Exploring the Philippines: Sagada

It was a several hour drive to Sagrada, Philippines, a historic town located in Ilocos Sur province, known for is significant Spanish colonial influence. There are several churches in the region, but it is probably the hanging coffins, the blue hills, and the weaving that is the most interesting—well, and the Shire (a hotel built to match the Shire from the Hobbit books/movies).

My day started at 4 am, with a trek up the mountain to reach Kiltepan Viewpoint, which offered a panoramic view of the mountains and valleys, with the sun rising above the clouds — and in fact piercing the clouds to create a multilayered effect with the clouds and sunshine. It was a modest hike, where I was accompanied by a soldier from Israel. The lush forest and rolling hills along with the rivers created a very tranquil and pastoral environment in which to climb up. There were even cattle along the way to greet us.

The hike continued to the Blue Soil Hills. There are several hills formed as a result of weathering and erosion, where the copper sulfate and other minerals in the soil create a blue tincture–that gets even bluer when it is raining as a result of water and oxidization (thank goodness it was not raining). The sharp contrast of the green trees, red/brown trunks and blue soil makes for vivid photography. It was a nice area to explore and enjoy, especially as there were few other tourist there.

The Sumaguing Cave is a great place to escape the impenetrable heat for a few hours, by going below ground. We explored the cave with a guide, taking us through several of the major chambers. This is one of the largest caves in Sagada, including a river and unique rock formations in large, cavernous spaces.

There are several kilometers of caverns (interconnected with others, like the Lumiang cave), formed through erosion of the limestone rocks by water. The columns, flowstones, and stalactites (top) and stalagmites (bottom) suddenly appeared in the beam of our headlamps, but were otherwise lost in darkness. It was most enjoyable to be the only people in the cave at times, able to listen to the bats or hear ourselves talking quite clearly.

We rappelled down cliff walls, slid through small waterfalls, and waded in crystal-clear pools of water to get to the next level. The stench of bat guano was sort of overwhelming. It was quite surreal and one of the first places where we were not protected to death, and could just explore and climb around on our own (well, with the guide there). We were able to just sit in the cool water and enjoy the silence, contemplating the spiritual significance of this culturally sacred place. No ghost sightings or scares from the bats (nor any guano in the eye!).

Our hiking continued to the Echo Valley and Lumiang Burial Cave, where the famous hanging coffins are located. This is a traditional way of burying people, where they are “folded” into small coffins after having fluids removed, and then hung along the cliffs of the valley where they remain for hundreds of years. Depending on several factors, they may still be there after 300 years. We were struck by the number of visitors, but upon learning of significant ancestral worship in the Philippines, it was not surprising they were visiting ancestors.

Many were wearing some of the traditional textiles (Tingguian woven cloth turned into clothing), along with carrying baskets, wooden carved objects and pottery. In fact, we even spent a few minutes throwing on the potters wheel ourselves, although we did not choose to keep our pottery creations.

The backstrap loom method, includes natural dyes and traditions of how to make them, is passed down through the centuries, family to family. We were drenched in a deluge of rain but decided against trying the local delicacies (bagnet (crispy fried pork belly), pinakbet (mixed vegetable stew), and empanada (deep-fried pastry filled with meat and vegetables). Even though ordered by our guide in the local dialect, the pizza still had the ingredients requested be omitted!