Lion at Avilon Zoo

How to go to Avilon Zoo

Travelling from Cubao going there is way long. I think it took us about 1.5 hours to get there. First we took an FX going to ‘Montalban’, and told the driver to drop us off at Eastwood Greenview subdivision. (You will pass a Total gas station, with this route.) Luckily for us, our driver actually stopped there to fill up his vehicle. So we knew we where near.

On Eastwood Greenview subdivision, we took a tricycle to go to Avilon. The road going to Avilon is not developed yet so the ride was super rough, and riding in a tricycle… you’ll surely feel it.

We arrived there at around lunch time, and went home at 5 pm. There are tricycles waiting on the side of Avilon, so getting back is not a worry. But just to be sure, you can ask your tricycle driver to pick you up again. In our case, we waited for a tricycle to come.

Fares and Fees in Avilon Zoo

As of 2008, the entrance for us adults was around 250 each. I’ll say prepare 500 pesos for the whole activity, this would include your transpo and food expenses, including lunch huh. From what I can remember, I still had some money left after the trip.

What to See – Tourist spots in Rizal

Avilon is very organized, the routes and paths are correct. And there are actually animals inside! haha. On the entrance, there is a canteen that floats on a pond with huge fishes in them. I mean huge!!

look a huge fish!

And of course they have the typical petting zoo, you’ll get to pet snakes, bunnies, and spiders!!!! We actually screamed so many times in this area because of the stupid tarantulas.

tarantulas

We also got to play with different-breed super cute dogs! The owner of the place lets his huge collection of dogs roam around at around 4 pm. Luckily for us, we were still there, and we got to see these cute amazing dogs:

dogs

The zoo also houses lamas, turtles, cheetahs, hyenas, bears and lions. See pictures below…

Contact Details of Avilon Zoo

Bo. San Isidro, Rodriguez, Rizal

Tel. Nos.: (632) 941-8393 * (632) 948-9866 (63917) 899-5126

Fax: (632) 941-8530 * Email: info@avilonzoo.com.ph

Entrance Fee: Php208.00 or $5.00/person <– I dont think this is updated though

source: http://www.avilonzoo.com.ph/home/contactus

More pictures of Avilon Zoo here:

(Click on the picture to view the album)

An eagle in Philippine Eagle Sanctuary

How to go to  Davao

Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines has regular flights going to Davao. Fares ranges from P1500 to P3000 (One-way, non-promo flights).

Check out our Travel Promos category for the latest promo fare from Cebu Pacific and  Philippine Airlines.

What to see – Tourist Spots in Davao

Part of our first day tour at Davao is the Philippine Eagle Sanctuary. This is where our famous national bird is, (previously the Maya bird, naks history!) and the very famous bird – “Pag-asa”. Though we werent able to see him well, as he was on the highest cage in the area and tons of bushes and plants covers his cage. In short, the only view we got was a bunch of plants and a cage.

Personally, I didnt like the place, as it’s poorly developed. During the time we went there, the only part being developed at the time was the main entrance to the place, but the animal cages, path-ways and directions are really confusing. There was one point while trekking the area where we ended up on the same spot thrice. The cages were a million miles away, which sucks for people who have poor eye site like me. There are no guides and no proper path ways. There was this one area, where one of the birds was exposed and you’ll get the chance to take a picture with it, but the catch is..you have to step on mud to get it’s picture. This was the situation last June 2008 though. Maybe our 50 pesos helped paved way to develop the area.

With all that complaining, lets go to the positives . I mean it’s really not the worst place on earth, it’s still a very very worthy tourist spot, and the people behind the sanctuary are doing a great job with the animals, with the minimal resources that they have. Just look, Pag-asa is still there, the last time we heard of him was when we were little watching ‘Magandang Gabi Bayan’ hehe.

The Philippine eagles are not the only thing you’ll be able to see in the sanctuary. There are also typical zoo animals in there like the warthogs, the deers, and monkeys. They have a really cute monkey community in there. They developed a little island, surrounded with water and stocked them with little Philippine monkeys, which the eagles can then eat. haha just kidding. Also the birds are amazing, they are gigantic. Biggest flying bird I have ever seen. I say they’re as big as a mid-sized dog.

Info-Time!!

The philippine eagle was used to be called Monkey-Eating-Eagle. This was name given by the scientist who discovered this bird, in the assumption that the Philippine eagle only eats monkeys. Obviuosly this scientist does not know what he’s doing as he didnt investigate this animal well. Another scientist blasted his theory cause it also eats worms and stuff. I got this info from my trusty television..hehe

The PES is located inside the Philippine Eagle Center which is also where the Davao city water district is.

A 5 pesos entrance fee for adults is required upon entrance on the compound of the PEC (Philippine Eagle Center), this is collected by the Davao City water district, as the philippine eagle center resides on their area.

Just a few walks inside the compound, you’ll be able to reach the Philippine Eagle Sanctuary(PES). Another 50 pesos is required to enter the Philippine Eagle Sanctuary. The fee is for adults, while for kids 18 yrs old below, an entrance fee of 30 pesos is required. Tickets for entrance to the PES, can be bought at the main entrance of the facility. There were also souvenir items and snacks at this area. Restrooms can also be found here, in case you dont want to enter the PES premisses yet and explore the Davao water district compound. There are also ‘sari-sari’ stores at the area, and there are some entreprenurs there which holds a ‘take-a-picture-with-a-snake business, in case your interested.

How to go to Philippine Eagle Sanctuary, Davao

Again, we hired a taxi driver to take us the tourist spots near Davao on our Day 1 trip, and this was one of our contract with him. Alternatively, you can take this route here:

How to get there
The Philippine Eagle Center (PEC) is about an hour drive from the city and can be reached either by private or public transport. Buses going to Calinan depart every 15 minutes from the Annil Terminal located at corner Quirino and San Pedro Extension. Bus fare is at P30. From Calinan, take a pedicab going to the PEC. The ride is about 10 minutes and will cost you P6. Before entering the PEC premises, the Davao City Water District will collect an entrance fee of P5 for adults and P3 for kids. PEC entrance costs P50 for adults and P30 for youth, 18 years old and below. Tour guiding and the use of kiosks are free of charge.

source: http://www.philippineeagle.org/index?pageval=thepecenter

Fares and Fees in Philippine Eagle Sanctuary

Transpot Fees: N/A (We took a contract tour of tourist spots with a taxi driver)

Entrance Fee to Philippine Eagle Sanctuary compound: P5 (adult)

Entrance Fee to Philippine Eagle Sanctuary: P50(adult)

More pictures of Philippine Eagle here:

(Click on the picture to view album)

The event was successful in a way. I believe majority of people participated and that’s good. We are becoming aware of how much our planet is suffering – most are caused by us. However, I would like to stress that Earth hour is not that successful. One of the methods used to promote this event is thru print ads. So does that mean that in order to save the earth for an hour, we need to cut some trees that lived for a number of years? Is it practical to kill the earth first just to give it an hour to live? I hope somebody would comment and say that they have used recycled materials… because believe me, I saw a lot of ads (even in billboards) promoting this event

I’m not against the organizers; I’m glad they’re doing something to save the planet. I’d be willing to help in organizing this event if given the chance. In fact, I did promote this event by asking some friends and my family to join this event.

I hope I’ve made my point. In order to save the earth, let’s stop promoting this event using print ads. There are a lot of alternatives: media, internet, word of mouth, etc. Only then would I say that the event is really successful.