Top Day Hiking Sites in Sta. Cruz

In terms of Day Hiking in Region XI the first thing that comes to mind for trekkers and mountaineers is Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur. The mountain ranges here offer variety of trails suitable for day treks and trail runs that lead to beautiful summits, waterfalls, rivers, cave and forests. Of course, the presence of Sibulan Trail to Mount Apo speaks about how gigantic Sta. Cruz could become in terms of hiking and mountaineering. As a banner site of ecotourism in the region, Mt. Apo always live up to the expectation as grandfather of Philippine mountains and remains a top hiking bucket list in the country.

With the notable increase of day hiking market due to COVID-19 pandemic I list down several sites in Sta. Cruz that are considered day hiking destinations. For some seasoned trail runners the Sibulan Trail to Mt. Apo can be a day hike option but for a generic audience the following are good day hiking sites.

TOMARI WATERFALLS. This waterfalls geographically intermediates the municipality of Sta. Cruz and Toril District in Davao City. It is accessible though via Inawayan and Baracatan road but the nearest route is via an open dirt road of barangay Darong. It is approximately 20 kilometers from the national highway. The tall drop of around 50 meters of the waterfalls compliments well with its cool 50-meter diameter pool. A short river trekking which starts from HEDCOR Desander site serves as jump off to Tomari Waterfalls.

MOUNT LOAY. Mount Loay is the baby version of Mt. Apo which was discovered in 2018 and instantly became a trekking craze not just in Davao del Sur but in the entire Davao Region.  At 1,040 masl this dry mountain within the ranges of barangay Zone II is a favorite training ground for adventure junkies before a strenuous climb in Mt. Apo. A 5-kilometer moderate to extremely steep track has become a popular spot for millennials as well. The jump off point of Mt. Loay is just along the national highway, making it one of the most accessible trekking trails in Mindanao.

SALIDUCON CAVE. Saliducon Cave is more known as a caving attraction in Sta. Cruz but a short hike going to its entrance point adds more friendly strain to this unique adventure experience. A farm and community trail accounts for more or less 2 kilometers can be a good warm up before heading through the underground wealth of Saliducon Cave.  Habal-habals traveling to Saliducon are stationed in Sta. Cruz Public Market. Travel time is around 30 minutes of paved barangay road.

SINORON. From a rebel-infested locality in the 80s and early 90s Sinoron is now slowly becoming the next big thing for Sta. Cruz basically because of the presence of Pilan River, the one I referred as the cleanest river system in Davao del Sur.  The common point for average hikers is Pilan Hanging Bridge, 3.5 kilometers from Sinoron Barangay Hall. This point has plenty of open pools ideal for bathing and picnic trips. Lately a 200-meter side trek off portions of Lumaban presents another series of natural pools, LOGSAC rock wall and tiny vertical water droplets. Two Kilometers from Pilan Hanging Bridge is a twin waterfalls located in sitio Dumagok which locals christened Dumagok Falls and Kasisi Falls. While an arduous run 10 kilometers through sitio Saroso and Vega is the gorgeous Tacub Laya Falls. There is no entrance fee yet in going to these sites in Sinoron but it is better to hire a guide from the Barangay Council to make your adventure safe and fun.

MAILUM FALLS. This series of waterfalls in barangay Coronon culminates a trekking in sitio Langan. The last part is a two-tiered waterfalls emanating from Binuangon forest reserve. Reaching this site requires 2-3 hours of single track and river trekking via Mailum River. It is not advisable to trek Mailum Falls on rainy days as it might be prone to flash floods. Hiring of expert guides is mandatory. A concrete road in crossing Langan just beside Franklin Baker Plant in Coronon connects the national highway to sitio Langan.

PALAKA HOT SPRINGS. These are two hot springs located in sitio Colan, barangay Sibulan which used to be just side trip sites for Mt. Apo trekkers. But for audience who cannot do the major peak trek a day hike in Palaka Hot Springs can already be a good option. However, it requires a very early jump off if one comes from Davao City. It is accessible via Digos-Kapatagan-Marawer-Baruring route. The trek starts from the steep Desander Plant to sitio Colan and a plain hike all the way to the hot springs. The first one is an orange-colored pool and the hotter pool is 400 meters downward. The total distance from Desander to the second pool is 3 kilometers.

While we encourage you to visit these sites it is still an utmost priority for us to do trekking responsibly by strictly following the Leave No Trace Outdoor Ethics. Visiting these places requires prior coordination in Sta. Cruz Tourism Office. One can also book through our accredited tour operators and tour guides. 

Revisiting Saliducon Cave, our last Adventure with Irvin Joy Alcoriza

From total exploration of trekking trails my team suddenly had the urge to rediscover an underground attraction in Sta. Cruz which I last visited ten years ago. Yes, that is how long Saliducon Cave is being stepped anew by a human foot. It has been left out in the ecotourism picture for quite some time because there was a notion that it is connected with the present potable water source and we chose not to disturb it for valid humanitarian intention. It was only last year that this cave in Sta. Cruz is not at all intertwined with the water concerns as confirmed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) when the Saliducon Cave Development and Management Plan was crafted and approved.

In one of the salient components of the development plan I learned that ecotourism was considered and that the DENR is aggressive in its stance to tap the local governments, both municipal and barangay, to be partners in the said endeavour not very far from now. Everybody obliged, of course.  

