ESCAPADE at NIA DAM BANSALAN

Year 2009.  I visited the Municipality of Bansalan, Davao Del Sur. Bansalan was formerly called Miral.  It was established in 1952.  Bansalan was said to have gotten its name from a Bagobo datu named Dansalan whose tribal folks were the original inhabitants of the place. A reporting error by the early surveyors transposed the name to Bansalan and somehow became the official name on record.

photo from  photoblog.mindanao.com

The economic life of people there mostly dependent to planting and harvesting rice, corn, bananas, mango trees, coconut trees and sugar cane are grown in the lowlands while coffee, vegetables, cut flowers and fruits are grown in the colder highlands at the foot of Mt. Apo.  Bansalan is located at the lowlands of Mt. Apo.

photo from kapetabay.com 

There are many places to see at Bansalan:  

• Mainit Hot Spring, in Brgy. Caburan, is located 30 kms. west of Digos City in a forest setting 365 m. above sea level.  Another hot spring, in Brgy. Managa, is located 30 kms. from the poblacion and 200 m. above sea level.
• The 19-hectare Mt. Carmel Rural Life Center, in Brgy. Kinuskusan, is known worldwide for its innovative agricultural technology.  Foreign and local agricultural students stay here to immerse themselves in farming systems and perform hands-on research.
• AMG Mango Plantation;  Hillcrest Poultry Farm and  Lao Integrated Farm (Brgy. Eman).  The Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center, a conservation area in Brgy. Kinuskusan, is famous for its sloping agricultural land technology (SALT).
• The Balutakay Trail is another route up Mt. Apo.
• and last but not the least, my fave place to see is  the 65-million peso NIA Dam, an earth-filled reservoir dam, built in the 1990s.

NIA DAM Bansalan, Davao del Sur (photo using my mobile cam)

I did not waste time to pack my things and headed to NIA DAM.  One Hell of a Long Walk.  Having fun but staying safe.

Many children are having fun swimming and sliding at NIA DAM.  What a big pool for them. 

Let's face it, with the type of climate we have, almost any place outdoors is a good place to have a picnic, but this place is AWESOME!!!!

It has some wonderful, hilly, grassy areas where you can throw down a blanket and enjoy the solitude. But there's one great little area that's perfect for picnics, at the top of the NIA DAM.  It's a little triangle slice of grass just before you head into the picnic place, wherein you can see the lake at the back of NIA DAM.  


Hope the Local Government of Bansalan will make NIA DAM more beautiful and exciting to visit and  for tourist to enjoy.