Mount Apo the mountain to be sacred ground and a place of worship. A number of genealogies of Lumad leaders in South Central Mindanao trace their roots to Mount Apo. For the Lumads, the term "Apo" was coined from the name of their great grandparent "Apo Sandawawa". At , Mount Apo is the highest mountain & volcano in the Philippines. It is one of the country's most popular climbing destinations. Several trails lead to the summit, coming from North Cotabato and Davao provinces. Arguably the easiest route to the National Park is through Kidapawan with an average hike taking 3–4 days roundtrip.
Mount Apo of ; with two peripheral areas of and as buffer zones, provided for its management and for other purposes. Although a declared a Natural Park, the current climbing trails are littered with rubbish by irresponsible climbers, opening paths for soil erosion across the already denuded mountain sides. Some mountain and social climbing groups conduct climbs after the Holy Week/Easter, the peak climbing season, to clean the affected areas. In 1987, the National Geographic Society based in Washington, DC in the United States, published a book entitled, ""Our World's Heritage"", where Mount Apo was noted as a 'site of Word Heritage