Sagada - a town where the skies are blue, the sun is warm, the breeze is cool and the clouds come down to kiss you both in the morning and at night.
I will describe the trip for the benefit of people who have never heard nor seen Sagada. This is going to be a looong post. If you're at work, make sure the boss isn't walking around. Keep your mouse hovering over the minimize button to quickly hide it. Hahahah!
I would recommend Sagada ONLY to people who really want to see it. Otherwise, I would advise you to stick to your usual plane-ride-beach vacation. The trip to Sagada from Manila lasts 12 hours IF you are lucky. Going there, Niki and I were on the road for 16 hours because of changes in bus schedules and a landslide. We had to wait for an hour by the side of the road under 3 o'clock heat as tractors cleared the road for vehicles to pass. Then the way back to Manila took 14 hours due to uberly slow bus drivers.
From Manila, we took an air conditioned bus to Baguio which traveled for 6 hours. The bus was not full so Niki and I were able to recline our seats and snooze the whole way there. From Baguio, we had to take a cab to Dangwa terminal where buses to Sagada were stationed. The road to Sagada from Baguio is looong, winding, steep and very rough. The trip alone can tire you out and this is what I was saying earlier about you having to really want to go there for you to be able to bear that 6 hour ride. I remember thinking "Oh gawd, please let this be worth it."
We got to Sagada by 5pm Friday afternoon so there was nothing else we could do but check-in at the Residential Lodge (P200/person a night, shared toilet and bath, hot/cold showers, free coffee/hot water/tea, internet at P30/hr) and find a place to eat. Niki and I are both fans of yoghurt so despite it being close to dinner time, we decided to try out the Yoghurt House. I've read so much about it during my research of Sagada and read several recommendations, including a friend who's recently been there. Niki and I ordered a Robust Tuna Salad Sandwich, a mushroom and cheese pasta to share and each had yoghurt with banana, granola and strawberry preserves.
I once remember blogging about being the maker of the best tuna sandwich ever but will now have to concede to the fact that that was much, much better than my sammie. 
It was amazing, it was a triple decker sammie that had all the usual condiments but with extra cucumber slices and cheese that was dipped in yoghurt. They used spicy tuna too so that added a bit of a kick to your usual fish sandwich. The pasta was alright, tasted like your usual pinoy party spaghetti, very cheesy. Then we got to the main event, the yoghurt! What can I say that won't require me saying things like awesome, amazing, uberly delicious that my tongue wanted to start screaming from the mixture of flavor and texture? The yoghurt, along with almost everything in Sagada, was fresh and home-made. Nothing in this town is processed or store bought. Their servings are nothing like in Manila where they scrimp you with ingredients. By the end of our meal, Niki and I felt like we had to take a walk to let all that food settle in.
We had an early start the next day, we didn't want to start hiking with a heavy stomach so we had some bread and coffee from the lodge then I had the Yoghurt House sandwich to go, to eat after all the hiking we were about to do. We had a map, which we bought from a souvenir shop the day before and opted not to hire a guide to take us around.
The day's itinerary: Echo Valley, Bokkong Falls and Kiltepan Viewpoint. It took us a while to get to Echo Valley, we weren't sure which trail to follow and had to ask directions. We were directed to a path through the woods that crossed a cemetery over to the other side of the mountain. 
We got to a certain point when Niki and I decided to stop and have lunch. We sat on a couple of small boulders and enjoyed our sandwich while taking in the view in front of us. Little did we know that we were already at the edge of the cliff overlooking Echo Valley. We got to this viewpoint and started screaming nonsense to the wind (it's not called Echo Valley for no reason, you know). Going back, we decided to pass through a different trail which ended up getting us lost. I had to maintain my composure but my mind was slightly racing at the thought that Niki and I were lost in the woods and are passing through steep old trails that seemed like no one has used in a while. We hiked through sharp weeds, thorny branches, cobwebs and muddy slopes. We were walking for a while until we ended up exactly where we came from. I was relieved, tired and pissed off at whoever made that stupid trail. Sabi ni Paul, Bea and Grace baka na-enkanto daw kami.
Memorial site of italian tourist who died
after falling off the cliffs taking photos in Echo Valley
Rice fields en route to Bokkong
We were all hot and sweaty from all the walking that we were looking forward to going to Bokkong falls to cool our tired feet. Again, we were doing this without a guide and ventured out on our own. We did happen to come across two young kids who said they were also on their way to the falls and that they could take us through a short cut. We later on realized that "short cut" for the townsfolk meant cutting through corn and rice fields, hiking up and down muddy terrain and at one point, crossing a small river. 
