This was another trip courtesy of my job.
The Province of Sultan Kudarat is located in South West of Mindanao, bounded by the province of Cotabato and Maguindanao on the north, South Cotabato and Sarangani Pronvinces on the south, Davao del Sur on the east, and Celebes Sea on the west. It is composed of one component city, Tacurong, and 11 municipalities with Isulan as capital. The province was named after the great Muslim ruler Sultan Muhammed Dipatuan Kudarat, who reigned from 1619-1671 A.D.
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| Isulan rotonda |
Based on the mileage recorded in the car we used, the travel took us approximately 591 kilometers in 10 hours from Surigao City via Agusan-Davao route. I have passed by the place before when we took the Cotabato-Bukidnon route back home after the attended seminar in GenSan sometime in 2006.
In contrast to the negative image created by media to the area as war zone and conflicted, I feel at home with the place. Maybe because even if it is situated in a Muslim area, the province is a predominantly Christian community speaking an Ilonggo dialect. For that, I spoke Tagalog most of the time to the hospitable people around.
We arrived in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat at 4 in the afternoon from the 6 a.m. departure in Surigao. We took rest for a while at our reserved hotel, Isla Adelina Resort, which has this serene man-made islets along the pond.
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| Isla Adelina Resort |
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| Isla Adelina Resort |
These islets are installed with a cottage equipped with videoke machine which is very much a treat for relaxation or picnic.
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| Isla Adelina Resort |
At 6:00 in the evening we then proceeded to the fellowship dinner hosted by Cong. Pax Mangudadatu. The venue was no less than the multi-million funded provincial capitol dubbed as the Taj Mahal of the South.This 4-storey capitol building equipped with an elevator is arched by oil palm plantations on the backdrop.
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| Sultan Kudarat Provincial Capitol |
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| Sultan Kudarat Provincial Capitol |
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| Sultan Kudarat Provincial Capitol |
The party held on the rooftop was extravagant --lots of foods, bonggacious (cant find the word) fireworks lightened up the sky, expensive wines we toast... we have it all that night. I was told, this capitol which gains tourist's attraction was funded through a Muslim brotherhood with the Datus of Malaysia.
The fellowship dinner also showcased the local talents and designers in a cultural presentation and fashion show. I forgot the name of the male singer who sung native compositions. He really did it great.
After the dinner, we headed to the Notre Dame of Tacurong Gym for the Ms. Mindanao Tourism 2008 pageant where we sponsored a candidate to represent Surigao City. All the candidates are titleholders so it was a really close fight. But Davao City’s Clarice Escala who also holds the title as Mutya ng Davao 2007 bagged some minor and major awards and emerged as the first holder of the crown.
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| The beautiful Clarice Ann Escala |
Equally beautiful to these ladies are the marvelous tourist spots the province is trying to promote to the world. Unfortunately I haven't gone to any of these places because of time constraints, especially that i was with my boss. But I visited the no less than celebrated and newest pride of the province.. its provincial capitol. The other boasted tourist spots includes:
- Bamban Falls at Bagumbayan
- White Sand Beach at Kalamansang
- Fekung Bula Falls at Columbo
- Lagbasan Cave at Sen. Ninoy Aquino
- Rajah Buayan Convention Center at Lutayan
- Birds Sanctuary at Tacurong City
- Hot and Cold Spring at Esperanza
After the dinner, we headed to the Notre Dame of Tacurong Gym for the Ms. Mindanao Tourism 2008 pageant where we sponsored a candidate to represent 
20 comments:
lagi kong nadadaanan 'yang rotonda sa Isulan, Sultan Kudarat en route Cot. city. :D
i hate you for having a work that allows you the luxury of travel. i'm a suppressed wanderlust here. :P
tsk, i am eating my heart out. haha.
more travels! :D
Daming magagandang place sa southern mindanao. sana mawala na yung mga negative impression nila sa place. I'm from Koronadal, just 2 towns away from Tacurong. My cousin was the contractor for that beautiful provincial government building
@fye.. hahaha! perhaps youd like to try working in a chamber of commerce. they got a lot of put of town trips. seminars, conferences, study missions, etc.
