Cagayan De Oro travel guide

Exciting Cagayan de Oro

Considered the gateway to the Northern Mindanao, Cagayan de Oro is one of the most exciting cities to visit while in the Philippines.  The capital of Misamis Oriental, this city is popular to adventure seekers who want to familiarize themselves with the sport of white water rafting, tubing and river trekking.  Apart from thrilling adventures, this city has much more to offer and here are some interesting facts about exciting Cagayan de Oro.

City of the River of Gold

The word Cagayan came from older version of the words “karayan” or “kalayan”, both of which mean “river”.  Although there are three other places in the country that uses the word Cagayan, Cagayan de Oro differentiates itself by being a city and the fact that it is a well known area for its gold deposits.  Cagayan de Oro actually means “City of the River of Gold”.  Today, this city is popularly referred to as CDO.

Gateway to Mindanao

Cagayan de Oro is called the gateway to Northern Mindanao largely because it is located on its central coast.  South of the city is the province of Bukidnon and Lanao del Norte.  In the west, you will find the municipality of Opol and to the east the municipality of Tagoloan.  At the city’s northern tip is the Macalajar Bay which faces the Bohol Sea.  

CDO occupies almost 14% of the Misamis Oriental province and has 25 kilometers worth of coastline and a deep water harbor.  

This city experiences tropical weather.  Its driest months are in the months of December until May and wet weather begins in June until November.

Talking the Language

The citizens of this predominantly Catholic region speak the local dialects of Cebuano and Boholano although most of the population can speak Filipino and English.

Cagayan de Oro River

The river of Cagayan de Oro is one of the best spots to do some thrilling water sports like White Water River Rafting, Pinoy River Rafting or Tubing and White Water Kayaking.  The place to start is from the Baraga Dansolihon all the way to the city.  There are a lot of tour operators in the city that offer adventure to tourists who dare to try an exciting ride through the river rapids.

Historic Landmarks

Originally built in 1845, the Saint Augustine Cathedral is Cagayan de Oro’s principal Catholic Church and is the seat of the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro.  Although most of the church’s infrastructure was destroyed during the war with the Americans, it was rebuilt by an American missionary and continuous to have its famous gothic architecture style.

Right across the Saint Augustine Cathedral is Gaston Park which is where the first Spanish communities were built in 1622.  It used to have a stone fort built around it but it was later on destroyed by the Spanish authorities.  After the Second World War, the Japanese government planted cherry blossoms around the area as a present to the city.

The old city hall of CDO was called the Casa Real de Cagayan or the Spanish Provincial Governor’s residence.  In 1899 after achieving independence from Spain, this historic place was where the Philippine flag was hosted and the Philippine anthem was sung for the second time in the Mindanao region.