Davao to Samal Island — Monfort Bat Cave

Just across the strait from Davao City lies Samal Island and one of the planet's most astonishing wildlife sites: the Monfort Bat Sanctuary. This half-day tour brings you to a 75-metre-long limestone cave that holds the Guinness World Record for the largest colony of Geoffroy's Rousette fruit bats, with an estimated 2.3 million bats clinging to roughly three-quarters of its walls and ceilings. The sight, and the sound, of so many bats packed into the cave's five entrances is genuinely unforgettable.

For the bats' protection, visitors do not enter the cave but instead view the colony up close from outside the openings, where the dense, shifting carpet of fur and wings is fully visible. The Iigo-Monfort family has stewarded this land since the early 1900s, and a short informational tour explains the colony's ecology and the conservation work that has allowed it to thrive. Late afternoon is the magic hour, when the bats begin their nightly circadian flight, streaming out by the thousands at dusk to forage.

Easily combined with a Samal Island beach stop, this is a fascinating, family-friendly half-day from Davao that puts you face to face with a true natural world record.