Why hie off to the hills? What’s up
there that urges people to scale heights or drive thousands of feet above sea
level just to make it to higher ground? Well, I can cite a hundred and one
reasons. But for brevity's sake, let me just narrow them down to a few personal
ones. I head for the highlands because the air is cool, the greenery relaxing,
the vistas picturesque, the living stress-free.
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Hazy view of Davao Gulf and Samal Island as seen from the
highlands of Davao City
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As pointed out by naturalist
and author John Muir, “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people
are beginning to find out going to the mountains is going home; that wilderness
is a necessity...” It certainly feels like home when I’m up there. In the
hills, life is so simple and sluggish yet so serene and salubrious, too. That’s
why I love the highlands and I love going there once in a while. This penchant
to escape to the mountains, I guess, was born out of the few times I've spent
camping on higher ground way back during my school days.
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The din and drudgery of the lowlands drive people to head for the hills
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To be able to call the
highlands your home, however, you must first learn to love them. That can only grow
inside you if you find time to scale and explore them as often as you can. Whether
you go up to the hills on foot, by bike or by car, I bet you’ll experience the
same magical high quite unlike any other that I’ve experienced. Going uphill, I
have gotten more enjoyment out of my two feet than I did out of my car. Mind
you, hiking up the uplands can be so liberating and calorie-busting, too!
The exhilarating trails to
the highlands of Davao City leave you dazed and dazzled, taking you to another
place and time where the pace of life seems to have slowed down—so slow you can
literally take time out to sink into some comfort zone, smell the flowers, sip
your favorite drink, soak up the beauty of distant valleys and hills, and snap
at anything you fancy. Who knows, if you’re lucky, you could come across an
eagle, a monkey or a deer! How’s that for a rare encounter with wildlife?
Why, even Jack Kerouac, one
of my favourite novelists of all time, has made the sublime and serene imagery
of the highlands the backdrop of his amazing travel stories, particularly those
focusing on his meanderings in the wilderness. In The Dharma Bums, for instance, Kerouac takes his readers on a journey
to the American hinterlands as he describes what many of us born in this technology-hungry,
consumer-driven society openly or secretly crave for—finding the path to spiritual
enlightenment.
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A log cabin in Eden Nature Park
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Mt. Apo Natural Park. I’m far from becoming a Kerouac
but I would like to think that some of what I consider the best I’ve ever written,
published or unpublished, were inspired by thoughts and feelings I had while I
was up in some mountainous terrain. Take the case of my first-ever climb to the
Philippine’s highest peak which I managed to put together in a blog years ago. Up
to now, I still regard that story on my Mt. Apo experience the best travel tale
I’ve ever written so far.
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Mt. Apo, the grandfather of all mountains in the Philippines
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Growing up in southern Mindanao, I had
long wanted to scale the heights of Apo (which is said to be over 10,000 feet
above sea level), whose name means "master" or
"grandfather" in the vernacular. After completing my MBA, I felt the
need for a new challenge, something that would push me way beyond the borders
of my comfort zone.
It was then that I saw climbing the
country’s highest peak as the kind of challenge that could quench my thirst for
adventure, an extremely risky venture that I had pushed into the backburner for
some time in favor of other pursuits.
Overlooking the three Mindanao
cities, Digos City (in Davao del Sur), Kidapawan City (in Cotabato) and of course,
Davao City, Apo’s peak is every avid mountaineer’s dream conquest. I’m far from
what you’d consider an experienced mountaineer but I also once dreamed of climbing
it—and did so. Seeing the mountain's silvery cone from afar—they’re actually boulders
turned white by sulfur—nearly every morning when I go to work whetted my desire
to reach its summit.
