We snoozed early the night before since there was no television, the weather was extremely cold and it was a very quiet town. We were up by 4:00am and by 5:00am we were already on our way to Kiltepan Viewpoint to catch the sunrise. I did not expect much of it but when we got there, the view of the terraces of rice, the morning clouds and the breath of fresh morning air turned out to be a nice way to start our long day.
After a hardy breakfast at Masferre we went started our tour around the town starting with the Sagada Weaving and Sagada Pottery. Now I’m not too fond of cultural tours so I did not pay much attention to the weaving demonstration but I found the pottery demo really interesting and the craftsmanship on the pottery was good. In both venues they are selling their woven cloths and pottery. During the tour and the demonstrations it was evident that locals are more comfortable speaking in English rather that in Tagalog.
Our guide then took us through an informative walk through history including an old town burial site with the remains of early American settlers in Sagada all the way to the Echo Valley.
The place is packed with tourists eager to test if their loud shouts would indeed produce echoes…and they did! The hanging coffins can be seen from the Echo valley viewing area but you can also trek for 10-15 minutes downhill to get a closer look at the foot of the cliff. How they managed to get those coffins up there is beyond me. I could only marvel at their respect for the tradition of honoring their dead.
Lunch was at Rock Inn Cafe where we feasted on big servings of mountain rice, sweet and sour chicken and pinikpikan (a popular dish in the Cordillera region prepared by beating live chicken with a stick prior to cooking and said to improve the flavour of the cooked chicken). It would have been fun to go orange picking in the inn orchard but it was out of season at the time.
The last agenda for the day was a grueling six-hour, adventure packed, no turning back cave connection spelunking. We have heard and read so much about it and this is the main reason why we wanted to travel to Sagada. Unlike the usual Sumaguing cave tour, our entrance would be Lumiang cave and exit would be in Sumaguing cave. Coffins greeted us as we reached the facade of the cave. As I looked closely, I could see some of the skulls peeking through some dilapidated wooden coffins…and then…pitch black entrance to the cave.
Now, this may not be for everyone. I remember one in our group (whom I’d rather keep anonymous..hahaha) hyperventilating throughout the trek and constantly blaming his/her friends for talking him/her into it. Nevertheless, he/she finished it…because there was no other choice.
I would describe this particular adventure as one that brought mixed feelings of fun, adrenalin rush, some extent of fear…that we might slip on ledges and crash our bones and skulls…awe and amazement on the various cave formations. It was just EXHILARATING! It involved six hours of trekking, rappelling, squeezing through narrow openings, dipping and a lot of picture takings with countless attempts to take a decent jump shot. This definitely is the best cave I’ve ever been to considering the level of difficulty and the cave formations.
Day 1 : Exploring the town of Sagada and trekking to Bomod-ok Falls
Day 2 : The Cave Connection Expedition (Sumaguing and Lumiang Cave)
Day 3 : Quick stopover at Yogurt House and Strawberry Farm
