Sagada

Last time I was in Sagada was sometime in the late 90’s, last Dec. 26-29 I had the chance to revisit this Magical place.

On any regular day most of the visitors of Sagada are foreigners who don’t mind traveling 12 hours from Manila to Sagada. Filipinos in general would be content to stay in Baguio since it’s already a 6 hour drive. Sadly, like the rest of the Philippines it is foreign backpackers who end up discovering and enjoying the many beautiful and hidden places the Philippines has to offer.

I would describe Sagada as Baguio less all the cars, establishment and people. Maybe Baguio in the 1940’s. The allure of Sagada is its tranquil atmosphere, walking around being surrounded by lush forests and pine trees. Sagada in itself is a retreat from the madness of the metropolis, closing time for all establishments is 9pm.

Getting to this tranquil paradise though is a different story, shielded from the mainstream public by numerous mountains; the trip from Baguio is a six hour journey through zigzag roads. Lucky for us that now 90 percent of the road is already paved.

During my Sagada trip, I stayed at Mapyaw Inn. It’s very charming pace that I would recommend to people as long as you don’t mind walking 20 min to get to town. There are many places of interest in Sagada, to see most of them I would recommend staying about 4 days.

A must see though is the Sumaging cave. The highlight of my trip though was the cave connection between Lumiang and Sumaging cave. Imagine spending 3 hours underground, it kind of reminded me of the caves of Moria in LOR! If you’re going to sagada, do make sure you experience this. It will make the six hour trip from Baguio worth it!

Trip costs:
Accommodations- P250 per night per pax
Transpo- P220 one way Bus Baguio- Sagada
Food- 100-200 per meal
Tours- Sumaging cave P400 for group of 4, cave connection P400 per pax. There are many more tours to take
For more info on Sagada visit http://www.visitsagada.com/