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LEVEL UP IN DANAO

WANNA do level up?
If you think only on online games can you go level up, take another look.

Here however, level up is not on those multi-tiered internet on-line games.

Far from the thrill of getting absorbed in the perpetual dusk of internet cafes and the muted click of computer keypads is a world for the taking; wild, needing control and truly exhilarating. This is the new kind of level up Danao offers.

Level up here is not on keypads or smooth shifting toggles. Level up here definitely needs more than that.

Tie shoelaces a bit tight. You would need it to get as comfy as if you are barefoot. Why?
Because level up here is root-climbing, cliff-scaling, rock wall climbing, simply bouldering, kayaking, river trekking or zip-lining. 

Your pick. A 60 feet high limestone cliff with a face brittle in summer yet soggy wet with humidity and forest moisture on most times of year.

You’ll have a safety harness, because a slip might just get you plunging to the gurgling waters of the Wahig. That is for amateurs.

For professionals, skipping the safety harness routine is a dare.

LEVEL UP: ROOT CLIMBING

Before that root climbing routine, wade in hip deep or shoulder high river. Your local guide would caution you to follow his steps though.

The relatively simple part is slipping on the safety harness.

Then, harder, you clamber up the intricate weave of roots, your sneakers dripping wet, and toe-holds are tricky.

The hardest: make sure you’ll have three contact points at all times: two feet and one hand or two hands and a feet. Hands over the head. Tight grip. Tug on to the root making sure it wont give way when your full load is on it.

The plan is simple. Climb up the cliff; that’s 60 foot climb using the entangling of roots from that formidable family of ficus (balite).

Note, this is root climbing, not swimming, so keep the focus and don’t ever let go.

WAY DOWN: RAPPELLING

Before the adrenaline could settle down from that mad clamber, now you go down the other way, by ropes.

The same three contact points get used as you snap yourself on to a lifeline on your rappel down.

From an overhanging branch where the lines are hitched, grab the line with your left hand, and your
right holds on to the other line near your butts, to effectively control your rate of descent.

As you hang suspended from that overhang, dangle, allow the wind to calm you down, and then in one heave, slowly loosen your grips, simultaneously kicking off the cliff face when the pendulum gets you there.

SMOOTHER KAYAKING AND RUBBER TUBING

Danao also offers shooting the rapids with plastic and colorful kayaks.

But you need to put on life vests and hard hats. Currents along Wahig River can be tricky and you may need to navigate through massive boulders so a head-gear is in order; for your safety.

For the less adventurous, taking the rubber tubes is the thing for you. The ride is about five minutes long or if the water is alright, you can take a longer one, from the upper tributary before the bridge.

Oh, yes, the trip is smooth, unlike the one that would tire you out when you go river trekking.

The scenery is breathtaking, and the experience is definitely worth more than a page in your diaries.

SPELUNKING: VENTURE INTO THE BOWELS OF THE EARTH

Danao caves also have exactly the lure adventurous people would die for.

Ka Mira, a cave beneath the tourist accommodation center takes you to into a 500-meter walk, wade and crawl. Get into the historic caves that have become the favorite hiding places of local revolutionaries and re-trace their escape routes under noses of pursuing Spanish guardia civiles.

The caves still sport health stalactites and stalagmites, the stone formations are astonishingly perfect and the water that runs through the caves are crystal clear.

If you get lucky, you may spot albino crabs, local cave tour guide would tell you.

Careful though that you do not get into the cave on rainy seasons, the water can rise and you could get trapped for hours. The water marks at the side of the caves can tell that the waster can fills some small passages, especially the portions when you would have to crawl to get through.

You can wedge yourself however in vertical crevices, but you must have the expensive Petzl head gear and the equally costly Black diamond halogen headlamps.

The items however are standard issues for tourists.

GO GETTING THE HIGH

Extreme experience in Danao also gets on a different kind of high.

A zipline which you need to experience if you are that sure about getting a kick is definitely the thing to do

The line is stretched across Wahig river. It is not as long and scary as the one that would be available next month, but people with less bladder control may have to let go. I mean, adult diapers are needed.

The primary goat is to traverse the river while you are suspended on safety harness as you feel the air wheezing in your face when you slide to the other end.

Next month, if they hit it without a snitch, one of the country’s longest zipline would be available.

One of the longest means 550 meters spanned across the cliffs of Danao. You would have to go the way in too, if you have successfully taken the way out. That would be 1,100 meters of slide. But that is not mean.

What is mean is that you would have to slide and when you are off the ground, you would be suspended at least a thousand meters above the forests, rivers and caves of historic Danao.

Cool enough that the people would call this the “Suislide”

For more information about EAT Danao, call Loinda Saluan a the Municipal Tourism Officer 0917 302 1701 or Lumen Gonzaga at 0920 528 0155 or Mayor Thomas Louis Gonzaga at 507-3106 local 187. (KABOG)



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Taking Bohol to the extreme
By Nathalie M. Tomada
Starweek Magazine (Philippine Star) August 02, 2009 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - It’s a thrill seeker’s dream getaway. Danao used to be one of the lesser-known and least-visited areas in Bohol. Now, with its eco-adventure tourism park, Danao should be on its way to becoming one of the best-selling attractions of the island-province and, perhaps, in the whole of Central Visayas.

Branded as E.A.T. Danao (Eco-Extreme-Educational Adventure Tour Danao), the Danao Adventure Park – located 72 kilometers away from the provincial capital of Tagbilaran – features a wide selection of activities for guests either looking for a smooth initiation into adventure tourism or a wild adrenalin rush.
During a recent familiarization tour courtesy of the Department of Tourism, I would have preferred to take things slow, going for activities classified under “leisure travel” – bird-watching, caving, organic farm visit, kayaking, rice field walk, village tour, among others. But if you have the DOT secretary Ace Durano as the leader of the pack, playing eager tourist to the hilt and seizing each extreme adventure opportunity presented, the invitation for some high-energy action is just too hard to ignore.

