Sagada is a small mountainous town in Northern Luzon's Cordillera Mountain Provide, Philippines.
My journey to Sagada was one of the most memorable and exciting trips as I was riding on top of a jeepney only available in the region from Banaue to Bontoc. From Bontoc, there was another packed jeepney ride up the winding mountainous road to Sagada .
Upon reaching the "open" bus stop, I walked for some distance to the guesthouse in a village compound.
Just walking along the mountainous road itself was refreshing, with great mountain and valley views, along with traditional village houses.
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Walking street of Sagada
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| Sunset in Sagada Valley |
What made the trip exhilarating was the adventure of cave spelunking and trekking the next day. In the morning, we trekked shortly to the key highlight of Sagada, the hanging coffins. The are only few wooden coffins left hanging on the cliff of the cave. These coffins were hang since the 60s as told by the guide, where the villagers believed by hanging the dead high on the high ground, the spirits would get closer to their ancestors.
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| The Hanging Coffins |
Later in the late morning, we went for cave spelunking, the most exciting adventure at Lumiang-Sumaguing Caves connection. Imagine, twisting our body down the hole with scrutinous move as one mistake could turn into a fatal drop in the abyss. There was a section where we had to wade through a water pool, hence became soaking wet. At one point, there was a vertical drop of cave curtain to the pool below and our guide had to use his knees as stool to support my short legs to slide down.
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| Wooden coffins at the entrance of Lumiang Cave |
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| Beautiful cave curtain |
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| Can you recognise Jesus? |
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| Imagine sliding from the top of the cave curtain |
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| Back to civilisation |
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| Lights underneath the cave |
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| Paddy field near Sumaguing Cave |
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| Isolated mountain road |
On the 3rd day, we started with a morning drive at 4,30am to the starting point, where we had to trek for about an hour to reach the peak of Marlboro Hills. Unfortunately, it was clouded and no sunrise to be seen. We continued our trek on the rolling hills to Blue Soil Hill. The sands generally glow in blue especially with the sun rays shining upon.
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| Marlboro Hills |
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| 360 degree view |
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| Can you see the Blue Soil from afar? |
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| Blue Soil Hill |
At noon, I explored around the small town and continued up the winding mountainous roads. I reached a cottage pottery factory to watch how the pots are made with clays. It was a calming, natural mountainous foot excursion with glowing green paddy fields below. The final stop was the weaving factory, where we could see how the products such as bags were weaved. My journey to Sagada ended with a memorable dinner with a Philipino couple travelers from Manila.
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| Sagada township |
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| Pottery making in progress |
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| The sentimental look |
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| Drying the meat under scorching sun |
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| The weaving factory |
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| Another paddy field in the valley |
