A Diary of A Memorable Trip to the Mountains

Day 1 – Drove up to Sagada from Manila at 5am. It took us almost 13 hours and it rained in the last one and a half hours of the drive. We stayed at ‘THE SHIRE‘. It is the best – family run, just opened last year, very shire-ish aesthetic and structure and serves good food!

Day 2 – Hiked up Echo Valley (hanging coffins) and went spelunking at the beginner’s level of Sumaguing Cave. It was challenging, fun and an adventure at the same time.

Day 3 – Woke up at 5am to head to Buscalan Village. We passed by a magnificent sea of clouds after a 5-7 minutes of drive. It was amazingly beautiful! Picked up our guide in Bontoc, he’s very good! Took us 2.5 hrs to reach the village. Almost all the roads are good already. We stopped at a drop off point to start hiking to the village. Depending on fitness level, it can take from 20-40 minutes each way. We arrived on a Friday so the line for Apo Whang-Od was relatively okay. We bought our own ‘needles‘ for Php100. The fee for her signature 3-dot tattoo is Php200 plus Php100 for a photo – total Php300. After we were done, we then got our second tattoo from her nieces. Gracia did mine, the queue was even less than Whang-od’s but she did more intricate designs. I chose a simple prayer design and it took her 10-15 minutes to finish up. She charges depending on the design one picks.

Day 4 – Call time at 3:30am, we made our way to the drop off point at 4am. Started our hike at about 4:20. We arrived shortly before sunrise after a 45 min hike. Marlboro Hills is the highest point in Sagada. Sunrise was spectacular, rising above the sea of clouds and rice terraces in neighboring villages. After photos and breakfast sandwiches, we started our hike down to Blue soil. The hill-like formation is rich in copper sulfate giving the bluish hue. It took us a total of 4 hours for the trek up to MH and BS. After check-out we drove to Banaue

Day 5 – Visited Batad rice terraces. Rode the jeepney from Banaue to Batad. The rice terraces are beautiful. The roads are quite good and the hike was easy.

Day 6 – Left Banaue at 6 am and reached BGC at around 2:30pm

Text and Photos courtesy of Karen Adayo