Island Garden City Of Samal (IGaCoS)

Island Garden City of Samal (IGaCoS) is a group of island in the heart of Davao Gulf. Mostly known as the Samal Island is one of the newest cities in the country, physically unattached to mainland Mindanao.

A great place to those who are seeking solace in an unspoiled but natural ambiance. But you can also find great adventures and extreme challenges and still be close to nature. Blessed with beautiful coast having white sand beaches, abundant marine life, magnificent rock formations, and flourishing flora and fauna. It is home to the famous Pearl Farm Beach Resort, which was once literally a pearl farm.

But the beauty of the island is not just with its white and unspoiled beaches or its diverse natural attractions but to its warm and lovely people as well. All these make this island a potential world-class eco tourism destination in this part of the Philippines.

The name speaks for itself and for what a place is destined to become – an island cluster emerging to become the international center and financial district for the BIMP-EAGA (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines – East ASEAN Growth Area) as laid out in the Davao Integrated Development Program (DIDP).

It would take around 10-15 minutes to get to Samal with motorboat, ferry boat, and Island Bus that are all based in Davao City. A guided tour of the island will let you discover its inland treasures - the rivers, waterfalls, antique mansions and ancestral houses, and the world renowned cave that hosts the world’s biggest colony of fruit bats. Local and foreign scientists say that the cave (one of the 70 caves in the island) is home to 1.8 million Geoffrey’s Rousette Fruit Bat.

There are lots of beach resorts where you can stay over night. The most popular ones are Pearl Farm Beach Resort, Paradise Island, Kaputian Beach, Talikud Beach, Isla Reta, Blue Waters, Palm Hill, and Costa Marina.

You can never get enough stay in Samal because because of all the things that you can do there such as swimming, beach and island hopping, camping, hiking, exploring caves and falls, snorkeling, scuba diving, and relax as you observe it's natural beauty.

Read more articles about the beautiful places in the Philippines at Walang Iwanan Sa Bayan Ni Juan, Experience Philippines, and Tourism Pnas 2009.

Image source: Lakbay Pilipinas and Zoom In, Philippines!