I had a couple of days in the Philippines and been wondering where I can go wandering this time. A friend of my suggested to visit the mountain village of Sagada. Why not? I’ve never been there. I have been to Banaue and Batad previously but I’ve never been to Sagada even though I have heard so much about it. So I gave it a try.
I tried to get a ride on a bus service that goes to Bontoc, the big town that is nearest Sagada. Unfortunately, they said there was no trip the day I wanted to go. I was confused, I wasn’t sure whether they were no longer doing the Manila-Bontoc route or there was really no trip that day. Regardless, I went to the other option I knew – Manila – Banaue – Bontoc – Sagada. My friend warned me that it will be a long trip doing this way, but I didn’t really have a choice.
Autobus is my choice of transportation to Banaue. I used their service on a previous trip there and I thought it was okay. The buses weren’t exactly new but they ran and had air-con. Actually maybe too much of it since it was freezing in there at night. The bus leaves at night at gets to Banaue the next morning. I’m okay with long bus rides, so this should be no problem.
As expected, we were approaching Banaue by daybreak, but the bus broke down and we were stuck in the road in the middle of nowhere. Fortunately, this is the age of cellular phones and the Autobus guys got us a ride from Banaue. It was a jeepney which fortunately fit all of the passengers since it wasn’t a full bus. In the jeepney, I got to know a couple of young professionals who were also going the same way.
We finally got to Banaue around 8 in the morning but I’m still not even halfway there. I asked around how to get to Sagada from Banaue but it turns out that you need to take the Banaue-Bontoc bus to get there. I waited along a road for this bus but none came. While I was waiting, a vehicle passed by asking where I wanted to go. They were thinking of offering a ride and make some money while at it. Seemed like a fair deal. But these guys couldn’t find more passengers to make the trip worthwhile, in the end, we waited for the real Banaue-Bontoc bus which finally came and let me on it.
The Banaue-Bontoc ride was spectacular. I got the luck of sitting right next to the window and I could see everything pass by. The bus passes right by the world famous Banaue Rice Terraces where you get spectacular views of this wonder. The bus continues on very rough road through the cloud covered tops of the mountain passes where clouds would uncover the mountains below. It was a truly spectacular sight. I was really sorry I didn’t have a camera with me during the bus ride. On the other hand, the ride was so bumpy that I probably wouldn’t have been able to get a decent shot off.
The air in the mountains was very fresh, but freezing and the road was really bad. There were some construction going on to improve the road but I suspect this will take years and years to finish. The threat of landslides is very real and in this remote place that is not something you want to happen. One of the stop over was at Mt. Polis which is basically a construction site, possibly for a mountain resort. I remember saying to myself what a desolate place this is since there was nothing there. The clouds were so thick it was difficult to see what was in front of you.
After three hours of knocking my head on the roof of the bus (I was at the last row, perfect place to knock my head), we finally got to a real cement road. We finally made it to Bontoc which is the provincial capital of Mountain Province. The driver pointed me the way to the terminal where the transport for Sagada departs from. And like most other transportation in the country, the Bontoc-Sagada jeepney leaves when it is full.
I hung around near the jeepney not knowing when it will leave. I left my bags in the jeepney since it was already getting heavy. After around two hours of waiting, the jeepney was finally full and we left for Sagada. Sagada is less than an hour away from Bontoc and the road here is much better than the Banaue-Bontoc hell of a road. The road passes by great mountain scenery with the Chico River winding its way through the mountains.
When we finally got to Sagada, I needed to register at the municipal hall as a tourist. I’m not sure why they have this requirement probably it is because of security, they need to know who comes to their village. They asked me where I was staying but I didn’t really knew where since I was just planning to find one when I get there. They suggested the Sagada Guest House which was actually just behind the municipal hall overlooking the main square.
The Sagada Guest House is a nice little cozy place. The interiors are made of wood with Igorot art to boot. The room I got was a little run down but it was still nice a clean. Plus I got a nice window with a view of the main square. I noticed that the air here in Sagada is much cooler than Banaue. Good thing I brought along a fleece jacket but I didn’t bring any long pants. Oh well, I think my legs can still stand the cold.
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