Danao's Golden Age

CEBU, Philippines - Life begins at 50 for the Municipality of Danao in the Province of Bohol.

Beyond farmlands soaked with ancient poems, where the drone of laidback slumber in the past linger painfully, Danao has successfully bounced back through the four-year-old “EAT (Extreme-Ecological-Educational Adventure Tour)–Danao” brand. Such has tremendously reshaped its direction: from being the unnoticed to one of the most sought-after destinations in the country today, inducing creative ecotourism solutions for rural development. Dubbed to have the “most thrill-per-square-meter” adventure destination in the Philippines, Danao is home to “The Plunge” – the first of its kind in the country. Otherwise, known as the canyon swing, it allows jumpers to swing like a pendulum bob in between the Barangay Magtangtang gorge or over the Wahig-Inabanga River.

Guests came with the rain. They have never stopped pouring in! They arrived by the busloads. So now the question is not anymore on how to spread the word, but on how to equally satisfy the fold!

In fact, I can’t help comparing my recent Danao trip to that of the previous one. My 2010 visit to Danao was borne out of want, more than the need. There’s an apt term for it in Tagalog – “sobrang atat” (like you can’t focus properly on other things if you can’t appease a craving). The second time around was for the golden anniversary of Danao, as a town, together with a media team (print and broadcast) last July 9-10.

And so I realized that Danao is one destination where excitement hasn’t actually reached peak. What I deemed was “gorge-gasmic experience” during my May 2010 canyon swing was not, after all, the apex that capped the story. For as soon as I got settled with the experience of enjoying gravity for a toy, accelerating 70 meters over the Wahig-Inabanga River and indulging in that giant to-and-fro motion, the recent invite proved I still have much to explore when it comes to tapping the rest of the potentials relative to one LGU’s fixation on extreme adventure tourism.

We heard it right! The current concern of the Danao EAT program is how to stop the people from rushing in! Perhaps, you would blurt out for a side comment: “Airheads!” But yes, Danao needs a satellite market at the forefront to tell visitors they have to wait because hundreds are still in queue to jump off the Plunge platform, or that students are still in line for the next paramotor to take off, or that thousands are still booked for the very engaging Xsanity! Visitors definitely need to be advised not just to travel, but to travel right when heading for Danao these coming days.

Recently unveiled are the new landmark attractions at the Danao Adventure Park: an airstrip for the paramotor/paratrike facility of the Danao Air Park and Paramotoring School and the 1.5-kilometer Xsanity zipline scheduled to serve the public next month.

In an interview with paramotor pilot Paul Banks (made brief because of the scheduled stopover of VP Binay gone pfffttt!), it was learned that the facility was considered to “promote the sport” more than the profit-for-profit ethos.

“This may be a relatively new sport in the Philippines. But we consider this as a natural extension of extreme activities here in Danao,” Banks whose been flying a paramotor almost all of his life pointed out.

“There is contact with nature as one uses the power of the wind. It’s relatively cool,” he added.

However, paramotoring is definitely for the skilled or trained only, as there is a need to be properly equipped with knowledge similar to that of technical driving. An enthusiast must be sensible, agile, composed, and dexter having to control the strings connected to the wing or glider, to get acquainted with the wind’s thermal and directions, and of course to learn about proper take-offs and landings especially with the paramotor which needs very strong lower extremities, this he had also emphasized.

Uber off-road buggy rides are also offered at the Danao Adventure Park aside from the suislides and sky rides you’re already familiar with. I’m not so keen, however, in promoting cliff rappelling, caving, root climbing, river trekking, kayaking and river tubing as human impact brought about by said activities are more disturbing to the trail and other forms of life thriving in the concerned areas.

Sad to note that file photos of the kayaking trail, taken a year ago, showed how preservation/conservation was given more weigh and worth than now. This is what world music artist Joey Ayala emphasized during a Saturday night concert, as part of the golden anniversary celebration, that along with developments of sorts and the influx of commercialism, comes the greatest of challenges — protecting a ruralscape we’ve only borrowed from the real owners which are our future offsprings.