Finding a bit of heaven in Sagada

If you want to find peace, head for Sagada. Its cool, restful climate and magnificent, green vistas can warm even the most unforgiving heart, while the energy that hums within its trees and rocks can feed and renew the most world-weary soul. Though long overshadowed by neighboring Baguio and Banaue, Sagada remains a refuge for those seeking reprieve from the frustrations of urban life, leading the Department of Tourism to set its sights on this mountain retreat.

Exploring Sagada is a simple, uncomplicated matter, even for the inexperienced or uninitiated. You can immerse yourself in its many natural wonders without going through any special training or using high-tech, expensive equipment. While it is sensible — and in some cases, necessary — to be accompanied by a local guide, a first-time visitor alone will not feel awkward or out of place in Sagada.

In truth, no one really feels like a visitor in this place. The warm welcome given by the residents seems to cancel out the chill, mountain air. Staying in the local inns and pension houses, which provide spartan yet comfortable rooms and delicious, home-cooked meals, will not cost much. The staff will even help you locate guides for your treks.

Begin your expedition in the network of limestone caves created by the subtle yet persistent force of flowing water over thousands of years. Some 60 caves are known, with many not yet fully explored. The biggest is Sumaging, which fascinates tourists with the sheer size of its chambers, its rock formations, and underground pools and streams. A straight tour takes a mere three hours, but you can choose to spend an entire day and thoroughly take pleasure in the experience.

A far cry from Sumaging is Lumiang Cave. Some prefer not to venture inside the cavern, wary of its eerie stillness. Pine coffins line the walls, stacked one on top of the other, balanced on the sharp-edged rock formations. It is said that the early Sagada settlers may have thought Lumiang, akin to a mother’s womb, made an appropriate final resting place for their dead. Local guides volunteer that there is no prohibition against opening the coffins and touching the remains, but prudence – or a cautious form of respect – dictates otherwise.

Some distance away, the thick foliage of Echo Valley conceals yet another of Sagada’s secrets: Its hanging coffins. Carved from the same tree trunks as those of Lumiang, these ancient coffins are perched, seemingly precariously, on a ledge found high up the limestone peaks. Some are more than a hundred years old. How the early people of Sagada managed to scale the sheer rock face to lay these caskets remains a mystery to this day.

The trip to Sagada can be a long, uncomfortable twelve to thirteen hour ride. Yet this fact will be quickly forgotten once the cool air touches your dust-streaked face with that first faint, tentative brush. It is as if the very mountains themselves are saying the punishing journey was necessary for you to be worthy of this bit of heaven.

[ Sagada Wiki ]