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Mt. Apo as seen from the village of Kapatagan in Digos City
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Mt. Apo on a clear day as seen from Davao City
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But the chance to go up there
and put my mettle to the test seemed elusive as the wind. Each time I decide to
go vertical, something came in the way of my best-laid plans. But as fate would
have it, I made it to the mountain’s seven summits. In the end, however, it was
country’s highest peak which eventually conquered me. And I thanked the
mountain for all the lessons in humility I learned there. Anyway, so much about Apo. Anyone interested
to know more about that experience can just browse the rest of my travel tale
at
Undoubtedly, the highlands are among the
best places to be when you want to hibernate and hook up with nature and God.
That’s why whenever they beckon, I scamper to higher ground in haste. For I’m
looking forward to some wonderful lesson in life that just might unravel itself
up there. Good thing, I live in a place where the highlands count among the
many places of interest that could easily be accessed anytime you want.
Blessed with a gently
rolling terrain, Davao City has a number of mountain resorts where world-weary
weekend wanderers can retreat and recreate themselves after a weeklong struggle
in their respective workplaces. Far from the din, desperation and drudgery of the
urban grind are two accessible resorts where people from all walks of life gravitate
to bask in the beauty of the great outdoors: Eden Nature Park and Loleng’s
Mountain Resort. Located at the foothills of dormant Mt. Talomo, these two hideaways
in the highlands never fail to attract a good number of nature trippers during
weekends and holidays.
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Serenity resides at Loleng's Mountain Resort
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Loleng’s Mountain Spring Resort. Nestled on a 135-hectare, gently sloping terrain,
Loleng’s, which is being managed by the owners of the
University of Mindanao, one of the city’s premier academic institutions, is a
perfect spot to bask in the grandeur of nature. Far from the madding crowd, it
offers a magnificent view of Davao City, its gulf and the neighboring island of
Samal as seen from over two thousand feet above sea level. Now, that’s
something that would surely upsize your sense of self by making you feel you’re
on top of the world!
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Bunk houses at Loleng's
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On numerous occasions, I’ve spent a day or two at
the inland mountain resort with the company of family, friends and colleagues.
Personally, there’s really not much to rave about the place. The
amenities—cottages, tennis and basketball courts, a children's playground, a
chapel, a café/restaurant, a free-flowing spring water swimming pool and a
man-made lake for fishing and boating—aren’t that exceptional as far as I’m
concerned. But it’s the cool and quiet ambiance that really makes that haven in
the mountains tick, luring lowlanders to go there, especially on weekends and
holidays.
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Have fun with Loleng's pigeons!
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Having had enough of beaches, my colleagues and I
opted to spend our mid-year performance evaluation in the resort. Revisited
after a few years, I was elated to find a number of improvements strewn all
over it.
As expected, the moments spent in the
resort did wonders to revive my sagging spirits following a string of deadlines
that took its toll on me. I guess I owe this in part to the warm reception we
had from the flock of doves which have made Loleng’s their official residence.
So, if you’re planning to go there, see to it that you’d get to bond with the
birds for those picture-perfect moments!
I once stayed there overnight which proved to be one of the most relaxing evenings I’ve ever had in the
mountains. Lovely cottages set up amidst lofty pine trees, dense foliage and
the sprawling terrain provide shelter to those who stay for the night. Secluded
yet secured, the homey accommodations shield guests from unwanted distractions
that spoil a short vacay. Except for a few lights, the resort and its sprawling
grounds are bathed in darkness. Far below the hills, the sights and sounds of
the city, along with the social realities accompanying it, hardly intrude the
stillness of night.
Eden Nature Park. This popular hideaway in Eden, Toril, on the
other hand, is what I’d consider a showcase for efforts at reclaiming a
potential wasteland and reconstructing it into a haven for rest, recharge and
recreation. Once a logged–over area covered with wild grasses, the owners
gradually developed Eden into something that has become one of the most
frequently visited tourist destinations in the city. A few of the most
interesting nooks and crannies worth your while are the amphitheatre garden,
the camp sites, playing fields, the Fishing Village, the swimming pool, the
sports playground, “Indiana Jones”, the “Skyrider” and the “Cave of Wisdom”, to
name a few.