I could see the kids laughing at these two tourists struggling with their gear trying to keep their already muddy shoes and pants and their cameras from getting wet. When we got to the falls, I was only too happy to kick off my shoes and socks and dip my tired aching feet in the cool water. Niki did more than that as the video below shows.
From Manila, we took an air conditioned bus to Baguio which traveled for 6 hours. The bus was not full so Niki and I were able to recline our seats and snooze the whole way there. From Baguio, we had to take a cab to Dangwa terminal where buses to Sagada were stationed. The road to Sagada from Baguio is looong, winding, steep and very rough. The trip alone can tire you out and this is what I was saying earlier about you having to really want to go there for you to be able to bear that 6 hour ride. I remember thinking "Oh gawd, please let this be worth it."Was it? YES IT WAS.
We got to Sagada by 5pm Friday afternoon so there was nothing else we could do but check-in at the Residential Lodge (P200/person a night, shared toilet and bath, hot/cold showers, free coffee/hot water/tea, internet at P30/hr) and find a place to eat. Niki and I are both fans of yoghurt so despite it being close to dinner time, we decided to try out the Yoghurt House. I've read so much about it during my research of Sagada and read several recommendations, including a friend who's recently been there. Niki and I ordered a Robust Tuna Salad Sandwich, a mushroom and cheese pasta to share and each had yoghurt with banana, granola and strawberry preserves.
It was amazing, it was a triple decker sammie that had all the usual condiments but with extra cucumber slices and cheese that was dipped in yoghurt. They used spicy tuna too so that added a bit of a kick to your usual fish sandwich. The pasta was alright, tasted like your usual pinoy party spaghetti, very cheesy. Then we got to the main event, the yoghurt! What can I say that won't require me saying things like awesome, amazing, uberly delicious that my tongue wanted to start screaming from the mixture of flavor and texture? The yoghurt, along with almost everything in Sagada, was fresh and home-made. Nothing in this town is processed or store bought. Their servings are nothing like in Manila where they scrimp you with ingredients. By the end of our meal, Niki and I felt like we had to take a walk to let all that food settle in.We had an early start the next day, we didn't want to start hiking with a heavy stomach so we had some bread and coffee from the lodge then I had the Yoghurt House sandwich to go, to eat after all the hiking we were about to do. We had a map, which we bought from a souvenir shop the day before and opted not to hire a guide to take us around.
The day's itinerary: Echo Valley, Bokkong Falls and Kiltepan Viewpoint. It took us a while to get to Echo Valley, we weren't sure which trail to follow and had to ask directions. We were directed to a path through the woods that crossed a cemetery over to the other side of the mountain. 
We got to a certain point when Niki and I decided to stop and have lunch. We sat on a couple of small boulders and enjoyed our sandwich while taking in the view in front of us. Little did we know that we were already at the edge of the cliff overlooking Echo Valley. We got to this viewpoint and started screaming nonsense to the wind (it's not called Echo Valley for no reason, you know). Going back, we decided to pass through a different trail which ended up getting us lost. I had to maintain my composure but my mind was slightly racing at the thought that Niki and I were lost in the woods and are passing through steep old trails that seemed like no one has used in a while. We hiked through sharp weeds, thorny branches, cobwebs and muddy slopes. We were walking for a while until we ended up exactly where we came from. I was relieved, tired and pissed off at whoever made that stupid trail. Sabi ni Paul, Bea and Grace baka na-enkanto daw kami.Memorial site of italian tourist who diedafter falling off the cliffs taking photos in Echo Valley
Rice fields en route to BokkongWe were all hot and sweaty from all the walking that we were looking forward to going to Bokkong falls to cool our tired feet. Again, we were doing this without a guide and ventured out on our own. We did happen to come across two young kids who said they were also on their way to the falls and that they could take us through a short cut. We later on realized that "short cut" for the townsfolk meant cutting through corn and rice fields, hiking up and down muddy terrain and at one point, crossing a small river. 
I could see the kids laughing at these two tourists struggling with their gear trying to keep their already muddy shoes and pants and their cameras from getting wet. When we got to the falls, I was only too happy to kick off my shoes and socks and dip my tired aching feet in the cool water. Niki did more than that as the video below shows.We were too tired to head out to Kiltepan point plus after one of the boys told us it would take another 45-minute walk to get there, I bailed and headed back to town. Niki and I were mighty hungry from all the trekking and headed straight to Masferre's Country Inn and restaurant.
We went in with our wet clothes and muddy shoes and ordered two sandwiches, a BLT for Niki and a Chicken-tuna-apple sandwich for me. Both came with a side of fries and as previously mentioned, everything was fresh and the fries were more like wedges cooked just right and sprinkled with some sort of spice. Niki and I downed our food like a couple of hungry elephants and headed back to the lodge to shower and change for the afternoon's next activity, spelunking Sumaguing Cave.
