Off the Beaten Path: Exploring the Stunning Manurigao Highlands of Davao De Oro

 

Visiting Davao De Oro has been on my bucket list because this is the only province in the Davao circuit that I haven't visited yet. Well, technically, I have been to Davao De Oro countless times, and at one point in my life, I lived there. I was an infant when my family decided to move to Mt. Diwalwal in the late 1980s. The province was known as Compostela Valley back then. It was just recently renamed to Davao De Oro. I guess by looking at its name, you will know that this province is rich in gold. What is notable about this province is the presence of mining companies. There are gold mining operations all over the province, which is why it is named the "Gold District."

Aside from mining, one notable feature of this province is the existence of majestic falls throughout the province. This province is known for its stunning waterfalls. There are a lot of waterfalls to visit in this province, but I got the chance to visit the newest accessible falls—Mal'lumagpak Falls—located in Manurigao, New Bataan, Davao De Oro. But I will not talk about the Mal'lumagpak Falls just yet in this blog post because I want to share first the soon-to-be gem of the municipality, and that is the Manurigao Highlands.

The journey to Manurigao Highlands is easy but certainly not for the weak-hearted. We started at the municipality of New Bataan in one of the residences in the area. It was our hike guide-slash-motorcycle driver who brought us to the place where we signed a waiver and registration. At first, I didn’t understand why going to the falls required such a waiver, but I started to doubt that we were going to face something unexpected. So we started by choosing our weapon—I mean, our service. 

The motorcycles and habal-habal would be the means of transportation to the assault point. Yes, you read it right—we were not at the assault point yet. We needed to ride those motorcycles for at least 1 hour before we could start hiking. We were warned that the rides were going to be rough, but we had no idea how hard it was. But since I wanted to try something new, I volunteered myself to ride the habal-habal. It's a motorcycle with makeshift side support made of wood and bamboo. This is where we had to take our seat like the Disney passengers that we were—or not.

The trip commenced with a smooth drive. It was fun, and never had I felt intimidated—until we started ascending. Yes, the road was ascending, like a never-ending ascent. But I wasn’t challenged just yet because the road was concrete and the view was spectacular. As we went further up, I didn’t notice that we were really high up there on the winding ascending road until I felt some pressure in the air—the kind that you usually feel when an airplane is taking off. It was very early in the morning, and the view of the sea of clouds was spectacular. It was as if I was peering out of the window of an airplane. Except I wasn’t riding an airplane, but a habal-habal, where I was trying hard to get a good grip on the wood to make sure I wouldn’t get kicked out of my seat.

After over 30 minutes in that bittersweet position, we finally arrived at our first stop: the Manurigao Highlands. It is 5,650 feet above sea level, and if you’re wondering how high that is—it’s more than half the height of the highest mountain in the Philippines, Mt. Apo. So it’s not surprising to feel some pressure in the ears. And when you are in a place at this height, the view will never disappoint. The sea of clouds, the green trees, and even some sightings of falls that look like gems in the middle of the green forest are a sight to behold. I like how the forest is naturally preserved, with no signs of illegal logging despite the place being gradually developed over the years. And I feel so lucky that I was one of the first few people to visit this area.

Yes, first few—because even though the place is very nice to visit, this area was not previously accessible for two reasons. Number one is the difficulty of the road. We are lucky that the road to the Manurigao Highlands is now concrete, so despite it looking like a 90-degree incline in some areas, I think it’s still manageable because it’s concrete. The second reason is that the place used to be infested by NPAs. Our habal-habal driver assured us that the area is now cleared because all the NPAs have surrendered already. I can see it because people have started to build homes in the area, and they are already preparing this place to attract tourists.

The Manurigao Highlands has nothing to offer yet except for this view deck where you can have a relaxing view of the mountains from up above. But there are ongoing developments in the area that will probably attract more people to visit this place soon. It’s safe, it’s easy, and it’s completely de-stressing to go here. I like the cool wind and the relaxing ambiance of the place, where you can stay a good 30 minutes to just enjoy and savor the beauty of nature.

However, Manurigao Highlands was not our main destination that day. We were set for more adventures because we were going to visit the Mal'lumagpak Falls. I am going to talk about this in my next blog. But whether you just want to visit Manurigao Highlands or proceed to visit the Mal'lumagpak Falls, I must say that this place in New Bataan will soon be one of the gems of Davao De Oro.