I wouldn’t be inspired to go to this place if I were not able to watch the movie “That Thing Called Tadhana”. The film heightens my desire to visit Sagada, which is a wonderful place to visit whether you are broken-hearted or not. Well, so much for that drama.
Sagada is located in the northern part of Luzon, which is around 11–14 hours of bus travel from Manila. The most common mode of transportation is Manila-Baguio-Sagada, which I experienced during this escape. I took a bus from Manila to Baguio and decided to have an overnight before going to Sagada. I had my best friend during this trip, so I had nothing to be scared of.
At 6:00 a.m., we boarded the bus bound for Sagada. The fare is 300-350 and it takes 5–6 hours to travel. It’s a long trip again, so you must prepare your snacks and, of course, your stomach if you feel the call of nature. There are certain bus stop-overs every 2 hours, so nothing to worry about if you can still control it.
As a long way of travelling, many beautiful views really amazed me during that time. I thought going to Sagada would be colder than Baguio City as it is farther and higher if we base it on the geographical map, but I was wrong. Going to Sagada is really like summer; it’s really hot.
I was also impressed that the bus stopped exactly at the tourism office of the place. It is a method of making it easier for tourists to obtain a guide.
Sagada is a quiet place, just like a typical province that I know. The good thing is that they have an ATM machine, so if you run out of cash, you can still take advantage of the machine. Also, there are guesthouses and inns just nearby the tourism office. It ranges from 400-1000 for two people.
As Sagada has been developed and is being commercialized for its activities and adventure, they are also offering tour packages where you can enjoy during your stay in Sagada. The price is reasonable as it already has a tourist guide. Well, there are some spots in Sagada that do need a tourist guide, but for your safety, I would recommend having one.
This is one of the package tours that they offer and it costs 150-250 pesos per person. If by any chance you want to try wall climbing, they also have it with an additional cost. It’s 100 pesos and unlimited if it’s not peak days. These spots are also walking distance from their tourism office, but it is still better to have a guide if you are new to the place.
After the warm-up tour of Echo Valley and Cemetery, we immediately decided to try a caving adventure. They actually have 2 caves that they made as an attraction. You can either choose which cave you want to see, but the best thing is to explore inside from one cave to another. This package strictly requires a tourist guide, no matter if it is connected or not, and it is only 600 pesos for 2 people.
We decided to have the connecting cave since we wanted to have an adventure. Just don’t mind our outfits as we were not informed the proper way prior to the activity.
As the name of the cave is “Lumiang Burial Cave”, you should expect that there are coffins that you can see at the mouth of the cave. The tourist guide said that dead people are also buried in this cave.
It was really fun to have a new experience of such a wonderful adventure that we tried in this cave. The strength, flexibility, enthusiasm and, of course, the carefulness of this adventure are really needed. I highly recommend this trip if you visit Sagada. I assure you that it will be an experience that you won’t forget.
Day 2 – Kiltepan Peak
We decided to check-out and leave early the next morning so we could witness the beauty of sunrise, as they say. We already had information from day one on where the best place to see the sunrise is. My best friend and I have no idea where we are, so we rely on our instincts to find the “Kiltepan Peak.” Yes, we were almost the wrong way, but “hwag mahihiyang magtanong”. Ehehh
Kiltepan Peak was also part of the “That Thing Called Tadhana” movie, where Angelica Panganiban shouted her emotions.
