The continued marketing of my second home, Cagayan de Oro City, for its bustling attractions is a magnet for tourists that could earn added revenue to the city's coffer.
The year-end is just next door and people are looking for a locus for family reunions. This is in fact becoming vogue among Maranaws.
Our family, for instance, toyed with the idea of another year-end reunion. We wanted to relive our enjoyable reunion at the famous Dahilayan Adventure Park (see my column on 17 January 2021). But to our dismay, the park was fully booked since September. This fact explains its popularity and tourist-drawing power. Most patrons are domestic tourists from different parts of Mindanao. Marawi City residents, I noticed, are frequent visitors.
As I have written before, the park is a favorite weekend bonding venue for Maranao families who don't mind traveling more than 200 kilometers from Lanao del Sur just to visit and perhaps enjoy the amenities and attractions offered by the resort. The pine trees and the cool and foggy weather are reminders of the country's summer capital — Baguio City.
The cottages are homely, and well-kept with necessities one needs — they even have a fireplace for warming. The rates are competitively reasonable.
It is located in Barangay Dahilayan, Municipality of Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon, a mere two-and -a-half-hour drive from Laguindingan Airport. Carved out of a rainforest with deep ravines where a river zigzagged in between thick foliage, it is marketed as "Mindanao's Favorite Extreme Playground" on account of its fear-challenging attractions. It boasts of a dual zipline, which it claimed to be the longest in Asia, and where one flies "like Superman from a launch point at 4,700 feet above sea level. With speeds of up to 90 kph, zoom through lush greenery and breathtaking views only found in the mountains of Dahilayan". It has playgrounds for children too. There is a Sky Tower Base Jump from an eight-story platform, "the highest para jump in the Philippines from a cell site tower." The rides include Great White Water Rafting, which Cagayan de Oro is famous for.
No doubt, topping the list of tourist spots in CdO is the Dahilayan Adventure Park which is owned and operated by the Paras brothers. It has other attractions like a mini-golf course for putting, an inflatable boot camp, the base jump, Python Rollerzip, the Mountain Coaster, and many others. It is fully booked for the Yuletide season. Complementing this attraction is the Seven Seas Waterpark and Resort in Barangay Barra, Opol town, adjacent to CdO, which is also owned and operated by the Paras family and is said to be the "largest pirate-themed park in the Philippines". It is home to ten exciting water slides, a 400-meter-long lazy river, a dual wave pool, and a children's water play area.
There are other parks that visitors can find worthy of their time. These are Mapawa Nature Park, Macahambus Hill Cave, Vicente de Lara Park, Gaston Park, F.S. Catanico Falls, and myriads of others.
Another attraction is the river rafting and tubing over the white water rapids. This is a sought-after adventure for aqua sports buffs. It gives an adrenaline rush for an adventurous and exhilarating experience.
Coming from the Laguindingan airport, one cannot miss another tourist spot — the Divine Mercy Shrine located in El Salvador, a few minutes' drive from CdO. It caters to religious tourists. A long stairway leads to a church and the 50-foot imposing massive statue of Jesus Christ. While in CdO, one can also visit the Santuario Eucaristico-Sacred Heart Parish and Museums which will educate about the city, its history, and culture.
If you are a sand and sea tourist, CdO is the jump-off point to the so-called White Island, famous for its Boracay-like sand which is located in nearby Camiguin island, known for its sweet lanzones. One will also have a good view of the iconic Mt. Vulcan and Mt. Hibok-Hibok.
And of course, experience the warm hospitality of Kagayanons whose home city is dubbed as the "City of Golden Friendship".
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