Being a newcomer to this whole extreme adventure thing, I was reassured by the staff – who trained for months on how to ensure the safety and security of guests – that there’s a matching activity for every level of risk tolerance.   

So first off, I joined a group of six who sampled the sky ride. It had us comfortably ensconced in a cable car that took us – leisurely – across two verdant hills and the flowing waters of the Wahig-Inabanga River.
 
Then, the challenge to traverse the same direction – this time, gliding through the 1.5 kilometer-long cable wire in acceleration (think Superman!) – beckoned. If it’s any consolation, you’re given the choice of going solo or in tandem. As for me, I decided on sharing my first time with a more anxious friend.

After some vacillation, we finally mustered up the guts to pull off this “stunt,” thanks to some elderly locals who egged us on – perhaps shamed us might be more accurate – in the vernacular, “Kaya na ninyo! Nakaya gani namo! (You can do it! Even we did it!).”

So off we went, committing “suislide”… and survived to tell the tale. There’s no other adjective to describe it but “breathtaking,” and I’m referring to both the high-speed ride and the stunning sights below (make that way, way below.)

Apart from the suislide or zip line, other heart-pumping activities include river trekking, river tubing, root climbing, rappelling, bouldering, and the plunge. The latter is a canyon swing facility that will drop a harness-strapped “you” 30 meters down before getting swayed like a pendulum this way and that. For those hankering for an advanced state of exhilaration, fret not: the park will soon introduce bungee-jumping. Thank goodness it was not yet ready when we were there.

There are also cottages and tents for rent because as it is, a day is not enough to enjoy all of the activities.
More than just experiential, E.A.T Danao also incorporates the educational, as guides will teach you about the surroundings and the communities that inhabit them – from watersheds, forest preservation, to history. Danao, after all, is the hometown of the Bol-anon hero Francisco Dagohoy, who launched the country’s longest revolt against the Spaniards.

Danao townsfolk used to depend on agriculture as the main source of livelihood. Now, the municipality is getting a boost from the tourism revenues.

According to Danao Mayor Tom Gonzaga, after investing P25 million in the 60-hectare property situated in the mountainous area of Magtangtang, Danao, the adventure park – co-managed by the LGU and different people’s organizations – has been earning P1 million a month since January. The bulk of that income stems from domestic tourism. “We have not earned and seen this much money before,” Mayor Gonzaga happily noted.

It has also generated employment for more than 50 locals, and probably more, as the eco-lodges and campsite are completed.

Sec. Durano said that if there’s one good lesson to glean from the example set by Danao, it is that a successful tourism project can emerge from local stimuli. “There’s high exponential success rate if a project is initiated by an LGU.”

DOT, according to Durano, only gave P200,000 to Danao and trained the local guides. “We know a project is successful when we are no longer needed,” Durano said.

Danao, on the other hand, tapped the World Bank for funding, at the same time received assistance from the provincial government, among others. Durano said, “With the right leadership, development planning, and implementation, a local government unit will be able to attract funding and create new sources of income for its people.”

The presence of the adventure tourism park also goes to show that Bohol isn’t running out of ideas on how to pep up conventional travel itineraries to this destination. Bohol is not just about the Chocolate Hills, the Loboc River, or the Panglao beaches.

But who would have thought such a remote municipality would make it to the must-see list?
According to Bohol Rep. Edgar Chatto, “The Danao I remember was a sleepy town. Nobody really visited this place. But the adventure park will radically change the identity of Danao. This will not only promote Danao but also Bohol.”

The tourism chief, who particularly noted that Danao was not even within the radar of DOT before, added, “Danao is a 4th class municipality with first-class leadership and a first-class tourism experience.”
Danao Adventure Park is a fitting venture because adventure tourism is an increasingly patronized global offering. Durano said that nature-based and environment-sensitive activities are more in demand now among foreign travelers.

He encouraged LGUs to cater to this concept, just like what Danao did. “Eco-adventure tourism is our niche, given the natural and cultural assets of our country. Let’s not try to be what we are not.”

For tour packages and other information, visit eatdanao.com.



Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=17670.0

hadlokan raba ka ug height! or are you? ako ani mag padidit nalang ko ug palwa sa lubi anang hills diha kay mahadlok man ko ug height. hahhahha

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=17670.0

wow bilib jud ko sa taw nga naa sa picture kay nakaya jud niyang nidupa.. wheeew!!! mao na unta na akong plano but paglupad na kunohay kay wa koy nabuhat kundi ang pagpangupot ra jud.  d nko kaya i-stretch akonga mga kamot sa kahadlok ni hapit nko d mabuka akong mata sa kahabog.. wheeew!!!(again).. hehehe.. ms da bin sulayi jud kay tagsa ra ang ing-ana nga adventure sa bohol.. hinaot ma-maintain jud ni nila nga attraction.

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Bayat makalingaw lagi na! hahah! Butuan naa na man na sa among Isla sa Mindanao, Bayat?

mura kunohay ug white river rafting? nindot oi!

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it about time to dig the roots Bayat. di pa uwahi ang tanan kay naa pa man ang mga anak adto...its so nice to look forward sa mga ing ana noh?

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ang Batuan kay in between sa Carmen ug Bilar

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yeep pinakaduol and pinakaconvenient kung anhi ka agi sa tubigon and naa sad daghan vhire sa terminal sa tubigon.. but hadlok si-i if dli kabisado sa driver ang dan padong sa danao oi..

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