Agusan Marsh

The Agusan Marsh covers a huge basin in the middle of Mindanao where the Agusan River spreads out into lakes, channels and seasonally flooded forest - a wetland roughly the size of Metro Manila, listed under Ramsar in 1999 and as an ASEAN Heritage Park in 2018, that holds a substantial share of the country's freshwater resources and functions as a natural flood buffer for the whole valley. Manobo communities live on it in houses built on rafts that rise and fall with the water and are towed to new positions as the season changes, which is the image most people know it by. Birds are the other draw: resident herons, egrets, ducks and darters, with large numbers of migrants arriving between November and March. Crocodiles are present and genuinely large - the marsh was where the record-sized saltwater crocodile Lolong was captured in 2011 - so boat trips follow guides' instructions closely. Visits are arranged locally, and water levels dictate what can be reached.

Highlights

• The floating houses - raft villages that move with the water.
• The drowned forest - trees standing in seasonal flood.
• The bird flocks - residents and winter migrants.
• The open lakes - Panlabuhan and the marsh's larger waters.

When to go

November to March, when water is high and migratory birds are present. Later in the dry season parts of the marsh become unreachable by boat.

Good to know

Trips must be arranged through local offices with guides and boats - independent access is not practical. Facilities are minimal and overnight stays are homestay-level. Crocodiles are present; follow guides' rules on where you may get out.

Nearby

Butuan's museums and the Agusan valley road are north; Bunawan is the usual entry point.

Key facts