TRAVEL ESSAY

UNWIND

This place has the perfect relaxing place from which to explore nature and wilderness. EDEN Nature Park is one of the famous tourist spots located at Toril, Davao. A verdant 80-hectare mountain resort is about 95% handmade. This was once stripped bare by illegal logging, but fortunately revived as thousands of seedlings of pine trees were planted. It was discovered on year 1971, owned by Jesus V. Ayala and built the company by his Son, Miguel Ayala. We had our private car to take us to EDEN, but you can get there via public transportation. Just hop on any Jeepney bound for Toril which can be found traveling along Claveria Street, Roxas Avenue, and Quiapo Boulevard in Davao City. Tell the driver to drop you off at Mercury Drug Store. Once you get there, hire a motorcycle and for about an hour, you will arrive at your destination.

While my family was preoccupied paying the entrance fee when we first entered the park, I was content to simply take in the scenery. As we get on the upper part, the fresh air hugged me as the trees were dancing joyfully. The bamboo maze was our first attempt, but due to the dense vegetation surrounding it all, we were always led to the end wall. After half an hour, we successfully found the way to exit. Secondly, we then go to their children’s park which has slides, swings, and other fun activities. While we were strolling to the other locations, we found a mini zip line. The Indiana Jones Ride is a mini-zipline mainly for kids. You’ll be carried to a 50 ft end as you sit there. Lastly, after all the fun experiences, we had a quick lunch on one of their restaurants. I forgot the name for a reason that we visited the place last 2019 and it was four years ago.

As what I have previously mentioned that EDEN Nature Park is verdant and lush, nature tripper will enjoy hiking through the park’s 4-kilometer forest trail. In addition, they have also other recreational activities like sky rider, sky cycle, sky swing, horseback riding, sky wheel, and more. If you are not fund of walking, you can have their guide shuttle tour. Unfortunately, we were unable to attempt one of those because we ran out of time. Perhaps I can return to EDEN Nature Park soon enough.