The name "Butuan" is believed to have originated from the sour fruit "Batuan" that grows all over the province. Other etymology sources say that it comes from a certain "Datu Buntuan", a chieftain who once ruled over Butuan. Still others say it got it's name from the Visayan dialect's literal translation of "Bu-Tu-An" meaning men with large scrotums.

Butuan city is the regional center of Caraga Region of Mindanao (Region 10 of the Philippines) with a population of 298,378 people according to the 2007 census. Butuan City is the Provincial Capital of the Province of Agusan Del Norte and houses most all of the Caraga regions' administrative and governmental offices as well as all Provincial offices.

As early as the 10th century A.D., people from Butuan had already established trading relations with the Kingdom of Champa (now southern Vietnam) and the Srivijaya empire of Java. Even before the 10th century, Butuan was the center of trade and commerce in the Philippines. The evidence to prove this fact is found in archaeological finds in the vicinities of Butuan City that date back well past the 10th century. Additionally, recently discovered manifests and records of ancient Chinese merchant ships point to trade relations established with Butuan as early as the 4th century A.D. The discovery of 9 balangay boats (the Butuan Boat) during a ditch digging project in 1970 adds additional credence to this evidence. The boats were carbon-dated to as early as 300 AD—a sign that an advanced community, capable of trans-Asian travel and international trade, was already existing in the region more than a thousand years before Magellan landed in Masau.

During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines in World War II, Butuan was razed to the ground when the Philippine guerrilla forces unsuccessfully attacked the Japanese enemy garrison in 1943. In 1945, the Philippine Commonwealth troops in Butuan together with the recognized guerrilla forces successfully attacked and drove-out the Japanese during the Battle of Agusan. On October 20, 1948, still recovering from the war, the entire municipality was ruined by a fire.

The boom of the logging industry from the 1950's thru the middle of 1970's has tagged Butuan as being the "Timber City of the South". Coupled with the ever increasing mining of gold and silver in the surrounding region, Butuan started to become a very lucrative location for business and fortune seekers from other provinces and the once lethargic town quickly became a bustling city.

Disappointingly though, Butuan still seems lethargic to exploit it's rich cultural history and almost all of the historical facts presented here would be news to many life-long residents. The National Museum located in Butuan City makes a notable attempt at displaying and documenting the cultural history of this town but is very small, draws few visitors, the grounds are not very well maintained and it is often closed without notice or reason.

The most notable geographical feature of the immediate area would be the Agusan River, of which the city is located directly against its westerly border and delta into the Sulu sea. Also noteworthy of mentioning is Mt. Mayapay, a now dormant volcano that quietly broods over Butuan and can be seen from all parts of the city. I took my 115cc Honda XRM to the top one time, a very hazardous trip on washed-out dirt roads. The view of Butuan, the shoreline and the Agusan river was tremendous and well worth the flat tire I had to repair.

Butuan is what I would consider the perfect sized Filipino city and a fairly nice place to live, having access to many western conveniences and food products that are impossible to find in less populated areas (butter for one) and having very good access to a nearby ferry port and airport. It is also not so large that the pollution chokes your every breath like Cebu, Davao & Manila and the traffic doesn't keep you reduced to moving at a snails pace.

Looking at Butuan strictly from a tourists' perspective, however, it is easily dismissed in lieu of much more exotic and nearby areas where the natural attractions and cultural heritage are much more proudly displayed and not hidden from sight, inaccessible or forgotten about. It is for this reason that our tour itinerary places little focus on Butuan as a tour destination. Considering, however, that Butuan's archeological record easily makes it the oldest city in the Philippines, it is an excellent and fitting place to start our tours and also to unwind when it is all over.