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Eden Nature Park, one of Davao City's sought-after destinations
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Around 95 percent man-made,
the nature park is home to rare tropical flowers and foliage, towering conifers
and prolific fruit trees as well as sprawling gardens of herbs and organic
vegetables organically grown through a technique known as hydroponics. It also
serves as a sanctuary for indigenous animal and avian species found at the deer
park, butterfly sanctuary and bird walk. It has also become a favourite venue
for picnics, camping, strolling, zipping, fishing, horseback riding, trekking,
meditating and other outdoor activities. For more about Eden, check out my
travel tale at http://scorpio-sojourn.blogspot.com/2012/06/escaping-to-eden.html.
Watching the dusk settle all over the
cabin where my friends and I spent the night, I suddenly remembered these lines
by author Jonathan Lockwood Huie: “You have a choice about the perspective you
take on life. See tragedy, and the world is tragic—see beauty and the world is beautiful.”
I
couldn’t agree more. Truly, life, with all its imperfections and uncertainties,
is still beautiful. And it’s more beautiful to look at when you’re up there in
the hills. In silence, I uttered a prayer of thanks to God for taking me there
one more time and showing me that slice of the beautiful life even for just a
day.
So,
fellow adventure junkies, whether your interests are aviaries or arbor, boondocks
or bird watching, culture or camping, picnics or photography, salads or
swimming, Zen or ziplines, these two mountain havens, Eden and Loleng’s, as
well as the other resorts scattered in the outskirts of Davao City, are
definitely worth exploring if only to satisfy a craving for a different kind of
high in the highlands. :D
Growing up in southern Mindanao, I had
long wanted to scale the heights of Apo (which is said to be over 10,000 feet
above sea level), whose name means "master" or
"grandfather" in the vernacular. After completing my MBA, I felt the
need for a new challenge, something that would push me way beyond the borders
of my comfort zone. 
Overlooking the three Mindanao
cities, Digos City (in Davao del Sur), Kidapawan City (in Cotabato) and of course,
Davao City, Apo’s peak is every avid mountaineer’s dream conquest. I’m far from
what you’d consider an experienced mountaineer but I also once dreamed of climbing
it—and did so. Seeing the mountain's silvery cone from afar—they’re actually boulders
turned white by sulfur—nearly every morning when I go to work whetted my desire
to reach its summit. 
Loleng’s Mountain Spring Resort. Nestled on a 135-hectare, gently sloping terrain,
Loleng’s, which is being managed by the owners of the
University of Mindanao, one of the city’s premier academic institutions, is a
perfect spot to bask in the grandeur of nature. Far from the madding crowd, it
offers a magnificent view of Davao City, its gulf and the neighboring island of
Samal as seen from over two thousand feet above sea level. Now, that’s
something that would surely upsize your sense of self by making you feel you’re
on top of the world!
On numerous occasions, I’ve spent a day or two at
the inland mountain resort with the company of family, friends and colleagues.
Personally, there’s really not much to rave about the place. The
amenities—cottages, tennis and basketball courts, a children's playground, a
chapel, a café/restaurant, a free-flowing spring water swimming pool and a
man-made lake for fishing and boating—aren’t that exceptional as far as I’m
concerned. But it’s the cool and quiet ambiance that really makes that haven in
the mountains tick, luring lowlanders to go there, especially on weekends and
holidays. 
Having had enough of beaches, my colleagues and I
opted to spend our mid-year performance evaluation in the resort. Revisited
after a few years, I was elated to find a number of improvements strewn all
over it. 
Watching the dusk settle all over the
cabin where my friends and I spent the night, I suddenly remembered these lines
by author Jonathan Lockwood Huie: “You have a choice about the perspective you
take on life. See tragedy, and the world is tragic—see beauty and the world is beautiful.” 