ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

A Visit to Davao

Updated on March 17, 2011

The biggest city in the Philippines and one of the biggest cities in the world, Davao City offers the comforts of city living while retaining the rural feel (and even look) in some of its areas. One of the great things I like about the city is that you’ll never get bored in this city. There are simply many places to go to and there are a lot of sights to see.

Last weekend was a three-day weekend in the country. To top it all, the weekend coincided with the Kadayawan Festival of DavaoCity, which is one of the most popular festivals in my country. So just like a lot of Filipinos (and foreigners, too), we trooped to Davao to enjoy the festive atmosphere and to be tourists at least for two days.

Featured in this hub are some of the places we went to. I hope this hub will help promote this city which I so love.

First Stop: Jack’s Ridge

Jack’s Ridge is not actually a tourist destination. It is a restaurant with a bar. What sets it aside from your local restaurant is that it is located on top of a hill and you get a great view of the city! Plus the food there is definitely delicious. The restaurant is located at the top of the ridge. The bar is located a few (more like 20) steps down and it opens after 7 pm. There’s also a swimming pool in another area of the ridge. If you want to stay in this place longer (and who can blame you), there are rooms available for a one-night (or even more) stay. Entrance is free and the food and the facilities are affordable.

Next Stop: The Philippine Eagle Center

This is the facility of the Philippine Eagle Foundation geared towards conserving the majestic and beautiful Philippine Eagle (formerly Monkey-Eating Eagle; scientific name: Pithecopaga Jefferyl). It is located inside the Malagos Watershed and is about 20 – 30 minutes from the city proper. It is home to some of the Philippine Eagles who were successfully bred in captivity. Other than Philippine Eagles, you will also find other animals within the same area. Entrance to the Malagos Watershed (certain areas only) is like P5 or $0.10. Entrance inside the facility is only P50 or $1.00.

Third Stop: Eden Mountain Resort

This was featured in one of my hubs, All About Davao (see link below), but the pictures here are all from my camera. The resort is located on top of the mountain (which I felt in my ears while we were going up). It has its own restaurant which offers buffet lunch. The weather was good (not too cold, not too warm either). You’ll also see a great view of the city and there are a lot of things to do while you’re on this resort. Unfortunately, we could not go around the resort because all of the tours were already fully-reserved. But it was enough for us to see and feel the place. Entrance fee (with buffet lunch) is like P450 or just $9.

There are two worthwhile things to mention about this resort. First you can stay overnight in one of the log cabins and experience living inside the forest. Second, if you are feeling adventurous, go and ride the Skyrider (where you can scream your heart out).

Jack's Ridge

Entrance to Jack's Ridge
Entrance to Jack's Ridge
Just behind the entrance
Just behind the entrance
Going down the stairs
Going down the stairs
A view of the City
A view of the City
Another view
Another view

Other Places to Go to When You’re in Davao

If you’re looking for cheap but beautiful and high-quality souvenirs, go to AldevincoShopping Center. If you like durian candies, durian bars, mangosteen candies, and other such delicacies, go to Lola (grandmother) Abon’s outlet center where these products are made and can be bought cheaper than the malls or other stores. If you want to catch a view of the beach and the nearby island, you can go to any of the resorts in the Matina Aplaya area.

Don’t forget to eat your fill in the restaurants in Davao. Jack’s Ridge and the restaurant in Eden Mountain Resort are only two of them. There’s Ahfat (see picture of the crab), the RiverWalk Grille beside CrocodilePark (see picture on the crocodile steak) and all other restaurants behind the malls. You can also go to Torres St., there is a row full of restaurants in that area (Harana, Banok’s Japanese restaurant, cafes, etc.)

Last Stop: Your Hotel

Because it was Kadayawan, most of the hotels were full (even the most expensive ones!). Luckily for us, we found a newly-opened hotel which was as beautiful as the other hotels (but offers cheaper introductory prices). This is Casa Leticia 2, just behind the bus terminal of Davao. Shown in this hub are some of the pictures of the room where we stayed. The rate? Less than P900 per night or $19 (don’t know how long this will last though). *Edit* The rate is now P1,400 or rougly $31 per night.

Before I end this hub, some of the places I mentioned here are from the center of the city. Eden Mountain is like 30 - 45 minutes away from the city. But don't fret, there are ways for you to go around. What we did was to hire a taxi for the 8-hour trip from Philippine Eagle to Eden Mountain Resort and to Crocodile Park. The fare was like P2,500 or $50 but since there were four of us, it was already a cheap mode of transportation. To contact a taxi service, just ask your hotel receptionist to call up one for you.

So next time you think of a place where you want to go during your vacation, why not consider Davao City, Philippines? Just make sure you drop me a line here before you go to the place and I’ll help you arrange your visit. Cheers!

Philippine Eagle

The Philippine Eagle Breeding Facility
The Philippine Eagle Breeding Facility
A Well-Preserved Eagle
A Well-Preserved Eagle
Pag-asa (Hope), the one who started it all.
Pag-asa (Hope), the one who started it all.
Another Philippine Eagle
Another Philippine Eagle
The entrance
The entrance
The buffet hall
The buffet hall
One of the log cabins
One of the log cabins
Possible wedding vanue? Nice backdrop
Possible wedding vanue? Nice backdrop
The Skyrider (you'll have to climb up the stairs to get to the top).
The Skyrider (you'll have to climb up the stairs to get to the top).
Actual skyriders.
Actual skyriders.

Food, Food, Food

Lola Abon's
Lola Abon's
Tuna Tail (from Jack's Ridge)
Tuna Tail (from Jack's Ridge)
Bagaybay (also from Jack's Ridge; see my hub on Unique Foods from the Philippines)
Bagaybay (also from Jack's Ridge; see my hub on Unique Foods from the Philippines)
Crocodile Steak (from Riverwalk Grille)
Crocodile Steak (from Riverwalk Grille)
Crocodile Steak with Dragonfruit Shake (also from Riverwalk Grille)
Crocodile Steak with Dragonfruit Shake (also from Riverwalk Grille)
Crab (from Ahfat)
Crab (from Ahfat)
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)