{ 2007 02 24 }

Go To Sagada This Summer!

The summer heat is slowly creeping upon us again. From complaining of unusually cold weather during the latter days of January, we’re now encountering the expected searing drumming from the sun a month later. April 2007 would feature one of the longest weekends ever due to the lent holidays and the April 9 Holiday (Araw ng Kasarinlan). Why not put it to good use by going to one of the Philippines’ best tourist destinations?

Sagada is located deep in the heart of the Cordillera Mountains. It’s a sleepy mountain town that features breath-taking rice terraces, waterfalls and cave formations. It takes almost eleven hours to get there from Manila, but it’s well worth it. If you’re someone with an appreciation for natural beauty, an adventure junkie with a passion for pushing your body or a weary individual just looking for a place to rest for a couple of days, Sagada fits the bill perfectly.

 

Yup, that’s me jumping off a 20 foot waterfall.

Considering everything that’s within reach in Sagada, a trip up to Mountain Province is actually very much worth it. There are plenty of restaurants, hotels, guest houses, gift shops and other business establishments to let visitors feel the calmness of the town without feeling disconnected from the outside world. Sagada also has access to cable tv and impressively, Smart broadband.

Here are links to my Sagada travelogues:

Sagada
Sagada Restaurants
More Sagada Pictures

If you want to visit Sagada, I highly recommend Tita Mary’s (Daoas = Daw-ahs).

Each room has its own toilet and bath. And when I say bath, I mean bath tub. The guesthouse itself is very close to the restaurants and is just downhill from the Sagada Tourist Desk (can be found at the Town Hall).

A night at Tita Mary’s only costs 150 pesos and each room could accomodate 2-3 people. If you have any inquiries, please leave a comment on this blog. ;)

GETTING THERE: (taken from my original travelogue)

Getting there: [commuting] There are no flights to Sagada – there is no airport. So unless you’re rich enough to afford a trip via helicopter, you will be up for one helluva road trip. On the same note, there is no way that you could commute to Sagada without changing buses/jeeps.You may take buses going to Baguio, Bontoc or Banaue.

Banaue and Baguio are on opposite sides of the Cordilleras. You can get to Baguio in 4-6 hours (from Manila) while a trip to Banaue that clocks in at less than 7 hours would be next to legendary. It is also cheaper to take buses to Baguio. The fare for Victory Liner buses is as follows – De Luxe 550 [more spacious, less passengers, food and restroom on board] aircon 385. Up to 27 buses leave from the Cubao station round the clock, seven days of the week.

Believe it or not, Baguio is still 5-6 hours away from Sagada. You will have to take the Lizardo Bus at Dangwa station that goes to Sagada-Besao. The damage is 220 bucks. You will go through hell for 6 hours. ROUGH ROUGH ROAD. It’s great if you could bring your new car that you got thanks to that bentley for sale sign you say along the way. But come on, why would you wreck a really great car (that you got for a really good deal) by driving it up and down the mountains?

There are no buses from Banaue to Sagada/ Bontoc to Sagada. You will be forced to take a jeep. *yelp*

If you want value for you money, stay at Tita Mary’s (Daoas – pronounced as Daw-as) place. For 150 php/night, you get a nice room with 2 double-sized beds with a CR that’s probably on the same league as the one you have at home. contact 09196728744 She is really really nice.

You have to take a guide to go spelunking. It’s for your own good. A german national once ventured into the caves alone – he broke his bones before he even had a chance to plunge into the darker areas of the cave.

Recently, an Italian tourist fell from the Echo Valley while taking pictures. He died.

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Posted by benj on Saturday, February 24th, 2007, at 5:47 pm, and filed under friends, travel.

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