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| Watching the sunrise at Kiltepan Viewpoint |
It's time to unplug and do some adventures! Here are the top five things to do in Sagada.
Background: Sagada
Sagada is a 5th class municipality in Mt. Province situated about 400 kilometers north of Manila. This idyllic municipality can only be reached by land travel. It has a cool climate all year round, with a stunning view of the Cordillera mountain range. Activities in Sagada include hiking, spelunking, foodtripping, swimming, and many more.
How to get there
There are several ways to get to Sagada but if you are coming from Manila, the most convenient way will be to ride a bus from Coda Lines. Their buses are brand new with comfy seats, and for safety, has two drivers driving alternately.
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| The beautiful purple bus of Coda Lines |
One thing I also love about this bus line is that they have a sidetrip to Banaue Viewing Point. I was able to witness the world famous Banaue Rice Terraces which made our Sagada Trip more awesome.
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| Banaue Rice Terraces |
Coda Bus Line Terminal had already moved from near Trinity College since 2015. Their buses now shares terminal with HM Transport in Cubao.
Top Five Things to do in Sagada
1. Mt. Ampacao traverse to Lake Danum
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| Sagada seen from above |
Looking for a dayhike while in Sagada? Worry no more. You can definitely squeeze a minor climb to your Sagada experience by climbing Mt. Ampacao. Its trail difficulty is 2/9 which can be managed in 1.5 - 2 hours of relaxed pace. Feast your eyes on the scenery of the Cordillera mountain range and the town of Sagada below. Then, to make it more worthwhile, do a traverse to Lake Danum for sunset viewing and picnic.
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| Lake Danum |
2. Hike to the Marlboro Hills, traverse to Blue Soils, then explore Sumaguing Cave Connection
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| Sunrise at Kamanbaneng Peak, Marlboro Hills |
The best time to hike to Marlboro Hills is early in the morning. Start as early as 4:30 to make sure you witness the majestic sunrise and the awesome sea of clouds. This requires about a 30-minute hike to a gentle trail but it is less crowded than Kiltepan Viewpoint. After watching the sunrise, you can hike towards Blue Soil for about an hour.
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| Walking up and down the Bluesoils |
You will pass by pine forest, rock outcrops and many beautiful sceneries before reaching Blue Soils. Blue Soils is like snow-covered hills sprinkled with blue dye. It is an incredible view that it seems you are in other country. If you inspect the soil, you will notice that the soil if somewhat powdery with evident shade of blue. Climb and play in a place that you fancy as a child.
Now if you still have energy, you can complete this traverse by going to Sumaguing Cave Connection on foot, but if you have extra budget, you can charter a van for P250.
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| Sumaguing Cave: What animal are we sitting on? |
From Blue Soil Hills, you must hike for about 45 minutes before you reach the Sumaguing Cave Connection. Take note that the trail will be a cemented uphill road which can be brutal if you are not accustomed to hiking. Upon reaching the cave, be prepared to be mesmerized by the awesome limestone formations, stalactites, and stalagmites within the cave. Aside from that, guides have these particular way of entertaining the guest by letting you identify what animal or object resembles the natural rock formation inside the cave. Take a look at the photo. What animal resembles the rock where the bloggers are sitting on? The answer at the end of the story.
4. Watch Sunrise at Kiltepan View Point
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| Sit atop the same rock where Angelica and JM sat in the film "That Thing called Tadhana" |
Sagada's sunrise is just too dang awesome that there are multiple viewpoints to see it. The most popular is the Kiltepan Viewpoint (because this is one of the sets of the film "That Thing called Tadhana). You can hike or charter a vehicle to take you here for P250. Sacrifice a bit of your sleep to watch as the sun slowly creep above the clouds.
5. Central Sagada Tour
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| Hanging coffins of Sagada |
The Echo Valley Tour encompasses multiple locations and activities within the town of Sagada. It means hiking and sightseeing and most importantly, learning the culture of Sagada. This tour is physically extraneous and at the same time educational as the guides explain the significance of things that you will find along the way.
Locations included in the Echo Valley Tour:
- The Church of St. Mary the Virign
- Sagada Cemetery
- Echo Valley
- Hanging Coffins
- Sagada Underground River
- Bokong Natural Spring
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| Shout at the top of your lungs at the Echo Valley |
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| Scene along the trail of Central Sagada Tour |
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| St. Mary the Virigin Church |
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| Inside the Sagada Underground River |
A Note for Everyone
- Coda Lines only has two trips at night. One at 9PM and the other at 10PM. One way will cost you P720.00. Reserve early as the bus gets immediately fully-booked.
- As you can see, most of our destinations are interconnected and mostly done on foot to save money. A budgetarian Sagada Trip can be done but you have to sacrifice some hours of sleep and degree of comfort. (opportunity cost).
- Meals are very expensive. Instead of going to restaurants, I recommend to buy your food from stores catering for the locals. We always have our lunch at the market eatery while dinner is in the local ihaw-ihaw (grilled barbeque) in front of Igorot Inn. This saved us considerable amount of money.
- Respect the locals. It was given emphasis by Kuya Baste, our guide, that some tourists treat the people and their houses like they are some kind of display in a museum. Respect boundaries!
BONUS: The answer to the question is a TURTLE.
So, are you ready to go? Grab your backpacks and just go. Check out our other entries for other destinations. Peace out!
