Destination: SAGADA

About Sagada:


Sagada is a quaint, little town up in the mountains of the Cordilleras. It sits 1,600 meters above sea-level and is located about 400 km north of Metro Manila and about 140 km from Baguio City.

Aside from its picturesque sceneries, Sagada is famous for its 'hanging coffins' and cave systems, particulary the Sumaguing and Lumiang caves. Don't worry about accomodations and food because the town center is packed with hotels and restaurants ready to cater to tourists

                                                                                                                                                                                 Kiltepan Sunrise

You’ll notice that there are a lot of American influence in the architecture and culture (Easter eggs are even distributed to children during Easter Sunday!). American missionaries of the Episcopal Church settled in Sagada in the early 1900’s and established the Mission of St. Mary the Virgin and started a school which is today’s St. Mary School. In conversing with the locals, you’ll find that some are more comfortable in English than in Filipino, at least when they’re around visitors and tourist.

There is basically no night life, so don’t expect or plan to extend your ‘happy time’ beyond 9PM as a courtesy to the locals. I don’t know if it’s an unwritten rule but you’ll notice it when you get there. Except for animal noises, everything just give-in to the night at 9PM.

How to get there:

 

                                                        The Banaue Rice Terraces

There are several options to choose from, but the most convenient one is to take the Manila - Baguio - Sagada route. There are a lot of bus trips going to Baguio everyday, so it would not be hard to get booked. Most of the north-bound buses are stationed at Cubao and the Pasay area, take your pick. However, to maximize your time and save you from agonizing traffic jams, schedule your trip during late nights (about 9-11 PM) so you'll be in Baguio at first light and catch the earliest bus trip to Sagada. The trip would take about 5-7 hours from Manila to Baguio, enough time for a shut-eye. When you get to Baguio hail a cab and head to the Dangwa bus station (or maybe catch some breakfast first). Find the Lizardo buses and buy yourselves tickets for the 5:00 AM or 6:30 AM trips to Sagada. Another option is to take the route via Banaue. It takes just as long as the Manila-Baguio-Sagada route but 6-hour trip from Banaue to Sagada is only by jeepney, however, you get to make a side trip to the Banaue Rice Teraces. If you want to take this route, book your tickets in the Autobus station in Manila. 

Where to Stay:

In recent years, a lot of inns and hotels started popping up like mushrooms in the town center, so you won’t have a hard time finding accommodations. Some may not look like much from the outside but they are quite cozy inside. Below is a list of prospective lodgings you can choose from. 

• Masferre Country Inn
• Canaway Resthouse - Contact: 09182915063
• Resdential Lodge -(PhP 200–250/pax/night) Contact: 09196728744
• Sagada Igorot Inn - Contact: 09286305479
• Olahbinan Resthouse - Contact: 09284067647
• Traveler's Inn - (PhP 200-250/pax/night) Contact: 09207992960
• St. Joseph Resthouse
• Alibama Inn
• Rock Inn - Contact: 09209095899
• George Guest House - (2 pax: PhP 700; 3 pax: 800; 4 pax: 1,000. With T/B) Contact: 09185480405/09206070994

Where to eat:



                                                                   The Yoghurt House

 Before anything else, we strongly advise against leaving Sagada without sampling their vegetables and coffee. Specially the coffee. There’s a place near the municipal hall where a nice old lady keeps a large kettle in a slow boil for anyone needing a cup. She’s also serving strawberry and chocolate cakes to satisfy your sweet tooth. The place is a souvenir store and would not strike you as a coffee place, but after taking a sip, you would choose this place over Starbucks anytime!

So where to eat? Most of the Inns also have restaurants, so I guess that’s settled. But if you want to sample all the wares (which we strongly advise you do), below is our must-try list. Most of the restaurants are located along the town’s main road, which makes it difficult to decide where to eat, so better have it planned out before heading out for a gastronomic adventure.

• The Yoghurt House
• Café St. Joe
• Log Cabin Café (You need to book a reservation a day or two before you can actually get to dine here)
• Masferre Restaurant
• Sagada Community Consumer’s Cooperative (try the cake)
• Persimoon Café
• Bana’s Café (They serve Kopi Luwak for 150 a cup. It’s about as expensive as your usual Starbucks brew, so why not? It’s rare that you get a chance to ingest brewed civet pooh!)

Besides the restaurants, you should also sample Sagada’s Halo-halo. Their version includes a beyond-normal number ingredients, some of which, we’re not usually accustomed to being included in the mix. First of all, there’s macaroni in it! Yes, the ones we use in pasta dishes. And from what I recall there’s also sago, melon, watermelon, apple, nata de coco, pinipig, red mongo, ube, and of course, ice shavings, milk and sugar ….and to top it all off, a stick of chocolate wafer. If this is not halo-halo, I don’t know what else to call it. You can get them in front of the community amphitheater, near the basketball court. It’s not hard to miss, just look for big multi-colored umbrellas lined up in the street.   

