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Do you want extreme? The most thrilling Bohol adventure I’ve experienced happened in Danao Adventure Park located in Danao Municipality two to three hours away from Tagbilaran City in Bohol Province.

THE PLUNGE

The best, most extreme and most popular attraction here is The Plunge. They claim that it’s the highest canyon swing in the world. It’s mounted over a gorge that’s 200 meters high and 300 meters wide.

Here’s an idea for you to visualize how this experience is like. They geared me up with the helmet, harness and everything else to keep me safe. Then, I stepped onto the platform that kind of moved with each step I took. And looking at how high I was, I knew I was in for something. I had to keep my thoughts refocused because I kept looking down which made my hands a bit sweaty and cold.

At the edge of the platform, they asked me to sit. They lowered the edge slowly down until I was already hanging.

At the count of three, I was released. Everything moved so fast. I didn’t know where to look but up to lessen the effect of my fear of heights. It was a 45-meter free fall that lasted for few seconds and it was the pendulum swing after that.

The swinging was the best part moving from one cliff, to the other and back. The swing’s said to measure a hundred meters in diameter.

More swings and then, it finally stopped.

I was pulled back up to the platform.

You can also go for gold. One of the tourists took the plunge upside down.

By far, this is the most exciting activity I’ve done in my life. The rush was priceless.

After going through that, I was awarded with a certificate for completing the challenge. The total experience took around 8 minutes. The Plunge costs Php700.

ULTRALIGHT WAHIG RIVER AIR TOUR

This attraction is probably the highest one of all among all the activities here because you get to fly, literally in the smallest plane I’ve seen. It’s called Ultralight. And unlike other planes, you’re exposed to the elements because it’s not enclosed.

It was raining. For my safety and the pilot’s I was discouraged to go on.
But God’s favor smiled at me. After a few minutes, the raining stopped. Well, not totally, it was drizzling but that was tolerable for flight.

I wore the helmet and hopped on to the two-seater aircraft. The engine started, we moved faster and faster until we were off the ground.

It was quite a bumpy ride. It’s like how I feel when a car’s moving fast and hits bumps on the road. And there were several instances when we experienced what felt like free falls when we flew down, then back up again. So I had to hold on tightly to the metal bar while my other hand took aerial videos with a video camcorder (I borrowed it from the pilot). It was hard to keep my hand still while video recording because of the strong wind.

For a few minutes, I opened the helmet’s visor. The wind was chilly on my face. I liked that, but what I didn’t like was the drizzle. The droplets of rain painfully felt like pellets fired on my face. So I put the visor back down to protect my face.

I think I saw below us the popular Chocolate Hills of Bohol (click here to read my article on the Chocolate Hills). I got that on video as well, aerial shots.

This activity costs Php2,200.

TREK

There’s a trail going to two activities of Danao Adventure Park: The Root Climb and Caving. Since it was raining, everything was just so slippery.

During the trek, there’s what seemed like a fossil on a mossy rock. Very interesting. Our travel show “I Love Pinas” marketing head Next Layderos saw this and took the photo.

The trek was difficult because of the mud. There are ropes you can hold on to just in case it’s too steep or slippery. But it wore me down. I didn’t finish the trek anymore and went back up to the main office. I suggest you avoid the rainy season if you want to do this activity.

There’s just so much to do in Danao Adventure Park! Here’s the list:
Danao Adventure Park Menu:
• Wahig River Air Tour (12-15min) Php2,200
• Chocolate Hills Air Tour (45min-1hr) Php6,500
• The Plunge Php700 200 meters high, highest canyon swing in the world
• Xsanity Php750 (includes return ride) 1.5km zipline, longest in Asia
• Suislide Php350 (zipline)
• Trike Paramotor Php2,200 12-15min Wahig Paramotor Air Tour
• Sky Ride Php250 cable car
• Caving Kamira Php 350 (moderate)
• Caving Baliho Php550 (extreme)
• Cliff Rappel Php 600
• Village Tour Php 300
• River Kayak Php 300
• Root Climb Php 400
• OffRoad Buggy Php 1,600 (2 laps, 30 Minute Off-road Trail)
• River Tubing Php 300
• River Trek Php 300

E.A.T. Danao

Danao Adventure Park offers EAT or Extreme Eco Educational Adventure Tour. This ecotourism concept was made for the benefit of the people of Danao Municipality and is managed by the local government unit. Part of the proceeds go to the different projects of Danao Municipality and other socio-civic programs.

If you plan to spend the night in Danao Adventure Park, you have to reserve way ahead of time because of very limited rooms.  Or, you can try camping for the night.

Based on details on their website, the rates for rooms and tents are as follows:

Air Conditioned room – Php 1,300 double occupancy w/ breakfast for two
A/C Rooms – 2 a/c rooms shared 1 Toilet & Bath. Extra bed Php 200 per person
Fan Room – Php 1,300 double occupancy w/ breakfast for two. Has its own Toilet & Bath per room. Extra bed Php 200.00 per person

Tents for Rent – Php 300.00, double occupancy with a camper fee of Php 25 per person

Here are some tips when you visit Danao Adventure Park:

1. Plan ahead. If you’re staying in a hotel in other areas of the province, ask for the estimated travel time then. It took long hours to go here and back to the hotel which made it quite difficult for me to experience all the activities.
2. Jerome Labra, the general manager, suggests tourists to allot two full days to experience all the activities. They still don’t have enough rooms for guests so tourists may have to look for inns in Danao Municipality or go back to their respective hotels in the evening and return to the park the next day.
3. Bring extra clothes and wear rubber shoes. If you want to go trekking, visit the caves or experience the water activities, expect mud on your body and get soaked from the water in the caves. There’s a free shower area here to wash off all the dirt and freshen up.

Danao Adventure Park
for updates, bookings and inquiries here’s how to reach them
eatdanao@ymail.com
http://www.eatdanao.com
0917-302-1700
038-4122338 local 6111 / 038-4122338
Jerome B. Labra (General Manager and Danao Municipality Tourism Officer) 0906-117-6894 / jbl510@yahoo.com / jlabra@gmail.com
Maria Wiena Saguid (Booking Officer) 038-5100050 / 0921-7594403

If you think this article wasn’t a waste of your time, it would help me feel appreciated if you click this link here and like my Facebook page. Thank you 

The whole Bohol experience was part of the shoot I did for the travel show I host “I Love Pinas” aired in the Philippines and abroad. The staff and I took the photos. Know the airing schedule of the show, click here. Please like “I Love Pinas” on Facebook, click here. Please like my food and travel Facebook page, click here.

Where to go and what to do in Bohol? Click here.

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