel became the seat of administration of the Philippine Commonwealth. Today, Malinta Tunnel is the venue of an audio-visual presentation directed by Lamberto V. Avellana about the events that occurred during World War II.

A typewriter and a book used by General Douglas MacArthur.

Map of Southeast Asia during the Second World War.

During the lateral walk, we discovered a lot of things about the history of our country during the Second World War. It is still evident through the artifacts or objects found inside the lateral as well with the stories that covered the tunnel. Therefore, visiting the Malinta Tunnel is one of the interesting activities in the island in order to explore the history and appreciate the valor of Filipino and American heroes during the war.

Date of Travel: March 13, 2010