Home to the highest peak of the country, Mount Apo, Digos City in Davao Del Sur is also home to a whole lot other breathtaking wonders. It is a must-visit upcoming tourist destination in Mindanao which offers a wide variety of activities catering to all kinds of guests with tastes ranging from adrenaline junkie adventures to peaceful and serene meditations of nature. We will tour to find the best things to do in Digos, to know more about Digos’ Camp Sabros Mountain Resort, and everyone’s favorite, and to know what food (or drink?) to best try in Digos City.
1. Enjoy the zipline activities at the Camp Sabros mountain resort
Camp Sabros Mountain Resort can be found in the highlands of Sitio Barras, Kapatagan, Digos City, Davao del Sur. A part of the highest peak in the Philippines – Mount Apo, Camp Sabros flaunts its zip line facilities with the highest elevation and claims that it is among the very first outdoor adventure parks to offer zip-line adventure rides in the country. It is also just about 2 hours away from the City of Davao. According to their website, it is best to arrive at the Camp as early as 6:00 in the morning to enjoy the captivating view of Mount Apo. It is open daily including holidays and their ride operations start at 8:00 am until sundown.
How to get to Camp Sabros?
For those who will not bring their own cars, the place can be reached via commute through the following options:
Option 1: You may ride a van from the Digos Van Terminal. Upon arriving at the Camp Sabros Van drop-off (Sitio Barras), you may either hike up (roughly 20 minutes) or take a habal-habal or horse ride going up to the camp proper which is about 750meters from the drop-off point. When leaving Camp Sabros, it is best to start your trek down by 3 pm. Van trips back to Digos City proper are only available until 4 pm.
Option 2: You may take a habal-habal at Barangay Cogon which is located by the main highway in Digos City (landmark: Shell Station located before entering Digos from Davao City). From the Shell Station, take the main highway leading to Bansalan and proceed onto the cemented road turning right which is about 200 meters away. This would be the entry point of Barangay Cogon and on the right side, you should see the entry point with “This Way to Camp Sabros” sign. From there, you can take the habal-habal which will bring you all the way up to Camp Sabros at about 25 kilometers.
For those who do have their own vehicles, you may refer to the following link for their directional map:
Fees
Cottage rates amount to Php 3,000, Php 3,500, Php 6,000, or Php 15,000 per night which already has a lot of inclusions like the entrance fee, use of the facilities and accommodation amenities, and some camp activities. However, for the zipline activities, there is a separate fee depending on the activity choice which ranges from Php 175.00 to Php 600.00.
Camp Sabros is both an adventure camp and a mountain resort so there is something for everyone to enjoy. You can both have an adventurous-filled day and a relaxing, tranquil rest to end the night.
For other details, you may visit their website at https://www.campsabros.com/.
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2. Trail an adventurous trek in the woods and take a plunge in the exquisite Virgin Falls
The Virgin Falls is a hidden wonder of nature that can also be found in the village of Balatikan, at the highlands of Kapatagan Valley in Digos. It is well known to mountaineers as one of the jump-off points to Mount Apo.
This single-tier waterfall is seen as a pleasant refuge in the midst of thick bushes, and tall ferns and cogons that tower over it. It is about 20 meters high and some 10 to 15 feet wide of cascading waterfalls bordered between huge rock walls on each side and crowned with lush flora and fauna around its peripheries. One should also conquer the difficult trail of jagged rock formations that requires a quite strenuous ascent in order to reach the destination. However, the satisfaction of witnessing this breathtaking natural beauty will definitely appease all the tiresome effort to get there. Upon arriving, you will be surrounded by the cool mists brought about by the waterfalls, the musical chirping of wild birds flying around the area, and the swooshing of trees that will surely take anyone’s breath away.
How to get to there
For those who will drive their own vehicle, the site is about two hours drive from downtown Davao City, or an hour away from Digos City proper. There are available buses at the Ecoland Bus Terminal in Davao City with available trips to Digos City, and public utility vans for hire from Digos Terminal to Kapatagan. Another option is to take a 20-minute or so motorcycle ride which may be available at the Kapatagan Market which goes to the jump-off point. From the jump-off point, it takes another 45-minute to an hour hike to the Virgin Falls itself.
