Sagada of Mountain Province; what makes this town fascinating

objective: to visit the best tourist spots that fits my taste and budget accordingly.

additional tasks: to experience the best spelunking adventure in the northern part.

my first time to visit this promising town upnorth and i don't even know what awaits me there. i just know its a place where there is this famous cave my friends here in my work most talk about because of the extreme adventure. of course, at first i was scared, i'm not yet that adventurous that time. i'm just a simple sight-seer who just appreciates architecture wonders through my low-tech point and shoot.

during my stay, we used a downloaded map from the web as support to the one stranger who invited us. we went there as a group, 3 ladies and 2 gents with an itinerary starting from banaue for a sight-seeing side trip along the road for the famous rice terraces. now, after that event, my intincts told me i'm unconsiously attached to this place because most of the questions in a travel forum i replied directly using only the experience i gathered. i wonder why, or maybe because of the following reasons;

01. this is my 1st get-away experience with a group i just firstly know during the event

02. the place has very chilling ambiance

03. food trips are unique and deliciously good

04. landscapes are amazing

05. people are all nice

06. there are more tourists than locals due to peace and order

07. applicable for solo backpacking though expensive

08. one of my most recommended place to unwind

09. nature adventures are just walking distance

10. adventure activity are packed in one place

11. though 12 hours of drive, roads to sagada are +1 to must see

12. very cheap but very good accommodations

Sagada of Mountain Province; what makes this town fascinating

dessert at yoghurt house

st. mary's bell

this is my 2nd event joining the PEx organize group with the ladies that have strong personalities in real adventure of spelunking. one of the best provinces i have ever visited.definitely i'll come back.

the awesome eco-adventure of trekking, spelunking and sight-seeing makes tourists feel that they are indeed in a vacation. not to mention the captivating food trip like the lemonpie house and the yoghurt house, and the chilling temperature. spots include the st. mary's church, underground river, lumiang to sumaguing cave, bomod-ok falls, hanging coffins, echo valley, kiltepan peak and mt. ampacao. others that will be on future visits are lake danum, marlboro county and crystal cave.

DAY ONE:

arriving 12noon in sagada via banaue and bontoc roads. we spent our lunch in the yoghurt house, just nearby the residential lodge where our journey leader booked accomodation. after that, we begun our do-it-yourself tour on sagada town using a downloaded map in the web. in the following order;

1. sagada bell - located infront of the st. mary's church

2. st. mary's church - closed at the moment we arrived

3. calvary hill - globe cellsite erected here

4. echo valley - shout 'til you drop

5. hanging coffins - fro mecho valley trekked downhill

6. underground river - river inside a cave

7. sagada weaving

around 6pm we've decided to go back to our place, took a bath due tu the heavy rains poured while we were stranded in underground river. around 9pm most of the business establishments were already closed so i decided to watched cable television.

cemetery going to echo valley and hanging coffins

echo valley

hanging ruins

underground river

Sagada of Mountain Province; what makes this town fascinating

Sagada of Mountain Province; what makes this town fascinating

Sagada of Mountain Province; what makes this town fascinating

Sagada of Mountain Province; what makes this town fascinating

DAY TWO:

trekked marlboro country / mt. ampacao on d.i.y. basis again. but along the road we saw another set of hanging ruins in a mountain which looks like a coral reef rising beneath the sea. we trekked down before lunch. then we proceed to the adventure i've been waiting for, the lumiang to sumaguing cave connection spelunking experience.

DAY THREE:

woke up 430 to be able to catch up for the sunrise for a journey to kiltepan peak.

then in the afternoon, we hire a jeep bound to bomod-ok falls.

DAY FOUR:

woke up 7am, rode an ordinary bus bound to baguio city. farewell sagada !!

click here to download in pdf the detailed itinerary