Sagada Adventure 2014

February has been an awesome month of travel and surprises for me. In an earlier post, I talked about the anniversary weekend surprise that Rafi prepared for me. The following Valentine weekend, we went up to Baguio with his parents on a tour. And on the week following that, we went to a trip to Sagada with my sister and some of her friends.

I am sharing in this blog the details of that cool adventure we had in that part of the Mountain Province.

Day 0

Our trip starts at 10pm of Wednesday at Victory Liner in Cubao. We decided to take the Manila-Baguio-Sagada route since Florida Bus has been suspended several weeks ago due to the tragic crash of one of their buses.

Day 1

The trip to Baguio took about 6 hours. It was smooth and uneventful and we were able to snatch a few hours of sleep along the way. We got off at the Victory Liner terminal in Baguio minutes before 4am. Knowing how busy the station would be on Sunday,  the day of our return to Manila, we decided to book our trip back in advance. Then headed to Dangwa Terminal where the Lizardo bus going to Sagada is stationed.

When we arrived, the ticket booth was still closed and only opened around 15 minutes after 5. Since it was still early, we decided to take our breakfast in a nearby restaurant.

The bus that will bring us to Sagada arrived before 6am. We hop on, although we encountered some problems with the seating arrangement as there were two elderly couples who sat in one of the seats that was assigned to us. But it was settled nevertheless and so our trip began.

There were two bus stops on this trip and I calculated it happens every 2 hours. The sights going to Sagada are breathtaking. However, if you are afraid of heights you may opt to sit on the driver side since the opposite side is on the cliff side..

The trip to Sagada took us another 6 more hours of uneventful and smooth ride (except for when we already reached Sagada, as there were road construction going on).

We went off at the terminal and pulled out my phone to see the map to the Sagada Residential Lodge where we were booked. Rafi read it since I am bad at map orientation.

Ate Angel, one of the caretakers of the lodge, showed us to our room at the basement. We took some rest before going out to eat.

That afternoon, around 3pm, we decided to start touring the place. We hired their van and kuya xxxx of Saggas was our guide.

Echo Valley

We went to the echo valley first – called so because the valley echoes your scream. But on the way up here there were some interesting sights that you could see:

Church of St. Mary the Virgin

Public Cemetery

Hanging Coffins

There was also a team offering rock climbing sessions. I thought that it was a bit pricey though so I did not attempt it.

Lumiang Cave

We also visited the Lumiang Cave – but only up to the mouth, where more coffins could be found. We were told that this is the entrance for the Cave Connection, which is the longer and more difficult type. But since we were tired from the trip, we opted to take the easier one.

Sumaguing Cave

The real highlight of this day was this one. I don’t remember how long this spelunking took us – probably more than two hours. We had to go down steep and slippery path, climb rocks, cross the other side using a rope and endure the cold temperature and water inside the cave. Tiring indeed, but it was worth the thrill and fun that we felt while doing it.

Kuya preparing the light for our tour inside the cave.

Start of the trek inside the cave.

Pic stop. Kakulay ang cave. :))

Day 2

We were supposed to see the sun rise on this day but we were so tired we didn’t want to wake up early. So instead, we decided to just see the Bomod-ok falls on this day.

We started past 9 since we had breakfast a bit late. 

Ate Shiela was our guide. She was very energetic and shared us stories about the culture and tradition of people in Sagada.

She was also gracious in letting us take pictures every now and then and also helped take photos of us. Some proof:

The Fidelisan Rice Terraces

Jump shot that caused the rice field to break. :P

The Bomod-ok Falls from afar :)

We all felt accomplished after reaching this point. :))

It was actually a record trek time. We did it in almost 5 hours, which was the slowest. Hahaha! Well, we did take our time trekking, enjoying the view and the falls. I never mind being slow on this one. :)

Day 3

We were already able to wake up early at 5am this day because we are scheduled to join the sun rise viewing at Kiltepan. So sad though that it was too foggy we were not able to see the sun.

 This was the spot where the sun was supposed to be seen. But a sea of fog covered the area. 

After the trip to Kiltepan, we went back to the lodge to prepare for our trip back to Baguio that afternoon. We went to buy pasalubong before checking out. Our plan was to buy tickets for the 11am trip and have our brunch while waiting. However, when we arrived at 10am, the bus for the 11am trip was already full so we had to wait for the 1pm trip. Got to Baguio in the evening of that day. 

Where to eat when in Sagada?

Yogurt House

My favorite place to eat in all of the places we tried in Sagada. Their yogurt is one of a kind – not like the commercial ones sold in Metro Manila. I even teased Rafi that he should bring me here back again for a food trip. They also serve other delicious meals and is open from breakfast until dinner.

Lemon Pie House

This is Rafi’s favorite. They serve really big servings of meals for very reasonsable prices. We ordered the spicy chicken something and we got two pieces of large chicken meat. I gave my other one to Rafi and he was so happy. Perfect if you’re really starving from your tiresome adventure during the day. :)

Kusina Ysagada

This is my next favorite place. The restaurant had a homey feel, the interior was simple but comfortable. The servers were warm and accommodating and the food was also good. It was here were we learned that there is orange marmalade in Sagada.

Salt and Pepper

The food was good but the interior was not so welcoming. The room was quite dim when we ate here.

Strawberry Café

The worst of all the places we tried in Sagada. The waitresses were so unaccommodating and snob. The food was not really that delicious. Don’t eat here. There are better places to try in Sagada.

St. Joseph’s

We decided to take our last meal in Sagada at St. Joseph's restaurant since it is nearer the bus terminal. The food was okay and the servers were nice, a lot better than Strawberry Cafe.

Note: Photos are not mine. Credits to Joseph Biteng and Cristina Amistad for capturing those moments beautifully. :)

Travel period was February 20-22, 2014. :)