What to do: 


                                                                                                                                                                   Going to Bomod-ok Falls

The more appropriate question is WHERE TO START? If you really want to get a feel of what Sagada is all about, you need to stay at least for 4 days. There are so many places to go and experiences you should not miss. You could have everything planed out and just charter a jeepney to take you to places where you want to go or you could ask assistance from the local guides and let them layout an itinerary for you, they would be more than happy to arrange everything including transportation. If you don’t want to burden yourselves with arranging a travel itinerary, there is always the option of joining a travel group (try www.travelfactor.org), all you have to do is register and pay, and the rest are taken cared of.

The trip to Sagada is a bit tiring so if you took the 6AM trip from Baguio or Banaue, you’ll arrive at Sagada by lunch time. After lunch and some much needed rest, just take it slow and spend the rest of the day taking a leisurely walk around town, get to know a little bit about the locals and the town first. You could visit the Visitor Information Center and the Municipal hall for information and get yourselves registered while you’re there. Here are some of the places where your feet could take you while you’re on your afternoon walk.

• Hanging coffins at Echo Valley
• Campo Santo/Calvary
• Church of St. Mary the Virgin
• Sagada Weaving
• Sagada Museum
• The Sagada bell (I’m not sure what it’s called, but it’s a big old bell hanging in front of the church that says SAGADA on it)

Before the end of the day, arrange for a ride to Kiltepan the next morning to witness the breathtaking Sagada sunrise. I know it would be hard to get out of bed at 4AM but we assure you, it would be worth it. Local guides will even make a bonfire and toast some bread while you’re waiting for the sun to peek in the horizon.

 So much to do, so little time, so we’ll just lay it down to you and let you decide which would most suit your appetite for adventure. Just remember, don’t push it too hard or you’ll end up exhausted. Alternate extraneous activities with leisurely strolls to balance things out. Also, you would not be allowed to explore below places if you don’t have a registered local guide to accompany you.  
 

                                                             Lumiang-Sumaguing

1. Spelunking: Cave connection from Lumiang to Sumaguing. Be warned, this is not for the faint of heart and definitely not for people who has issues with heights. The spelunking trail from the mouth of Lumiang Cave to Sumaguing will take about 5-8 hours depending on how nimble you are and how big your group is. If you’re little high on the weight scale, just make sure you can carry yourself up in 5-meter rope climbs. At the mouth of Lumiang, you’ll see some of the hanging coffins real close, close enough to take a peek inside some of the coffins. It’s really amazing how the locals get to place some of the coffins in really hard to reach places. The Lumiang and Sumaguing caves are connected by an underground tunnel system. Some sections are as spacious as a coliseum and some are really tight, just big enough for you to squeeze in. It’s quite challenging and breathtaking at the same time, you’ll find your body giving off steam (literally) when you get to the underground pools. The pools’ water is crystal clear and ice cold, and there are impressive limestone formations which the locals have aptly named depending on what they look like. Oh, I forgot to mention, there might be some intermittent bat activity in the cave ceiling. You might not be able to see them above but you’ll see their traces on the rocks you’re stepping and holding on. Tada! Bat guano. Don’t worry, there are shower rooms you could rent just outside the Sumaguing cave exit.  


2. Rock climbing at Echo Valley.  Aside from viewing the hanging coffins, you can also test your mettle in rock climbing in the limestone cliffs of the valley. It’s about 12-16 meters high with just the right amount of holes and crevices for the climb not to be too intimidating for first time climbers. Of course you need to rent some climbing and protective gear from the local guides.


                                                                                         Bangaan Rice Terraces

3. Hike to Bomod-ok Falls.  Bomod-ok falls is the bigger of the two waterfalls in Bangaan, located a few minutes jeepney ride from the town center. The hike would be about 3 kilometers from the drop-off point, traversing the Bangaan rice terraces before getting to the Amlusong creek, and eventually Bomod-ok falls. While it’s about 1,500 meters above sea level, the sun could still get the better of you so don’t forget to apply some sun screen and bring some drinking water. And also make sure you have your swimsuit on you, you would not be able to resist taking a dip.

4. Underground river adventure. The underground river trail would be a great substitute if you think the Sumaguing-Lumiang spelunking is a little too daring for you. It could be challenging but not enough to scare the wits out of you.  

What better way to end a trip than witnessing a magnificent sunset. Head to Lake Danom before it gets dark. If waiting for the sun to set is a little overrated for you, you can arrange for the guides to treat you to a local delicacy. They’ll be cooking ‘Pinikpikan’ the traditional way in the banks of the lake. If you don’t have an idea of what ‘Pinikpikan’ is, it’s like Tinola and Dinuguan in one dish. If you’re a little squeamish, I suggest you just concentrate on the sunset and the lake than watch the food preparations.      

We hope that this post helped you in preparing your travel itinerary to Sagada. Always remember, anywhere you go, respect and appreciate the locals and their culture. Don't leave anything behind but your footsteps. Be a responsible traveler.