TourismMayor's Inaugural Speech
IGaCoS Officials
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Nature
IGACOS MARICULTURE PARK
SANIPAAN SHOAL
IGACOS MANGROVETUM
BAT SANCTUARY
AUNDANAO FISH SANCTUARY Barangay Aundanao is located on the eastern coast of the Island Garden City of Samal (IGaCoS). Like most coastal areas, Aundanao’s fish and marine resources were heavily depleted due illegal practices of fishing and other destructive means of catching and extracting marine resources. In response to the situation, the barangay and the city government declare the coastal waters of Aundanao as a fish sanctuary. To date, Barangay Aundanao can now serve as a role model for other coastal communities, as well as a tourism destination. The fish sanctuary, being located near a renowned beach area of Samal Island, has also provided an additional opportunity for the integration of tourism attractions. Aundanao is now a tourist and educational destination. A number of LGUs, institutions and families have visited the fish sanctuary to learn from the experience of Aundanao, relax and enjoy the beautiful underwater scenery and the white sand beach.
Adventure
Island Tour: Cruise around the Island and take a closer look of the 46 or so commercial resorts and a number of private beaches spread along its 116-kilometer stretch of sugar-white coastlines. Marvel at the rich flora and fauna, especially wild orchids hanging from old dwarfed trees thriving on rocky mountainsides along the route. Take a chance to drop by Sanipaan, a group of "vanishing sandbar islets" formed along the north of Pakiputan Strait.
Scuba Diving/Snorkeling: Diving is a whole year round activity done particularly around Talicud Island. Its unspoiled dive spots have attracted hordes of divers coming from different places in the country. Float with the ripples of crystal-clear waters over a number of coral reefs and discover the pristine underwater gardens o f colorful corals which Samal has kept intact for many centuries.
Spelunking:
Be mystified by a sense of wonder and discover "gates into a new world". There are more than seventy identified natural covers in Samal. Spelunking tests the limits of trekkers' endurance as you negotiate caves of varying sizes, features and wonders. Discovery is the name of the game. Balete and Magongawong caves offer trails of excitement while Baga cave looks ike and undersea tunnel. Avid cavers can look forward to a challenging expedition.
Camping Out: Commune with nature as you go for a picnic beneath the shadows of the cocount groves, or spread your tents in the midst of lush vegetation - maybe beside the rustling waters of Hagimit Falls, Tagabaobo Falls, or Binoling River, or over hilltops where you can hide away in solitude.
Mountain Climbing has become the favorite sport especially by extreme sports lovers. Young and old from the neighboring towns usually stay overnight at its summit known as Puting Bato, the highest mountain peak in the Island, towering approximately 1,346 feet above sea level. When you get to the summit, be awed by the panoramic view of the Island Garden City of Samal and the entire Davao Gulf embracing the Island.
The island's unusual road terrain cutting across hills of varied altitudes makes mountain biking an activity one would relish to experience. Cycling within the traffic free main roads of Babak going to Kaputian is one wholesome activity to sweat out with family and friends.
Rapelling:
Rapelling is the reason why extreme sports lovers flock to Samal to experience the nerve wracking craze that has recently envaded the island. One of the most interesting destinations in Samal can be found in Barangay Guilon, the Beto Depression. It is an hectare wide depression that measures no less than 500 hundred ft deep with forest cover spread along the area. According the locals, Beto is the result of fallen meteor. The said meteor fell from the heavens and creates a deep hole and a creek which became a good source of water. What’s fascinating about this depression is that on the deepest part of the burrow lies a magnificent brook inside a cave. This cave became the home of hundreds of Bats. Beto Depression would be the best ground for rappelling adventure.
Festivals
Celebrate with Samaleños on their founding anniversary every March 7. The three-day festivity highlights sand sculpture competition (Pag-ukit sa Pantad), fluvial parade of colorful boats (Samal Regatta), banca race (bangkarera), beach volleyball, and mountain-biking tour, among others. The merry-making is accentuated with the colorful Stilts (karang) Mascot Competition.
KABASAN FESTIVAL In the Sama dialect, “kabasan” means “seashells”. Thus, Kabasan has been chosen as the festival’s name to celebrate the spectacles and splendors of the Island City. More particularly, Kabasan Festival is a thanksgiving celebration for the bounties of the sea of which Samal Island has been well endowed.
Kabasan Festival is usually staged every year during the last week of May as an expression of the indomitable zest of life in Samal Island! Come to Samal and celebrate Kabasan Festival with us. . . .
HUGYAW MADAYAW SAMAL Hugyaw Madayaw Samal is a three day celebration filled with fun, games, music, dances and presentation of cultural practices of the Sama tribe performed by the lumads (natives) and other locales.
One of the main events of Hugyaw Madayaw Samal is the Sayaw sayaw sa Todak which todak means a musical instrument and props or accent made of bamboos used by the Sama tribe when planting rice, harvesting, thanksgiving, and during wedding anniversaries and other special occasions. It is usually presented during dusk as a culmination and always been followed by the search for the Byaneng (mutya) ng Samal, a beauty contest where island beauties will don ethnic/Sama- inspired costumes and a head dress made of indigenous materials.
Hugyaw Madyaw Samal is an attempt to preserve the Sama culture which is gradually diminishing.
How to get Here
For International Visitors, you can fly direct to Davao City, Philippines via Cebu Pacific Airlines or SilkAir from Singapore. Or if you're entering the Philippines via the capital city of Manila, take a domestic flight to Davao City |
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Located in the storm-sheltered waters of IGaCoS, this 224-hectare facility has a similar concept with the establishment of an industrial estate in land areas. A showcase of new fisheries development strategy that puts premium on transforming coastal communities into centers of growth and prosperity, it has been acclaimed as champion in the 2002 nationwide competition for Best Practices in Good Governance sponsored by the League of Cities of the Philippines. The international community through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has also taken cognizance of the park as one of the best three Urban Governance Innovations Facilities in Asia
Also called Vanishing Island, half of the 80-hectare shoal emerges as sand bar during low tide but vanishes during high tide creating the illusion of vacationing in the midst of the open seas.
Considered as Mindanao’s First Mangrovetum, it serves as a laboratory for dendrological, educational, eco-tourism and phonological and other scientific studies on the mangrove ecosystem. 
Located at Barangay Tambo, Babak District and have just set a Guinness World Record for the Largest Colony of Geoffrey's Rousette Fruit Bats recently this February 01, 2010.As per estimates by the Bat Conservation Internationa in 2006, the bat population in the Monfort Cave was approximately 1.8 million.
Mountain Climbing
Cycling/Mountain Biking
IGACOS FESTIVAL