El Don Resort, a traveler’s gem at the southern tip of Davao Oriental

In Davao Oriental, the southeastern tip of the Davao peninsula, lies a municipality called Gov. Generoso, named after Davao Province former Gov. Sebastian Generoso. The second-class municipality features agriculture and aquamarine products, and a fastgrowing ecotourism site for Filipinos.

On the tip of this peninsula known as Cape San Agustin, one could find pink sand along the shoreline, and a lighthouse known as the Parola, one of several old lighthouses around the country. This Parola has become a tourism landmark in Davao Oriental as the tip of the peninsula gets both the eastern waves and western calm seas, the rising sun and the fiery sunset, and the Davao seas meeting the Pacific ocean.

For more historical significance to Cape San Agustin, the Spanish missionary St. Francis Xavier is believed to have held in Mindanao his first sermon on a rock formation on the western rim of the place, making it a pilgrimage site.

Going to Gov. Generoso is marked by wide and good cement roads, so travel is easy and comfortable despite of the almost four hours of travel from Davao City. But the distance is overshadowed by the lush green plantation of coconut trees on the mountainside coupled and the gentle lapping of the sea waves on the right side. The coastal plains give travelers a sight to behold.

Here in this municipality, a hidden gem of a tourist and wellness resort site just waits to be discovered and enjoyed. Known as El Don Resort, this beach place of manicured gardens. Spanish Mediterranean villas with balconies facing the sea, and white sand beach. It’s a perfect getaway for couples and families wanting to relax from the bustling pace of cosmopolitan cities. It is an ecotourism destination that will surely captivate your imagination.

Accessible by land, El Don Resort greets the traveling tourist a welcome respite of strawberry coconut wine and assures them a wonderful experience of wellness, of sleeping comfortably in well-designed villas with cable tv and aircons, swimming on an elevated inland pool with picturesque coconut trees and lapping waves of the sea as background, mangrove boardwalk of approximately 30 minutes leisurely walk that will give you an inspiring feel of how to care for nature, and of course, swimming in the white sand beach.

Coupled with these attractions are added features such as an entertainment room, a dining area/ function area that can accommodate 100 to 150 people, a game room of billiards, darts and table tennis, a well secured parking area, a basketball court for the sport-minded tourist and water-sport activities such as snorkeling, jet skis, kayaking and banana boats. Not to forget cottages for massage and native cabana structures architecturally designed along the long beach line for gatherings and relaxation. Then there is an obstacle course for team building and for extreme sports. But what will attract you the most is the well maintained flora, the cleanliness of the place and the more or less 45 courteous employees that greet you every step of the way, making your stay comfortable and memorable.

Owned by Pundaguitan Playa Inc., this resort has three villas comprising of two rooms for two to three pax, four rooms for three to four pax, and eight rooms for four to five pax at reasonable rates. Of the 21 hectares along the coastal road, only three hectares have been fully developed as of the moment. Construction of this place started sometime March 2018 and was opened to the public a year after on March 2019. Unfortunately it had to temporarily close last March 2020 during the start of the pandemic but fully became operational again last November 2020.

It’s truly a gem waiting to be discovered. One can include several activities in this part of the region, such as nature trekking up Mt. Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary, home to the largest pygmy forest in the country; enjoying fresh fish and lobsters cooked along the coastline, a short trip to the Parola lighthouse for a fantastic 360 degrees view, scuba diving along the bay and even a short boat ride to Sigaboy islet to have a clearer view of the lighthouse at the tip of the peninsula from the sea.

If one is looking for a complete relaxation without the internet, El Don Resort is the place to go to, enjoy the serenity of the place, be lost in this territory, bond well with families and friends and re-charge for the coming days ahead.