I've always wanted
to go to Baguio since grade school, but my mom won't let me due to the historic
earthquake happened there when I was in my mother's womb. The earthquake
happened when my mom was traveling back to Manila from Baguio. And now I'm 26
years old yet, I still haven't been there.
Craving for a cold
place on top of the mountains, a friend of mine invited me to have an
adventure. Not in Baguio, rather in Sagada. One of the coldest places in the
country. A place of peace and relaxation. It's like an escape place from city
and reality. And from the famous movie "That Thing Called Tadhana,"
it's a place where broken hearts go.
Traveling to Sagada
is good for family, friends, couple, or even a soloist. Though only selected
places are advisable for seniors and kiddos and of course, make sure to have a
comfy ride back and forth since it will be a long one. So, to all those who are
challenge to go there, here are my experiences in the places we've been and the
food we have eaten. :)
TRANSPO
My friends and I
took the Coda Bus Line in Cubao for P700 one way - routing from Cubao to Sagada
Town Proper. Make sure to buy tickets in advance as the bus is always full.
Coda Bus Line is located in HM Transport Terminal, Maryland corner EDSA. The
travel time is 10-12 hours so, I really recommend this bus which have reclining
seats and good music & movies. You'll thank me after experiencing it. The
bus departed in Cubao at 9:00pm, Friday last February 10, 2017. After 5 hours,
we already arrived Baguio City at 2:00am. We had two stopovers from then until
we arrived Sagada Town Proper at 7:00 in the morning.
On our way home, we
also took Coda Bus Line for P700 one way. I suggest to buy a roundtrip bus
tickets beforehand. From Sagada Town Proper, look for the jeepney going to
Bontoc provided by Coda Bus Line because the bus terminal going back to Manila
is in Bontoc. No additional payment needed in the jeepney as this is included
in the bus payment. Riding their jeepneys is one of the fun parts in Sagada. If
you're one of the adventurous people, challenge yourself to seat on top of the
jeepney. Yes, you read that right! Seat on top of the jeepney besides the bags
of the passengers. Most of the people who did it was men but some ladies are
brave enough to try. I always thought of it as a scary thing since you'll be
seeing the cliff from above. But if you focus on the scenery, you'll be
thanking God for the amazing view. It's like a postcard brought to life.
Another good thing about this bus is, you have a stopover somewhere with zero
visibility to buy veggies and other delicacies and another stopover in Banawe
Rice Terraces for picture taking.
HOTEL
We stayed in Misty
Lodge Hotel and Café - 2km away from Town. It
may seem far but we didn't regret staying there. The hotel is very much
cozy and they serve the best food in town. Upon entering the house, you will see
a pretty decorated Café with a Chimney on the side. They have one room at the ground floor, 4 rooms at the second
floor, and 5 rooms at the attic. The rooms are good for a soloist to a bunch of
four people per room. Since we're a group of eight, composed of four boys and
four girls, we requested for two rooms abreast. Fortunately, the available
rooms are located on the attic, facing each other. The room for four people
have 2 beds with a side table and cabinet. Their second floor has a living area
with deck of books that you can use for your spare time while the attic has a
hangout area at the center of the rooms for peeps who wants to play board
games. The house is filled with books and games that guests can use for
entertainment. The hotel is highly recommendable though they only have a shared
bathroom. They only have two huge bathrooms for the whole house so, you might
want to wake up early as expected to avoid the lines. Another good thing in
this hotel is that, they don’t turned off the lights at night. You also have to
note that they turned off all the lights, even the street lights, at 10:00pm.
I also know some
people who stayed at Rock Inn Hotel. It's also a nice hotel but farther from
Town than in Misty Lodge. And another one is at Residential Lodge. Residential
Lodge is already located in Town so you don't need to worry walking long
distances in a very cold street after the activity or after eating. But since
it's in Town, they follow the lights curfew hence, turning off the lights at
10pm including the room lights. So you can't do anything beyond 10pm aside from
sleeping.
ACTIVITIES
There are tons of
activities in Sagada, though most of them requires hiking. So, if you're
traveling with seniors or kids, select only those that are safe for them and
make sure to hire a tourist guide. Here are some of the activities my friends
and I went to.
- Mt. Kiltepan
We
arrived at 7:00am in Sagada Town and had our breakfast in Misty Lodge Café
since we also need to check-in. Unfortunately, we can't have an early check-in,
so we decided to leave our bags at the receptionist and went to Mt. Kiltepan.