On June 5, we had a short caving here. Not a single weekend was missed by LOGSAC, a hyper group which have been scratching wanderlust since day one of the pandemic. This one though was a unique experience. After a short chat with Barangay Captain Renon Sombilon of Saliducon, we drove a short paved road off sitio Tibaol. I remember doing caving in Saliducon three times in a separate trail in Melilia and the one we had last week was actually shorter and a lot easier. Our guide was Nong Elmer Turado, a Barangay Tanod in Saliducon. A 20-minute single track of farmlands is required to reach the entry point of the cave.

As the only one with knowledge in caving (at least in Saliducon Cave) I conducted a short orientation to the group. The night before this schedule Davao Oriental was hit by an intensity 6.6 earthquake which left me in doubt of possible aftershock and that could happen anytime while all of us are inside the cave. Thank God there was no shaking that day. The entrance of this cave is very small, enough for a single person’s body and if you are a certified heavy weight you have no chance of going in here.

By the way this is my fourth time in Saliducon Cave but I am still amazed by the huge cobblestone formations distributed through all its chambers. This might not be the best cave in Mindanao but it can be a really good site for minor spelunking. Just like any other tropical caves, Saliducon Cave has an attractive and wide caverns and some chambers where speleothems are found. I am pretty sure only few Sta. Cruzians have explored and witnessed the glory of this underground heritage in our place. The pictures below are some snaps for you to take glimpse of.  

Cave wildlife was also recorded during this visit. The Pit Viper I saw in 2009 was no longer here for now but consistent dwellers are bats, crickets, millipedes and Big-eyed Frog. Outside the cave perimeter are good bird species such as Stripe-headed Rhabdornis, Amethyst Brown Dove, Philippine Serpent eagle, among others.

It won’t be for long and Saliducon Cave will be another good ecotourism site in Sta. Cruz. At this point we are grooming the community to do most of the operation and conservation at the same time. The fact that Saliducon and nearby barangays are baskets of tropical fruits is a sure compliment. 

Lastly, this adventure was the last time for LOGSAC with the company of the late Irvin Joy Alcoriza who chose to leave this world ahead of us on June 10. We fondly call him Joyjoy because he was a jolly, good fellow and had always been part of our adventures in the past. He is that person in the picture background of Mt. Pulag used as header of this website. 

To you our brother, may you rest in peace. You now have a good adventure wherever you are. 

P.S. Supplemental wildlife photos provided by Mr. Jake Caspi. Thank you.

Forest and Farm Trek in Ayala Darong

Trekking is always a good form of outdoor activity and has been one of the fastest growing adventure types. The numerous mountain ranges and summits in Sta. Cruz offer good venue for trekkers and mountaineers for camping and day hikes. Mt. Loay and Mt. Apo top our trekking list, while several newly-discovered waterfalls are also starting to become popular such as Tomari Falls in Sibulan, Balusong Falls in Tibolo, Langan Falls in Coronon, Tarasoban Falls in Zone II and Tacob Laya and Karamagan Falls in Sinoron.

Unknown to many, the Ayala Farm in Darong is also a good trekking site. This 600-hectare coconut plantation and cattle ranch offers a good secondary growth lowland forest and a farm trail highly suitable for day hiking in flat to gently rolling terrain. We were lucky to have been given permission by Sir Maui Chu of Darong Agricultural Development Corporation (DADC) to do trailblazing trek last May 22 together with my LOGSAC friends.

The farm house serves as the jump off point where Sir Maui gave us a briefer and a guide in Dodo Bagal. We started with an easy trek off a tractor trail and then got inside the jungle of endemic trees until we reached a little stream of slippery rocks. It was a short traverse of the stream and we were back to a tractor trail, this time we followed a single track outside the forest edges.

Inside the forest is a dense environment where interesting wildlife was recorded. Notable species appeared are Philippine Long-tailed Macaque and some good birds to include White-eared Brown Dove, Amethyst Brown Dove, Black-naped Monarch, Brown-Tit Babbler, Philippine Bulbul, Rufous-fronted Tailorbird and Yellow-wattled Bulbul.

DADC, formerly called Ayala Agricultural Development Corporation, is one of the largest and pioneering agricultural production areas in Sta. Cruz. It has become a pilot site for Tagnanan variety of coconut before in partnership with Philippine Coconut Authority. Several portions of the property were converted for industrial purposes but still has huge retained site for coconut production and cattle pasture bordering Sibulan River, sitio Piping of Sibulan and SODACO Farms of Inawayan. 

An abandoned lake within is a good area for water and chocolate break. This served as the turning point before we head back to the farm house using a different path. The trekking lasted for more than four hours with a total distance of 10.9 kilometers. It was a hot trek actually but the exciting part was the cool and sweet juice of buko prepared to as by Sir Maui in the farm house.

It is always nice to be back to this place after sometime. In my childhood days we always visit this area to take a bath in the river. In late 90s the DADC became a take-off point of the water tubing during its peak before it was totally impeded by the presence of a hydro power plant. The vertical rock wall in the upstream portion of the river was also our venue for rappelling adventure in the past. Indeed, the management of DADC has been very supportive with the ecotourism program of Sta. Cruz in the last 10 years. I hope that forest and farm trekking, as well as trail biking will be welcomed by the management as option activities in this area.