Of Misty Morning, Mountain Dew and Sagada Flowers

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Tomato fruits in Sagada, Mountain Province. Others though are flowers in Sagada.

My dinner was over and we have to walk about 20 minutes from their house to Misty Inn. Misty Inn is very far from the town hall but it’s nearer to the orange farms in Sagada. And for that we have to walk through the dark roads in this town. I just hope the government will have to provide more lights in Sagada and I hope the roads will be paved too.

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Sagada Canao and A Dinner with The Igorot Family—Aligos/Lizardos

Old dancing Igorot photo courtesy of BALIKTANAW.WORDPRESS.COM

The parting time with our newly met backpacker friends were nevertheless the last time, but for the night it was so. We have to go home to Christian’s house for the dinner. I was shy to actually join them in their dinner but there we went. Besides it’s free haha so who was I to decline?

Another Burial Tradition in Sagada’s Lumiang Cave

Here are the stacked coffins of the popular Lumiang Burial Cave in Sagada.

A few minutes of rest from the famous Hanging Coffins of the Echo Valley tour have confronted us to take it to the next burial site which is inside a cave. I thought that the only way early people of Sagada is to hang the coffins of their dead loved ones when they pass away, but I was wrong because this simple town has yet so many traditions that up until now is existing. Out of all the caves in the world where the first humans exist as caves were their first homes, I think Sagada has one of the few caves, particularly the Lumiang Cave, which still has proofs that indeed caves were used in the early traditions of the world.

How to Go to Sagada Attractions: Echo Valley

Map of the different Sagada attractions going to Echo Valley.

To reach the different tourist attractions in Sagada:

From Manila, ride a bus directly bound to Sagada. Or ride a bus bound to Baguio. In Baguio, go to GL Trans Terminal (see related Sagada terminal map post here). Ride ordinary bus going to Sagada. Fare around P220 and travel time up to 6 hours.

An Amazing Up Close to the Hanging Coffins of Sagada

The Hanging Coffins of Sagada is a mirror to one's tradition way before the conquerors arrived.

Long time ago, even before the colonizers arrived in the Philippines, the people of the Cordillera have their own traditions and customs. They have their own hierarchy, attires, family connections, dances, rituals, ceremonies and burial tradition. One of the preserved way of entombing (not actually the same way as burial) is the so-called “hanging” of the caskets of their dead loved ones. And these Hanging Coffins testify that yes, even before the conquerors came, the people were already civilized.

Shout Your Dreams to Echo Valley, Sagada

Me in the Echo Valley of Sagada, Mountain Province.

Hello (hello, hello). Is there anybody out there (there, there)?

A bit of graveyard related history, we walked all the way down to the Echo Valley. When someone is reaching the up-close hanging coffins, he has to go first at the back of the church, follow the sign that goes to the mountain vale, reach the tombs, and follow the path at the back of the tombstones. Yes, this part of the Sagada travel series deals with words like “church”, “dead”, “tombs”, “coffins” and “hang”.

A Sagada Graveyard Stopover

This is Sagada's main burial park. The Echo Valley is just at the back of this graveyard.

The way to Echo Valley where the up-close Hanging Coffins were located means you have to go first at the back of the Stone Church, reach the stairs that leads somehow to a retreat house, go left by following the sign where “To Echo Valley” was painted and see the cemetery. It was a walk tour right after a bus ride so we did make a short rest at their graveyard.

Sagada Stone Church: An Anglican Fossil

The Stone Church of Sagada was established by early Anglican missionaries.

Sagada, a small uphill village in the Mountain Province, was like any other towns in the Philippines. It has a church nearby the town hall. But the church, more commonly known as the Stone Church of Sagada, was not of any Spanish descent. Instead it was an Anglican convent, meaning it is of relation to the Episcopal churches of the English people. So after our cool down from walking, we eventually proceeded with our Echo Valley tour which commonly starts with the church of Sagada.

That Simple Town in Mountain Province Called ‘Sagada’

Rock formations in this small town of Sagada in Mountain Province, Philippines.

It wasn't really a planned a trip, but I did remind my friend to tell me if he’s going back to his hometown (Sagada) for the long weekend which was the celebration of All Saints and All Souls Days. Basta I told him I’m on a tight budget but I’m willing to be there for three days (not exactly three days because the buses going to and from Sagada only travels until 1 PM, the travel time is 6 hours, thus I have already spent half day for the bus travel itself). He okayed and there I went for a tour in Sagada.

All The Way to Sagada—Mountain Views

The cascading mountains and seas of clouds awaits you on your trip to Sagada.

From Manila, there are two ways to reach Sagada—the one that goes through Ifugao and the one that passes through Benguet. If you are stopping by the city of Baguio then you are going to take around four hours on the roads of Benguet. Another two hours in Mountain Province for a total of 6 hours Baguio-Sagada route. It wasn’t exhausting at all just because the views along the road make you realize how beautiful the Philippines is.

Sagada Tour: The Mountain Guide

My wild dream of finally spelunking happened here in Sagada.

If you have never been in a place so rustic in nature, so rugged in outdoor and it’s just plain simple, then chances are, you haven’t been yet to the Mountain Province in the Philippines. When we say Mountain Province, we pertain to the province next to the Cordilleran province of Benguet. And the best offering of this province is what we call “Sagada”, a very simple town six hours away from Baguio City. The views going there is just so magnificent, how much more when you get tour yourself there?