From Misty Lodge, it's a 2km walk to the entrance of Mt. Kiltepan and a
20-30mins walk to the top and you can go there even without a guide. It's a
safe place; just be careful when you stand on the cliff. You can also take your
car or rent a jeepney to go on top. This mountain was featured in the movie
"That Thing Called Tadhana" where the lead actress released her
feelings by shouting. Though in the movie, they went there to wait for the
sunrise while we went there at 10am and the view is still amazing! A clear view
of the proudly Filipino made Rice Terraces. I guess no other groups ever
thought of going there unless it's sunrise well, we have the place all to
ourselves. We took a lot of great pictures without rushing. But if you want to
see the sea of clouds, you have to go up there at 4:30am and wait for the
sunrise. I'll tell you, it's totally worth it.
- Echo Valley Tour -> Hanging Coffins -> Underground River -> Bokong Falls
On
our 2nd day, we decided to rent a guide for an Echo Valley Tour for P500 for a
group of 10 people. This tour is composed of many routes, depending on your
last destination and here's ours. We first went to the church and the hill of
cemetery where we listened to the history of the places and their traditions.
Then we walked to the Echo Valley, a place where if you shout, you will hear it
echoes. It's amazing! Then we went down to the hanging coffins. It's not scary,
it's somewhat puzzling especially those on the middle of the rocky mountains.
How did they even managed to bring it all up and push it inside the mini caves?
Still disturb, we hiked until we reach the underground river where we needed to
lights our torch inside to see where we're going. You have to be careful inside
due to some of the stones are so low, you might hit your head. When you reach
the end of the river, it means you've reach Bokong Falls. It's just a small
falls but it's lovely. There, we enjoyed our lunch and swimming. Afterwards, we
took a different route heading back to Town. It took us almost 4 hours on this
tour but we enjoyed it.
- Sunset in Lake Danum
Feeling
pump, after our Echo Valley tour, we have a little snacks of barbeque and
hotdog then we rented a shuttle for P600 to drive us to Lake Danum. A lot of
tourist went there to time lapse the sunset. Sadly, the sun was covered with
clouds so we haven't really see it clearly. But still, it's a nice place to
have picnics. I also recommend buying their instant coffee (Organo Gold coffee)
or yogurt while waiting for the sunset. It's really delicious!
- Marlboro Hills
Since
we already went to Mt. Kiltepan, we decided to hiked up in Marlboro Hills to
see the sea of clouds. We started hiking at 4:00am on a Sunday while the sky
drizzles. We hiked up for 1hr and 30mins and it's getting colder and colder.
It's higher than Mt. Kiltepan and it is not that advisable if it's raining due
to the ground gets muddier. It's zero visibility up there and make sure you
have you're fleece jacket on.
That's all our
activities during our stay in Sagada. We also have another trip to Bomod-ok
Falls but it was canceled due to their ongoing ritual on that day. Other than
that, you may try going to Sumaguing Cave, Blue Soil, Lumiang Cave, Ganduyan
Museum, Pongas Falls, and to the famous Sagada Rice Terraces.
FOOD
If you're looking
for something to replaced your burned calories after the activities, Sagada
have heaps of restaurants that you will not forget. Of all the places I've
been, Sagada is the only place where all the foods they served have veggies.
You don't have to request for it, it is given. Not just that, their veggies are
fresh and delicious. Their dishes are tasteful and the cheesy pizzas &
mouthful burgers are those that you shouldn't let go of. Of course, don't
forget to try their famous creamy yogurt. It is their specialty because of its
creaminess and freshness of fruits flavored in it. I recommend you try eating
in Misty Lodge Café, Sagada Brew, Salt & Pepper, and Gaia Café. Those are
some we've been to and it's a must! Especially Gaia Café, this place has a view
of Banawe Rice Terraces and it's best for their coffee and muffin. Also, it is
better if you try their local foods that you can buy in the streets such as
wheatbread with chocolate/cheese, dirty ice cream w/ Hershey's syrup, and
yogurt.
PASALUBONG (SOUVENIRS)
Wondering where to
buy souvenirs for your loved ones? Well, you don't need to ride far away since
the Town is a small place and have lots of souvenir shops. I suggest that you
hoard their red wine. HAHA Just kidding! They sell one of the best wines and my
favorite is Charlina Bugnay Red Wine that I only bought for P150-P160 per
bottle, depends on what store you bought it. Aside from that, I've also bought
a pack of mountain leaves for P10 and turmeric tea for P150, which is very good
in cleansing the body.
For 4 days, we
really did enjoy going there and I'm pretty sure I'll be back there. If you're
a soloist looking for an escape place or somewhere to relax, this is a great
place for you. Or maybe you're a couple or friends or family that is up for an
adventure, then bring you’re A-game! Also, don't forget to bring moisturizers
and sunblock. Even though it's cold, sun's heat is strong enough to burn your
skin. Truly, Sagada is one of a kind! So when you're there, seize the moment!