@allan.. wow! lucky cousin for getting the contract and for making that iconic building.
so far, the farthest ive gone to in the south is gensan. and im looking forward to touring around the places featured in your blog and somewhere in sulu and zamboanga areas.
parang capitol ng basilan yung capitol nila. sadly, dami pa ring negative feedbacks pagdating dyan sa part na yan ng mindanao. buti na lang ok pa ang pangalan ng surigao, dipolog, dapitan, cagayan de oro, at camiguin. the rest parang nakakatakot puntahan. pero as planned, ill visit davao, sarangani and surigao next year. siguro camiguin na rin.
huwaw... cge ill post some of surigao's spots pa para makita mo. you can actually drop by at camiguin from surigao taking the surigao-butuan-cagayan route. camiguins port from the mainland is located in balingoan, misamis oriental on your way to cagayan. so pwedeng pwede mo syang puntahan pagkagaling mo ng surigao.
parang kulang ang post mo bro. bakit wala ka yata sa picture. pero ok na rin kasi may maganda naman na nakafeature eh.
yung provincial hall ng sultan kudarat probably and pinakamaganda at unique na provincial hall na nakita ko. para syang simbahan. too bad di ko masyado naexplore ang sultan kudarat ng magpunta ko jan. nadaanan ko lang yan from davao going to south cotabato.
anyways, at least, parang nalibot ko na din thru your post.
haha! nahiya na ko kakalagay ng mukha ko sa mga post.
sa loob ng capitol na yan kala mo di opisina. parang mansion lang. at... may elevator up to the rooftop.
magkano na ba ang air trip papunta jan? yung one way lang ha? ayoko na kasing bumalik sa manila eh. hehehe
haha. yan ang banat... parang nanliligaw lang.
saang destination ba gusto mo, surigao o sultan kudarat? o kaya naman mindanao? mura lang.. brought to you by cebu pacific and pal express. hehe.
You are a true islander for authoring a very informative blog about our beloved archipelago. I am learning a lot from your writings and I look forward to reading and learning more about our country through your posts.
Thanks for such a great blog and thank you too for visiting my site. Much appreciated. :)
Awesome post (:
Ang ganda ng capitol! Salamat naman at tinulungan pala sila ng mga kapatid from other countries. I'd really love to explore Mindanao one of these days. Hay, eto na naman ako. Nangangarap ng gising.
@panaderos.. thank you for the visit and comment. but im not a good writer. so im hesitant whether i should be flattered with your comment or just take as that. im also learning from other travelogues here.
@minnie.. thank you. will be there in your site too.
@ryo.. haha ok lang, just explore the orient places, youll have all the wanderings on your come back.
nice place!
hey ano ba job mo at lagi ka nasa layasan?
hehe im with the chamber of commerce po.
I have also been to Daydream Laguna Resort. Considering this resort is so spectacular as many attractions including a huge outdoor aquarium with many species of colorful tropical fish and corals, an "Eagles nest" high observatory to view the beautiful surroundings and other benefits, with the total resort built over the water at a massive cost, you have to see it and experience it to believe it!
I believed the other comments of entry fee 500 pesos is misleading as it is actually a day tour 850 pesos,including welcome drinks,luxury boat ,refreshing towel transfers,kayaking,cabanas relaxing, Snorkling, swimming,fish feeding ect.
We had fantastic time in Daydream! sheer!
sultan kudarat is one of the places that people should visit
when i visited the place,.,
i just realize that sultan kudarat is
1 of the "place to be"
no doudt SULTAN KUDARAT is beautiful..,,
the views, the people, the food,etc,.,.
and now,..,
im planning for my
next visit.,.
Thanks God for bringing me
in SULTAN KUDARAt..,,
♦♦♦starpricess♦♦♦
Nice photos..actually, I really love Sultan Kudarat..Maraming mga beautiful spots na makikita dyan..marami pa kayong hindi na explore..Im from SK kc...eventhough im working here in manila but i have a plan to visit SK again...We are proud of you SK..:-)
hindi ko pa nakikita ang capitol ng SK pero maraming nagsabi sa akin na maganda nga raw..taga korondal ako pero hindi pa ko nakapunta jan,i hope someday mabisita ko yan,jeje
Anybody who wants to visit our Capitol is welcome, you can explore our offices and other amenities of the building....our employees will greet you with a smile, thats the policy imposed by the Governor na naging ugali na ng mga tega Sultan Kudarat....
Don't you worry our province is generally peaceful, though sometimes napagkakamalan na magulo just because there is a municipality in Maguindanao Province na ang pangalan ay Sultan Kudarat Municipality, na madalas nababanggit sa mga news Sultan Kudarat lang, kaya ang perception d2 sa Sultan Kudarat Province ang magulo....Sultan Kudarat Province is a Christian Province, more or less 80% are Christians and the rest are Muslims, Lumads and Katutubo.
here is our official Website for more informations: http://www.sultankudaratprovince.gov.ph/
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