3. Immerse in the rich culture of the Tibolo village
One of the best things to do in Digos City is to visit the Tibolo Village. The Tibolo Village is home to a Bagobo tribe which is located at the foot of Mount Apo. The cultural experience includes meeting and interacting with the Bagobos, taking a look at the tribal houses, learning the tribe’s traditional craft, and tasting their local specialties including Nilutlot na Manok which is served with cooked rice on a banana leaf platter of cooked corn in Bagobo style, salted dried fish, vegetable salad, and a cassava cake which is also cooked inside a bamboo keeping the cassava cake moist with some burnt portions to give it the tasty toasty flavor it has.
Visitors will also get the opportunity to learn the ancient art of weaving the T’nalak, a piece of handmade apparel made especially by Bagobo women. The creation of tribal accessories and clothes by the Bagobos, woven in vivid colors and exquisite patterns, is a display of their traditional artistry.
The Tibolo Village is a Mindanaoan tribal village that exhibits the Bagobo culture at its best where guests spend their day immersing with the tribal community and learning about their culture.
How to get there
To reach Tibolo Village, the most convenient way is to drive by private transportation since the site is about two hours drive from downtown Davao City, or an hour away from Digos City proper. Via commute, again, there are buses at the Ecoland Bus Terminal in Davao City with available trips to Digos City, public utility vans for hire from Digos Terminal to Kapatagan, and motorcycle rides which are available at the Kapatagan Market.
For the list of accredited tour guides, trek requirements, and other details on Digos Tourism, you may visit the Digos City Tourism Office Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/digoscitytourism.
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4. Have a taste of mers native delicacies (and take it home with you)
Mers Native Delicacies is a famous restaurant in Davao Del Sur, especially known for its bingka. Bingka is a rounded rice cake made with rice flour and coconut milk on a banana leaf popular in Southern Philippines with similar flavors to the bibingka of Cebu and Indonesia. Due to its popular demand, often the batch of bingka made for the day runs out already by late afternoon. Other than the bingka, Mers offers a wide range of other native delicacies such as palitaw, puto, bitso, binangkal, bibingka, cassava cake, tarts, suman like nilambiran and malagkit, even spicy chicken chicharon, and many more. If you are looking for where to eat in Digos, this is the place to be.
In addition to the native delicacies that Mers is known for, they also now serve meals and offer Filipino dishes like Arroz Caldo, Tortang Talong, Pork Pinakbet, Bicol Express, Beef Afritada, Fish Paksiw and others. They also serve popular Visayan dishes like Binignit, which is a type of fruit and tubers stew cooked in coconut milk, a Filipino meryenda dish originating from the Visayas region. Its taste is similar to Ginataang Halo-halo, except that the latter uses glutinous rice balls, commonly known as bilo-bilo as part of the ingredient, and whereas binignit makes use of Muscovado sugar and “landang” or palm flour jelly balls. Another known Visayan dish to try is the Pork Bam-I, or pancit Bisaya. It is a Filipino noodle dish that originated in the Central Visayas, which includes a mixture of two types of noodles, pancit canton and sotanghon. Using these two different kinds of noodles create thickness and textures that adds to the harmony of flavors that Pinoys really love. Giving extra colors to the dish is the garnish of parsley and calamansi, same as to the pancit we usually have.
Due to its popularity, it has different branches around Digos. The main branch is at Lapu-Lapu St. Digos City which is 56 kilometers south of Davao City and approximately at about 1-1.5 hour travel from the City of Davao varying with the traffic around the area. The other satellite branches can be found at Badiang Branch along Pan-Philippine Highway and another at Digos City Bus Terminal which would be perfect and convenient to buy from as they are fresh to be taken home as pasalubong to your loved ones waiting at home.
Visit the facebook page of Mers Native Delicacies for other information:
5. Zip a cup of Mt. Apo civet coffee
Why not cap off your Digos Tour with a cup of coffee? Known as the most expensive coffee not just in the country but in the world, Digos City is home to the Civet Coffee or Kopi Luwak which is coffee derived from the droppings of the civet cat known locally as alamid.
The flavor of Civet coffee is bold and full. Some say that Civet coffee is best enjoyed by mixing it with sugar but of course it depends on your taste preference. The Civet coffee may be best enjoyed in the coffee farm itself at the Mt. Apo Civet Coffee Farm which can also be found in Kapatagan valley, Digos but other parks, cafes, or souvenir shops in Digos and Davao City also offer Civet coffee.
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