Davao Sights and POI

President Rodrigo Duterte’s house

In Davao, there are plenty of things to see, starting with the home of Philippines’ President Rodrigo Duterte. While he now lives in Manila to take care of the pressing political issues that come with running a country, his home residence is in Davao, and the house is where he lived when he was the mayor of the city, beginning in 1988. This is a fun stop and you will almost certainly see some of President Duterte’s ardent supporters and fans there.

San Pedro Cathedral

In downtown Davao, go to the San Pedro Cathedral which was built in the 1800’s. It’s the largest Christian institution in Davao, which has a healthy Catholic population in addition to many Muslims and Buddhists. If you go on Sunday, be prepared to experience a mass service with local Catholics singing, praying, and lighting candles. A Filipino mass is surely an experience that you shouldn’t miss if you have the opportunity!

Philippines Eagle Center

If you aren’t lucky enough to see a Philippines eagle in the wild, you can go to the Philippine Eagle Center where a sighting of the largest eagle in the world, which is highly endangered as well, is guaranteed. In to the Philippines eagle, the Center is also home to many other kinds of birds of prey. Open every day from 8am to 5pm, admission is PHP150 for adults and PHP100 for children, and the Center is a great place to bring families.

Crocodile Park

If you haven't gotten your fill of wildlife after the Eagle Center, you can go for a visit to the Crocodile Park next. The facilities, where crocodiles native to the Philippines are bred, are huge and modern. It’s not just crocodiles either, you’ll also see monkeys, birds, and other reptiles; it’s more of a zoo, and is another great place to bring kids. It’s open every day of the week from 9am to 6pm and costs PHP150 to get in. If you’re particularly brave, you can shell out another PHP30 to feed the crocodiles.

Davao Museums

The Davao Museum is a particularly interesting place to take in the culture of the city. It contains art, instruments and crafts produced by locals and will bring you up to date with the history of arts and crafts in Davao.

If you’re in a museum mood, the Davao Museum of History and Ethnography is another interesting one to visit. While both of those museums are pretty standard, the D’Bone Collector Museum is a bit of an oddity in that it it’s an entire museum dedicated to the skeletons of animals, most of which are native to the Philippines. You’ll see the bone structures of whales, crocodiles, monkeys, manatees and more, and it’s an interesting stop for those interest in the nature of the Philippines.

People’s Park

In 2007, Davao celebrated the opening of the People’s Park, a project that cost PHP72,000,000. The park was a massive undertaking; it takes up almost ten acres in the centre of the city.

It’s a beautiful urban park and now includes a forest, a mini theme park, fountains, and sculptures of the Philippines Eagle and other things native to Mindanao Island. The park is easily walkable and contains five “avenues” to get around. There’s an indoor section called the Durian Dome, which is spiky and looks like the fruit for which Davao is so famous! For those interested in plant life, it’s something of a botanical gardens as well, and includes more than 1,000 types of flowers, plants, and trees. This is a great place to spend time with your family and odds are you’ll see Filipino families doing the exact same!