We met our guide, Orion at the Municipal Hall then we walked walked for about 30-45 minutes to Lumiang Cave were he showed us the small wooden coffins that were stacked up at the cave's entrance. If I had any doubts that these
small wooden containers held human remains, they were quickly obliterated when I saw a human skull peeking through one of the coffin's holes. It began to rain but we continued walking towards Sumaguing Cave. When we got to the entrance, Orion stopped to light his kerosene lamp then we began the descent to the cave's opening. Niki and I came prepared and brought gloves that would hopefully prevent us from touching guano as we climbed down. As we climbed down every few feet I would glance behind me as the light from the cave's entrance grew dimmer. The smell was not as bad as I anticipated. The first stage was muddy and slippery and it was hard to distinguish the mud from the bat sh!t until I saw Niki grab on to what she thought was a rock, only to have her glove sink into it, ewwwww!
When I turned around and saw nothing but darkness and shadowed images of rocks, my fear of the dark began to freak me out and I couldn't stop thinking of the movie The Descent. Laugh all you want, Bea but if you're down there in darkness surrounded by nothing but rocks and dark corners, you will freak out too. Niki, in turn, was afraid of heights so it took her forever to climb down the rocks and steep steps. I could barely see where I was going since Niki was covering the light from the kerosene lamp and her shadow kept covering my path from view. When we got to the part where the muddy rocks end and the watery flow stones began, we were asked to remove our slippers since our feet would have better grip on the rocks even if we had to walk on an incline. We continued down through the freezing water, rappelled down a rope and were shown several aptly-named rock formations such as the queen, king, pig pen, elephant's head, princess' bath tub, turtle head and several others. There was also a mossy stained area at the bottom, that when you stared at it for awhile, would form a picture of the holy family. The climb up was faster but we still had to traverse the 245 ascending steps to the main road from the cave's entrance. Add to that the 45 minute walk back to the lodge in sopping wet clothes combined with the cold night air. We walked on an inclined road most of the time and our path was lit only by Orion's lamp. There are no street lights in Sagada so if you don't have a light or a flashlight, it would be dangerous to walk the pitch black streets at night. Having just rained an hour before, small snakes littered the streets as Orion cheerily pointed out to us, poking one for show. Our room smelled like an old lady that night as Niki and I slathered our tired bodies with Katinko and Balpirik and sank into beds and passed out.
The next day we had breakfast at Yoghurt house again then tried the expensive coffee alamid (civet coffee) at Bana's Cafe. We were planning to go to Bomod-ok falls that morning but our shoes were still wet from the hike the day before. Orion also told us that we would need to take about an hour car ride to the drop-off point then take another hour trekking through terraces to get there. I may have heard wrong but he said something like 1800++ steps. We then figured our bodies would not be able to take any more of that so opted to walk around town instead. We shopped for souvenirs, went back to the lodge and took a nap. When we woke up, we found that our shoes had dried and hurriedly dressed to hike to Kiltepan and also see the underground river. 
Unfortunately, weather prevented us from doing any of that because as soon as I stepped outside, I saw from afar that rain clouds started to move towards our direction. We went back to Masferre's and ordered a burger each and allowed the rain to pass before venturing out again. We knew Kiltepan and the river would not be a good idea now since it had just rained. The trails would be very slippery and muddy by now and if they were anything like the steep paths we passed by the previous day, then hiking there would be even more dangerous.
We didn't want to waste our day so we walked the opposite direction towards Lake Danum, the map said it was an hour's walk from the town so we hiked up the winding dirt roads and stopped to take pictures as we went along.
We were greeted by a rainbow on the way and saw that we were at a point where we were higher than the clouds.
We were walking for a quite a while and could see that the sun was about to set. We preferred not to get stuck on a dark road by the mountain so turned around and saw that the fog had settled and covered our view.
We went in with our wet clothes and muddy shoes and ordered two sandwiches, a BLT for Niki and a Chicken-tuna-apple sandwich for me. Both came with a side of fries and as previously mentioned, everything was fresh and the fries were more like wedges cooked just right and sprinkled with some sort of spice. Niki and I downed our food like a couple of hungry elephants and headed back to the lodge to shower and change for the afternoon's next activity, spelunking Sumaguing Cave.We met our guide, Orion at the Municipal Hall then we walked walked for about 30-45 minutes to Lumiang Cave were he showed us the small wooden coffins that were stacked up at the cave's entrance. If I had any doubts that these
small wooden containers held human remains, they were quickly obliterated when I saw a human skull peeking through one of the coffin's holes. It began to rain but we continued walking towards Sumaguing Cave. When we got to the entrance, Orion stopped to light his kerosene lamp then we began the descent to the cave's opening. Niki and I came prepared and brought gloves that would hopefully prevent us from touching guano as we climbed down. As we climbed down every few feet I would glance behind me as the light from the cave's entrance grew dimmer. The smell was not as bad as I anticipated. The first stage was muddy and slippery and it was hard to distinguish the mud from the bat sh!t until I saw Niki grab on to what she thought was a rock, only to have her glove sink into it, ewwwww!
