Hiking Mt. Tambara-an, Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur – 785 MASL

The vast mountain ranges of Sta. Cruz always open opportunities for hiking as a main ecotourism product. The latest exploration climb undertaken by LOGSAC on January 29, 2025 is Mt. Tambara-an, located in Zone I, Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur. Nestled in between two famous ridges of Mt. Loay and Mt. Malusing, Mt. Tambara-an is another good minor hiking attraction which can be added to the list of outdoor sites in Sta. Cruz. 

Tambara-an is a Bagobo-Tagabawa term which means a place for worship, or where the tribal community performed rituals in the past. Presently it is utilized as farmlands of residents from barangay Zone I where farmhouses are hosted along the 4-kilometer trail that stretches all the way to Mt. Loay-Camp 796-Mt. Fortune View corridor. Highlight here is a few communities in Camotes Ridge which traced its roots from Camotes Island in Cebu.

The boundary of Mt. Tambara-an and Camotes Ridge (785 MASL) offers panoramic scenery of Camp 796, Mt. Loay, Tagaytay Peak of Sinoron, Davao Gulf and Poblacion Sta. Cruz. This site will be considered as stopover for hikers, and then a deciding point for them whether to go back to the trail head or will trek further to Mt. Loay or Mt. Fortune View via Camp 796 and converge with other traversing hikers.

The highest point measures 944 MASL, the spot that cuts across the traverse trail from Mt. Loay to Mt. Fortune View. Part of the route was also utilized during the SC70 Trail Ultramarathon last November 2024 and other trail races in the past.

Many thanks to our local guides Rene and Lorenz from Tacub, Zone I, as well as to LOGSAC members Jorax, Froilan, John Jay and Jongjong for joining the trek.