Malinta Tunnel Lateral Walk (Corregidor Trip 2.5)

May 24, 2013 by Pammy 2 Comments

So, This is what went on after the walk. We (Me, Kei and Matti) had to finish lunch for 15mins. (Yes, that rushed!)  And head back to the Malinta Tunnel to explore the laterals.

This is the map of the Tunnel.

Malinta Tunnel Map

The Malinta Main Tunnel Walk (lights and sounds tour) is usually taken by the tourists, I already did that on my fist visit to Corregidor, this time around I am going for the walk that only a few has dared to go. The Lateral Walk. See those thin lines on the map? those are the ones we are going for. This is not the usually suggested tour, as it can be really eerie inside. This is usually done at night, sort of a ghost hunting tour. But this time for us alone, they are going to give this tour in the early afternoon. So, Yay for us!

We meet again Malinta Tunnel. Let’s see the stories you keep.

I braced myself for this part of the walk. As I am very much a scaredy cat when it comes to things that concerns ghosts, haunted places and the supernatural. We were each told to wear hard hats, to avoid bumping our heads inside the tunnel as some parts of it have really low headroom.  Then each was given a flashlight that would serve as our primary light source inside. By this time, my hands are clammy and there are some weird dancing butterflies in my stomach.

Vamos Tres Musketeros! Let’s Go exploring. (Left Matti’s, Middle Mine and Right Kei’s Flashlight)

This is it! We are off. With our hard hats and flashlights, let the walk begin. I have to warn you a lot of dark plus orb photos in this post, I am only relying on the camera’s flash and the flashlight, so don’t expect nice photos here.

Entrance to the laterals of the tunnel. Ready to go in?

We then walked through a part of the main tunnel and we are now at the entrance of the lateral part of the tunnel. Here we go. I want to back down!!! (but must show my companions that I am brave.) It is very dark inside! and just on the first test photo I took, there is an orb.

Really dark inside… see the orb? (bottom right)

Too late to go back now. We ventured to the dark.

walking in. (that’s me in the striped tee, my friend Matti is the one behind me)

Inside the tunnel the temperature is really cool, and on some parts dusty, others damp. The guide now explains how the tunnel was made.

The guide explaining how the tunnel was made.

The Army Corps of Engineers (USA) rented obsolete equipment from Baguio’s gold miners for a nominal fee and used explosives (tnt). The explosive used is in powder form, and had to be wrapped into makeshift cartridges using paper, which were placed into holes drilled into the rock. Labor was by the the (1,000) convicts from the Bilibid Prison in Manila. A company of engineers from the Philippine Scouts worked on the construction as foremen and clerks.

Low headroom and slippery, uneven path. Yikes!

We are now far inside the tunnel. Here is where the low headroom and slippery paths are, basically the crude areas of the tunnel. Our guide also told us that the brown stains on the rocks are actually gasoline that the US soldiers placed to smoke out the Japanese soldiers hiding inside the tunnel.

dented gate (That’s my friend Matti in the photo)

Passing by the area we came to a gate, rusty and dented. I believe this was also burned with gasoline. A few steps more, we were told to stop. To look at this.

a charred piece of human bone.

That is one of the few remaining pieces of genuine human bones of those that perished inside the tunnel.

After seeing it, we are now crossing through the main tunnel to head towards the Fort Mills Lateral Hospital. (the 1000 bed hospital inside the Malinta Tunnel)

visiting the hospital

Going in. This part of the tunnel is lined with cement, the floors and ceiling are smooth and maybe light grey or white, but due to the low light, I can’t really tell. (We were told that the cement is Asada cement made in Japan.)

here is what it looks like inside, every tunnel contains 100 beds.

See the gated tunnel? that is the female nurses’s quarters, they placed gates for the female staff’s safety. They also stock morphine and medicines inside. Since the medicines are a few and everything is rationed, there are some soldiers who walks to these gates and beg for morphine. According to accounts the experience of the medical staff here is described as maddening. They are to always wear a smile when attending to the patients to keep the morale of the soldiers up. At nights cries of pain and moans of those near death keeps them awake.

inside the nurses’ quarters

Inside their quarters, the only stuff they have is a desk and a chair, and a couch. The basic minimum.

Then we are made to walk to the surgery/operating area/pharmacy tunnel. We only see the dark, but this is what the camera saw.

a lot of orbs.

 ^{A lot of orbs. And this part of the tunnel is also colder than the rest since there is water dripping from its ceiling and it is damp inside. I got goosebumps looking at the photos my camera has captured.} 

Lastly, we are to visit the ward.

the lateral ward

There are also orbs here, but not as many as those seen in the surgery area. this time we are made to turn off our flashlights and cameras and walk the tunnel in complete darkness, using the walls as our guide around the tunnel. To make us experience what the soldiers felt like before walking around these tunnels. (So no more pictures here) After a while we found ourselves back in the main tunnel and that was it. Its time to go.

I cant help but admire the courage and sacrifice those people (inside the tunnel) did. For love of country and fellow countrymen, for freedom and liberty.

I have much respect for them.

*There has been no ghost sightings reported in side the tunnel, only orbs. Caution to those that are claustrophobic, rethink if you really want to go for this tour. This is a spine chilling tour, not for the faint hearted. All my reviews, opinions, and other stuff expressed here are my own and based on my own experience with Corregidor. This is not a sponsored post, we paid for this (from) our own pocket(s).

**My first Corregidor trip can be found here. Second trip here.