THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources–Davao Region (DENR-Davao) announced that the Mt. Hamiguitan Range and Wildlife Sanctuary (MHRWS) will remain open for trekking, mountaineering, and other eco-tourism activities, as its scheduled off-season has been deferred to 2026.
“If you still want to experience a one-of-a-kind adventure this year, climb, learn, and explore Mindanao’s first Unesco World Heritage Site — the Mt. Hamiguitan Range and Wildlife Sanctuary. It is a haven of exceptional biodiversity of global value and home to the country’s largest pygmy forest,” DENR-Davao stated in its Facebook post on August 29, 2025.
According to the regional office, trekking at MHRWS gives visitors the opportunity to build a personal connection with nature, develop a sense of responsibility in protecting the environment, and gain a deeper appreciation of the sanctuary’s ecological significance.
Visitors who wish to trek must first secure a permit from the MHRWS Protected Area Management Office (PAMO) along with the necessary documentary requirements.
Trekking activities at MHRWS were previously suspended for a year to allow for the assessment and restoration of campsite facilities. The site was also closed at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
The MHRWS was declared a protected area under Republic Act No. 9303, or the Mt. Hamiguitan Wildlife Sanctuary Act of 2004, placing it under the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS). Its core zones and buffer areas cover parts of Mati City and the municipalities of San Isidro and Governor Generoso in Davao Oriental.
Based on data from the Unesco World Heritage Center, the sanctuary hosts 1,380 species, 341 of which are endemic to the Philippines. These include critically endangered species such as the Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) and the Philippine Cockatoo (Cacatua haematuropygia).
MHRWS also boasts the country’s largest bonsai field, spanning over a thousand hectares of century-old pygmy trees and other associated plants. RGP