Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
97,530km²
Area
2,946km
Coastline
measured on a simplified outline
2,954m
Highest point
Mount Apo
27,021,036
People
30°C
Warmest sea
June
1,398km
To the mainland
When to go to Mindanao
Best for the beach from January to May.
The sea is warmest in June (30 °C) and coolest in February (28 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Second largest island of the Philippines
Mindanao is an island in Philippines. It covers 97,530 km², with 2,946 km of coastline. Its highest point, Mount Apo, rises to 2,954 m. About 27,021,036 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 1,398 km away.
Getting there
- Francisco Bangoy International Airport (DVO)main airport (9 on the island with scheduled flights)Car hire at DVO airport (Davao)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- 1,398 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From January to Maybest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Mindanao.
This island is too large to count beaches and viewpoints in a meaningful way.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Mindanao in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Mindanao, each with its own numbers.
87beaches and covesCoastya
22lakesLakeyas
18waterfallsCascadyas
Tallest waterfall
98m
Maria Cristina Falls
according to Cascadyas
Largest lake
354km²
Lake Lanao
112 m deep · according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
30.1°C
Lake Buluan
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
29.8°C
Liangan Beach
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
87 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Kiamba Beach29.4°C
- Kayupo Kling Beach29.4°C
- Maasin-Cablacan Beach29.4°C
- Tañgo Beach29.3°C
- Lago Beach29.3°C
- Kapatan Beach29.3°C
- Kabog Beach29.3°C
- Tampat Beach29.3°C
79 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
22 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Lake Lanao112 m deep354km²
- Lake Mainit143km²
- Lake Buluan47.4km²
- Lake Dapao9.8km²
- Lake Wood7.1km²
- Lake Lumao5.5km²
- Lake Sebu3.1km²
- Lake Dasay0.35km²
14 more on LakeyasLakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
18 waterfalls
on Cascadyas, the waterfall atlas
- Maria Cristina Falls98m
- Tinago Falls
- Tinuy-an Falls
- Limunsudan Falls
- Abaga Falls
- Epol Falls
- Asik-Asik Falls
- Pulacan Falls
10 more on CascadyasCascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
500 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Davao1,848,947 people
- Budta1,273,715 people
- Malingao1,121,974 people
- Zamboanga1,018,849 people
- General Santos722,059 people
- Cotabato383,383 people
- Iligan342,618 people
- Iligan City312,323 people
- Butuan309,709 people
- Mantampay265,032 people
- Marawi City259,993 people
- Libertad250,353 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 27 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 |
| Night low (°C) | 20 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 20 | 20 |
| Sea (°C) | 28 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 |
| Rain (mm) | 164 | 110 | 109 | 115 | 208 | 283 | 265 | 218 | 227 | 249 | 159 | 165 |
| Wet days | 18 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 22 | 20 |
| Sun h/day | 4.9 | 5.6 | 6.4 | 7.1 | 6.6 | 6.2 | 5.9 | 6.1 | 6.1 | 6.0 | 5.7 | 5.4 |
| Wind (km/h) | 12 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.6 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +1.0 |
| 2021 | +1.1 | +1.2 | +1.1 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.8 | +0.6 | +0.3 |
| 2022 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.6 |
| 2023 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.8 | +0.5 |
| 2024 | +0.8 | +0.5 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.6 |
| 2025 | +1.0 | +1.0 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.5 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.7 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Bohol
Philippines3,821 km²191 m275 km away
Sarangani IslandPhilippines35 km²94 m235 km away
Panglao IslandPhilippines90 km²190 m267 km away
SiargaoPhilippines366 km²249 m287 km away
Dinagat IslandPhilippines761 km²96 m297 km away
LimasawaPhilippines6.8 km²136 m270 km away
NegrosPhilippines13,075 km²2,460 m354 km away
MactanPhilippines59 km²6 m331 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q124873) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | Natural Earth · public domain |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Lakeyas, Cascadyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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