Heritage · Datu Piang, Maguindanao del Sur
Maliga Walay
The historic red house of Datu Piang, now the town's municipal building.
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Nature · Datu Piang, Maguindanao del Sur
Ligawasan Marsh
Also known as Liguasan Marsh.
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The place
Nature in Datu Piang, Maguindanao del Sur
One of the largest wetlands in the country — channels, floating vegetation, birds.
Nature
One of the guide’s own places.
When to go
Dawn, for the birds; the 2019 birding trip was over by 9:30 am. In the dry season up to 140,000 hectares more land emerges from the water.
Safety in Maguindanao del Sur
This is the area to arrange rather than improvise. Several municipalities carry standing advisories and a visible military presence, and clan disputes are a real and local phenomenon that outsiders read badly. Travel with a local contact who knows the specific town, coordinate with the LGU, and treat any plan that does not include those two steps as incomplete.
About this place
The marsh spreads across the Maguindanao lowlands where the Rio Grande de Mindanao slows and spreads, and it is enormous — a shifting system of open water, channels and floating mats that changes shape between wet and dry season. It is one of the country’s most important wetlands for birds, and a fishery that a great many families live from.
It also sits on substantial natural gas reserves, which has made it a subject of regional politics for decades and is part of why it has never been developed for visitors.
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Seeing it means getting in a boat with someone who knows the channels. There is no other version of this trip.
What to do
Take a boat through the channels with a local guide
Arrange the boat and guide in the barangay; nothing is scheduled, and the marsh is easier to get around by boat in the wet season.
From the guideSee the water lilies turn the marsh pink
When the water lilies bloom, parts of the marsh turn into a sea of pink.
newswav.comLook for the comb-crested jacana at dawn
The marsh is the only place in the Philippines where the comb-crested jacana can be seen, among at least 92 bird species recorded here.
en.wikipedia.org
What to eat
Tapul rice from the marsh farms
The marsh's farmland grows prized rice varieties called tapul or denorado; tilapia and mudfish are raised in its waters.
maritimereview.ph
Before you go
- A boat and a local guide, arranged in the barangay. Nothing is scheduled or ticketed.
- Fuller and more navigable in the wet season; easier to reach by road in the dry.
- This area needs current local advice before you travel. Ask, and take the answer seriously.
- Early morning for birds, as everywhere.
Where you’ll be
Datu Piang, Maguindanao del Sur
Sources
Crafts made in Datu Piang
Every craft of the region
textileInaulInaul is the handwoven cloth of the Maguindanaon; the word itself means "woven", and the cloth is mostly sold and worn as a malong. Its patterns are passed down in families, some are inspired by stories, objects or emotions, and some designs were once reserved for royal houses.MarkoDalisay · CC BY-SA 4.0Photo by MarkoDalisay, CC BY-SA 4.0. Open the source file.
Where to sleep in Maguindanao del Sur
No lodging here is named by a public source yet. Ask the area’s tourism office, or stay in its main town.
More to see nearby
Everything in Maguindanao del Sur
Mosque · Datu Saudi-Ampatuan, Maguindanao del Sur
Masjid Dimaukom
A mosque painted entirely pink, built by Muslim and Christian hands together.
Best: Early morning: a visitor at 8 am found it almost empty
Mosque · Guindulungan, Maguindanao del Sur
Masjidil Haron Rashid
A highway mosque in Guindulungan, opened in 1995, that sheltered MILF fighters during the war and is now painted inside with Qur'anic calligraphy.
Best: Eid, when the mosque is the main venue for the town's congregational prayers
Mosque · Mamasapano, Maguindanao del Sur
Miracle Mosque
A mosque in Mamasapano that the community dates to 1444, known for a mimbar said to have survived a flood.