PHILIPPINES GOLD RUSH TOWN - Most Mysterious And Fascinating Place? (Diwalwal, Davao)

THIS IS THE MOST INTERESTING PLACE I've ever been. Mysterious yet fascinating at the same time.

In 1983, a local found gold on the slopes of Mount Diwata, triggering a gold rush that saw over 100,000 people settle in hastily built housing, forming the new area of Diwalwal in the mountains above Monkayo, Davao de Oro (then Compostela Valley). The area was critical for many years until recently, run by local militias and with countless landslides and other natural and man-made disasters.

Since Typhoon Pablo hit nine years ago, both gold and population have been in decline, with only one quarter of the original population still living here.

So I visited to see how the place was now. And I found a Filipino community that was so welcoming, so open, and so proud of their place. I left feeling incredibly positive about this much maligned place.

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00:00 Intro
01:06 Travel to Diwalwal
03:38 Locals Explain Diwalwal's History
05:22 Exploring The Old Town
07:29 Mercury Contamination
10:32 Going Into A Tunnel
12:30 Speaking With A Miner
13:49 Friendly Locals
16:00 Swimming Pool
16:33 Tunneling Through Rock
18:17 Walking Towards Central Diwalwal
19:40 Central Diwalwal
20:32 Motorbiking Back
21:23 Crazy Habal-Habal Ride Through Tiny Alleyways
22:53 Driving To The Bottom
23:17 Reflections On Diwalwal