Davao Bamboo Sanctuary and Ecological Park in Malagos, Baguio District

When in Davao City and looking for a quiet place to relax, unwind away from the city’s hustle and bustle, come to the Davao Bamboo Sanctuary and Ecological Park located in Purok 5, Barangay Malagos, Baguio District. It’s just near Philippine Eagle Center and Malagos Garden Resort.

Since mid 2017, I have been seeing many photos on social media particularly Instagram of this place that reminds me of People’s Park durian dome and got me curious since then.

The place is owned by Mr. Rolando “Rolly” De Veyra from Saranggani and his wife Mrs. Fe De Veyra who is from Davao. They have a dried fish processing business in Zamboanga which is their main business. Whenever they are here in Davao City, the sanctuary and park which they had acquired in 2006, has become their place to have a relaxing vacation, de-stress and enjoy being close to nature. They opened the sanctuary to the public last June 18, 2017 which happened to be Father’s Day by inviting friends and friends of friends to come to the place. Since then through word of mouth and photos shared through social media particularly Facebook and Instagram, people have come to know about the place.

Their total acquired land area is 3.5 hectares but only 1 hectare has been developed for now. They are planning to expand and improve the facilities in the place to offer guests fun activities to do when they visit the sanctuary. They are acquiring more land in the upper area and hoping to open the barangay road to make it easier for people to access the sanctuary since the current private road used leading to the place has been seen as a challenge for some guests. However, the road has improved since November 2017. There are now signs leading to the place to make it easier to get there. The travel time from Bankerohan is just around an hour, depending on the traffic and time of travel. They also offer shuttle service from Gaisano Grand Calinan for P50 per person or free if they pick you up at Banga Pinoy along the Davao-Bukidnon Highway in Malagos, Baguio District.

The sanctuary has 32 bamboo species out of around 60 species found in the Philippines. They have Japanese Bamboo, natural Philippine Bamboo, Thai, Benguet runners, dwarf and giant bamboo, pink and black bamboo and more.  There are around 1,500 species of bamboo worldwide. I particularly like the Japanese bamboo and personally hoping to plant it in our own yard one day soon.

It takes only 2-3 years for a bamboo plant to fully grow. It has various uses and  benefits. Learned that the good thing about bamboo is that it also produces 35% more oxygen and absorbs 5%  more carbon dioxide compared to other plants and trees.

Our main purpose of being invited to the Davao Bamboo Sanctuary was to try and savor the international cuisine that they offer for buffet and ala carte. As you would have seen in our video, we had a feast with so many dishes to taste. Among the dishes they served for our buffet lunch, I enjoyed their steamed pompano, tuna panga and the crispy pata, which was near our table that made me forget about diet and restrictions. For desserts, their fruit salad was a delicious treat and the banana ala mode was a satisfying dessert. Food was good and the place is perfect to relax when your tummy gets blessed to be filled with the generosity of the De Veyra’s.

After lunch, we got to see some of their rooms as shown on the video. The Davao Bamboo Sanctuary has nice clean rooms for overnight stay with a view of the dome. Their suite room which they offer to honeymooners has a nice view of the dome from the veranda. A perfect place to read a book during weekends or just simply chill in bliss and serenity. Plus they have a large cool spring swimming pool to dip in while enjoying being close to nature surrounded by mostly bamboo trees. Water is changed everyday from what I know as the water comes from a natural spring. The spring water can be so cold guys! They are open to weddings, special occasions and other events, team building, seminar, workshops and other functions.They have already catered to many functions since they opened in June 2017.

For some real fun while you are at sanctuary, play archery tag with your family and friends. They have equipment for archery tag. The bigger area for archery tag in another higher part of the area will probably open by March 2018 according to Sir Rolly.  You can play and learn archery at the big garden dome which is their major attraction. They used to conduct Archery clinic for those who want to learn it. The dome, by the way, was designed by Architect Eduardo Viacrusis, who also did the durian dome in People’s Park.