When I turned around and saw nothing but darkness and shadowed images of rocks, my fear of the dark began to freak me out and I couldn't stop thinking of the movie The Descent. Laugh all you want, Bea but if you're down there in darkness surrounded by nothing but rocks and dark corners, you will freak out too. Niki, in turn, was afraid of heights so it took her forever to climb down the rocks and steep steps. I could barely see where I was going since Niki was covering the light from the kerosene lamp and her shadow kept covering my path from view. When we got to the part where the muddy rocks end and the watery flow stones began, we were asked to remove our slippers since our feet would have better grip on the rocks even if we had to walk on an incline. We continued down through the freezing water, rappelled down a rope and were shown several aptly-named rock formations such as the queen, king, pig pen, elephant's head, princess' bath tub, turtle head and several others. There was also a mossy stained area at the bottom, that when you stared at it for awhile, would form a picture of the holy family. The climb up was faster but we still had to traverse the 245 ascending steps to the main road from the cave's entrance. Add to that the 45 minute walk back to the lodge in sopping wet clothes combined with the cold night air. We walked on an inclined road most of the time and our path was lit only by Orion's lamp. There are no street lights in Sagada so if you don't have a light or a flashlight, it would be dangerous to walk the pitch black streets at night. Having just rained an hour before, small snakes littered the streets as Orion cheerily pointed out to us, poking one for show. Our room smelled like an old lady that night as Niki and I slathered our tired bodies with Katinko and Balpirik and sank into beds and passed out.The next day we had breakfast at Yoghurt house again then tried the expensive coffee alamid (civet coffee) at Bana's Cafe. We were planning to go to Bomod-ok falls that morning but our shoes were still wet from the hike the day before. Orion also told us that we would need to take about an hour car ride to the drop-off point then take another hour trekking through terraces to get there. I may have heard wrong but he said something like 1800++ steps. We then figured our bodies would not be able to take any more of that so opted to walk around town instead. We shopped for souvenirs, went back to the lodge and took a nap. When we woke up, we found that our shoes had dried and hurriedly dressed to hike to Kiltepan and also see the underground river. Unfortunately, weather prevented us from doing any of that because as soon as I stepped outside, I saw from afar that rain clouds started to move towards our direction. We went back to Masferre's and ordered a burger each and allowed the rain to pass before venturing out again. We knew Kiltepan and the river would not be a good idea now since it had just rained. The trails would be very slippery and muddy by now and if they were anything like the steep paths we passed by the previous day, then hiking there would be even more dangerous.We didn't want to waste our day so we walked the opposite direction towards Lake Danum, the map said it was an hour's walk from the town so we hiked up the winding dirt roads and stopped to take pictures as we went along.
We were greeted by a rainbow on the way and saw that we were at a point where we were higher than the clouds.We were walking for a quite a while and could see that the sun was about to set. We preferred not to get stuck on a dark road by the mountain so turned around and saw that the fog had settled and covered our view.
night fogWe had a modest dinner of instant noodles and crackers at the lodge but tried the lodge's own home-made yoghurt with bananas and honey. Their version was excellent too as it had a slightly sweeter taste and smoother and un-whipped like texture.
We woke up early the next day to have time to eat breakfast at Masferre's again before catching the bus back to Baguio. Niki and I shared cheesy pancakes and a ham, mushroom and cheese omelette with toast. The toast was not your run of the mill white bread either. It was a crusty-soft baguette that went wonderfully with the butter and local strawberry jam.
Despite the long and tiring trip, Niki and I still managed to attend the TPC party at Mall of Asia. We arrived hours late and were greeted by a very inebriated group of our ex-workmates including my two very drunk bosses. Cheers!
some photos are screenshots from the videos I will edit
more photos from Sagada here and here
photos from Niki's camera can be seen here.
We woke up early the next day to have time to eat breakfast at Masferre's again before catching the bus back to Baguio. Niki and I shared cheesy pancakes and a ham, mushroom and cheese omelette with toast. The toast was not your run of the mill white bread either. It was a crusty-soft baguette that went wonderfully with the butter and local strawberry jam.
some photos are screenshots from the videos I will edit
more photos from Sagada here and here
photos from Niki's camera can be seen here.
