SAGADA!!!

Our Sagada experience is one of the greatest adventures I've ever had, not that I've been to many escapades. It's very memorable because it's the farthest I've been up north (well, it won't be for too long since I'll be climbing Mt. Pulag some time in March). And, it's my first spelunking experience ever.

I was the one who suggested to my friends that we go to Sagada. It's all coz of the stories I've heard about how beautiful and majestic the rock formations inside the caves are. I wasn't really after the adventure of spelunking, initially. I just wanted to take pictures of the stalactites and the stalagmites with me in them, of course. :) And since my birthday was already so near and since my New Year's resolution was to travel more this year, I convinced myself and my friends to go out of town with me for a little adventure. Adventure in a sense that none of us had really gone there, ever.

And what an adventure it was!

It was crazy because the four of us didn't really know what we were getting into. We didn't physically prepare for the spelunking nor for the hiking to the top of the Kiltepan.

While on the bus to Sagada, we were lucky that one of the passengers was also on her way to Mapiya-aw, where we would be staying. We had no idea where it was and would have walked a few hundred meters from the Municipal hall with heavy baggages had we missed the pension house. There are no jeepney rides or any other PUVs around the area. How convenient, right? Anyway, when we got to the corner of the road to Mapiya-aw, we still had to hike a few hundred meters up to the pension house. We weren't even halfway to the house when we all stopped for air. We were already exhausted! Two factors: exercise (or the lack of it) and the altitude. That's how unprepared we were.

We immediately proceeded to the Municipal Hall where we scheduled and planned our trip(s). The tour packages are cheap! Probably one of the best things about being administered by the government. Right after our lunch, we went spelunking.

I cannot even begin to put into words how much I enjoyed the cave connection experience. It was exhausting but definitely worth the exhaustion. The 5-hour spelunking was both creepy and majestic at the same time. The cave is HUGE! It reminds me of The Phantom of the Opera and Batman. It was strangely beautiful.

Anyone who's convinced herself to tour the Philippines has to go to Sagada!

Tour Sagada 101

When we got to Sagada, the first thing we did was head to the Municipal Hall. Even if your trip is unplanned or you and your friends just decided to go to Sagada on a whim, things can never go wrong if you go straight to the Municipal Hall. Everything that you need to know about tour packages (with the guides plus the rides) are there. Sagada is a pretty small place. I cannot really bet my life on my spatial skills but the Sagada town is much smaller than UP. So, it's really easy to navigate your way around the area. The Municipal Hall is hard to miss.

Another thing, there are no easy-access PUVs. It's fine though coz the places are at a "walking distance" from each other anyway. When we were there, everywhere seemed like a 15-minute walk away from wherever. The weather and climate are very much appropriate for walking so sweating will never be an issue.

Tour Packages

The highlighted tour packages are my recommended packages.

• Cave Connection
  Sugong hanging coffins, Lumiang Burial Cave, Sumaging Cave
  P800 for two (2) visitors or less +P400 for each addt'l visitor
  Optional ride: P+400
  
  
• Short Course Caving
  Sugong hanging coffins, Lumiang Burial Cave entrance, Sumaging (Big Cave)
  P500 up to four (4) visitors, P1000 for eight (8), P1500 for twelve (12)
  Optional ride: P+350
  
  
• Cultural Sagada
  Echo-Valley hanging coffins, Underground River entrance, Bokong (Small Falls)
  P400 good for ten (10) visitors
  
  
• Northern Sagada
  Bomod-ok (Big Falls), Fidelisan Rice Terraces, Northern Sagada Villages
  P600 good for ten (10) visitors
  Optional ride: P500
  
  
• Eastern Sagada
  Lamagao Antadao, Marlboro Country, Limestone Formation, Wild Horses
  P600 good for ten (10) visitors
  
  
• Western Sagada
  Ampacao Mountain Trek
  P600 good for ten (10) visitors

• Eastern Sagada
  Kiltepan, Sunrise View, Rice Terraces
  P450 food for ten (10) visitors
  
  
• Western Sagada
  Danum Lake, Sunset View, Pottery Shop
  P5000 good for ten (10) visitors
  
  

Getting to Sagada for Noobs :-)

It was our first time to go to Sagada. We practically didn't have any idea how to get there, what to do there, and what to expect from a Sagada trip coz none of my friends have ever gone there. So my friends and I had to do a little research to pool in the necessary information.

I'm not going to complicate stuff for you, dear noob. So, here goes. I assume that (1) you wanna know how to get there and (2) how much the trip's gonna cost you, at least a ballpark figure. Right?

Cubao to Baguio:
travel time: 7 hours plus/minus 1 hour
fare: PhP 430

I went to Sagada with three of my other friends (J, J, and JF). We left Manila for Baguio on a friday at 11PM via one of the Victory Liner buses in Cubao, Quezon City). A bus leaves the station every 15-30 minutes, probably depends on the demand. Anyway, do get tickets at least five hours before your scheduled trip... Since we were practically clueless, we got at the station at 10PM. Natch, all the tickets for the eve have been booked already and the next trip available was at 3AM (Saturday). Nice... We had no choice but to chance a bus ride. After an hour and six buses later, we finally got seats. The travel from Cubao to Baguio takes about 7 hours plus/minus 1 hour. Oh yeah, the fare is PhP 430.00. If I am not miscounting, I think there were two stops before we finally got to Baguio.

Baguio to Sagada:
travel time: 7 hours plus/minus 1 hour
fare: PhP 220

Don't miss this view from the first bus stop to Sagada.

From the Baguio Victory Liner Bus Station, we took a cab to the Dangwa Bus Station (DBS). I think JF paid for the ride which was around PhP 50.00. Once you get to the DBS just ask the people there where the bus station going to Sagada is (facing the station, it’s on the LEFT side). We took the first trip at 6:15AM. You may want to have some hot spicy noodles while waiting. If I am not mistaken, there's at least one bus per hour that leaves for Sagada until around lunch time. Oh yeah, the fare is PhP 220.00. And, there's a bus stop every two hours along the way. So don't worry about peein in your pants or throwin up. And, BTW, at the first stop, we had Balut! Bagay sa malamig na panahon.

Posing with friends at first bus stop to Sagada.

Sources:
[1] personal experience
[2] this site