Malinta Tunnel Night Lateral Tour

Available only to those who will stay overnight on the island of Corregidor, the Malinta Tunnel Night Lateral Tour allows visitors to see and enter the laterals which are off-limits to the day tour visitors.

Malinta Tunnel Night Lateral Tour

Malinta Tunnel Night Lateral Tour details

Malinta Tunnel - Corregidor Island, Cavite

The tour usually starts at around 6/7 PM. Visitors who availed of the Malinta Tunnel Night Lateral Tour will assemble in the lobby of the Corregidor Hotel and will be picked up by a tranvia (a replica of the trams used during the Colonia Era.) Each tranvia is manned by its operator and a tour guide. The tranvia will then bring the visitors to the East Entrance of the tunnel for the start of the tour.

Malinta Tunnel history

This is how my adventure went...

At the mouth of the Malinta Tunnel, the guide briefed us regarding the safety precautions. Then he ushered us inside the tunnel where we were required to wear the provided safety hats. We then walked towards and entered the second lateral on the right side of the tunnel. We then walked northward toward the North Entrance.  

We were given flashlights after being briefed by the guide

At that point, the guide stopped to explain the history of the Malinta Tunnel and told us about the hospital inside the tunnel called Fort Mills Hospital. According to him, Fort Mills Hospital had a maximum capacity of 100 beds. However, during the war, the number of injured and sick numbered 5 times that capacity. We were left to imagine how those people suffered inside this dark damp tunnel.

Wooden support now holds most of the inner tunnels

Going deeper into the laterals

Deeper and deeper we go

After that, we headed deeper into the laterals. The deeper we went the more we see the "real" Malinta Tunnel. Unlike the renovated East-West passage and some lateral entrances, the walls of the laterals in the deeper parts still showed battle damage. Pieces of limestone are scattered all around and bent metal supports can be seen protruding from the sides of the wall.  

Where should we go?

This is a part where you need to almost crawl to navigate the tunnels 

There is even a part where the guide points out an air vent that has darkened walls caused by the ignited gasoline poured by the Americans to flush out the stubborn Japanese defenders. The guide then brought us to several locations said to be the places where some Japanese soldiers committed harakiri by blowing themselves up. 

Welcome to the Headquarters of General George Moore

Entering Fort Mills Hospital Lateral

An old typewriter... forgotten by its owners.

Our guide sharing the information about the different tunnels

A piece of burnt Japanese human remains

The best part of the tour was when the guide divided our group and asked us to line up near the entrance of some laterals. He then told us to turn off our lights and just move forward. The darkness that enveloped us seems to swallow us and spit us out back to the past where the eerie darkness made us feel how life was for the hundreds of soldiers who once called Malinta Tunnel home. 

After the tour, it dawned on me that sometimes what we think of as a safe haven could also be the cause of our emotional hell.

Would you want to visit this place alone?

Going back to the hotel on the tranvia

Overall, my experiences in Malinta Tunnel would be one of the most memorable adventures in my life. I'm very thankful to the parents of my students for including me in this trip. I'm hoping to revisit Corregidor again in the future, this time with my family.