Mount Hamiguitan

I visited this WHS in Spring 2025. The big international car rental companies are now available near Davao airport. For the time being (till the airport enlargement works are completed), you are greeted upon arrival (excellent communication via email and whatsapp prior to arrival) and a shuttle takes you to the car rental office in Davao. This will make you waste at least 30 minutes to 1 hour in total as getting in and out of the city is slow with heavy traffic at most times of the day.

Since we were arriving quite late in Davao, we decided to visit the Philippine Eagle Sanctuary/Centre first (which is not part of the WHS but we wanted to support their invaluable work and make sure to see this magnificent bird). It is a good 1.5 hours drive to get there and 4 hours away from the Mount Hamiguitan Natural Heritage Museum or Visitor Centre. A good resort near the sanctuary is the Malagos Garden Resort with its own bird show (no Philippine Eagles here), butterfly garden, etc. and a must stopover point if you'd like to taste and buy the excellent Malagos chocolate.

Something to keep in mind when in Mindanao is that when it rains here, it really pours, as can be clearly seen with all the flood advisories along the roads. This is why we didn't want to risk it, so we drove to the visitor centre immediately after visiting the eagle centre and arrived after sunset. …

Mount Hamiguitan is difficult to reach by public transport as it involves several changes of buses/minibuses or jeepneys; but the good news is that nowadays it is possible to rent a car right at Davao airport, unlimited kilometers at a reasonable rate. Then, it is 3-4 hours drive to the visitors center which was closed for renovation, but it is possible to take the Heritage trail and see parts of the forest from viewpoints. This is not part of the core zone, and so is the nearby Hamiguitan Escape Resort with an amazing pool; it was also closed, but the pool was very welcome in this tropical climate. Uphill there is the Longhouse lodge with friendly owners. Here hikers stay overnight, it is the base camp for the Mount Hamiguitan climbers, the lucky ones with the permits. To have a short experience inside the core zone, ask around with the locals, Corner 17 is one of the entry points; Mount Hamiguitan was also declared an ASEAN Heritage park. 

Hamiguitan is a good 3½h by jeepney from the nearest town Davao. It is not an easy journey and you also need to ensure the driver drops you off at the junction to the visitor center and then still take a tricycle for the rest of the way. As accommodation is limited I recommend doing this really early morning and going back to Davao in the afternoon already. I can see why this is not of the more visited places as Mindanao is still considered somewhat unsafe in the southwest and tourism has almost nothing going on here. I also looked into renting a car but there is nothing.

Once you finally make it to the visitor center you can pay a puny entrance fee for a pretty good museum. The core zones of the national park are offlimit to regular visitors. No permit - no hike. No guide - no hike. You can do some small hikes around the sanctuary to see something but the good stuff will stay hidden from us tourists. If you want to see the Philippine Eagle you need to go to the Eagle Center north of Davao which I used as a picture.

I also wonder what happened to the proposal to add Mt. Apo into this inscription as this is another fine destination around Davao.

In, 2010, Mt. Hamiguitan was closed to visitors in preparation for its bid to UNESCO World Heritage inscription. During a recent hike (July 2012), the protected area has shown positive signs of recovery. The mountain is indeed a biodiversity/endemism hotspot; its bonsai forest is just one of the many outstanding features of the property.

Also worth noting is the tireless and collective efforts of the concerned local government units in ensuring the protection of the park. Such a practice is rare in the country and very inspiring.