I have always wanted to go to Sagada, a small town in the Mountain Province of the Philippines. This from the time my daughter went there for her community service while in school. She was awed by the place, the beautiful scenery, the peaceful surroundings, the friendly people and the quaint, small town, so much so that she volunteered to go again the following year. Sagada is an idyllic place in her memories. That was in 1998.
This summer, I finally made it to Sagada. My husband and my sister and I decided to go there from Baguio. Originally we had intended to sleep there overnight, but we were unable to get accommodations. We decided to go anyway, determined not to put off visiting Sagada again.
Sagada is around 140 kms from Baguio and we were told it would take us around 8 hours to get there, so we decided to leave very early in the morning. The way there is spectacular! Scenic tree covered mountains can be seen on both sides of a two lane highway.
Sagada is around 140 kms from Baguio and we were told it would take us around 8 hours to get there, so we decided to leave very early in the morning. The way there is spectacular! Scenic tree covered mountains can be seen on both sides of a two lane highway.
However, if you suffer from motion sickness, you won't enjoy the way up. Twisting, steep roads and then descending, requiring the driver to either step on his breaks or shift to a lower gear. But there are those, rather brave or should we say fatalistic souls, who could care less about the dangers inherent in such winding roads.
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| penthouse ride! |
As we approached Sagada, I noticed more and more jeepneys carrying not one but multiple passengers on their roof! Foolhardy or enterprising?
When we were nearing Sagada, we began to see the Sagada rice terraces. I am told, they are small and less in number than the Banaue rice terraces, but to us they were no less dramatic. Carved from the mountainside, resembling giant staircases, Sagada's terraces are made up of small stones piled one on top of the other, while the rice terraces of Banaue are made of compacted soil. I am told that the Banaue rice terraces are beginning to crumble because of an infestation of earth worms!
On the turn off to Sagada, clearly marked with a sign that said: Sagada 12 kms, there was a palpable excitement in the car we were travelling in. At last, after only 4 hours we were almost there. But what do they say about expectations? For me, the town of Sagada should have remained an anticipated pleasure. Because beautiful it is not, idyllic, very far from it. What we saw was a small town whose very tiny streets were clogged by cars, jeepneys and buses, with no where to park and no where to move. A horrendous traffic jam, that was what we found in Sagada.
When we finally found a place to park, we walked around, rather we pushed our way around looking for a place to eat. Eating places that were recommended to us where not open and the one that was, had a screeching karaoke machine on full blast surrounded by teenagers singing or attempting to sing. We decided to eat in the car, thanking the foresight of my cousin who had provided us with sandwiches and drinks for the trip.
After this we decided to see just one of the must see sights, the hanging coffins of Sagada. For this purpose we hired a guide. She was a member of the Kakana-ey tribe, which she said was the biggest tribe in these parts. She spoke fluent English with an American accent. I was to find out later that these parts of the Mountain Province and large areas of Northern Luzon had been evangelized by American Episcopalian missionaries. This accounts for two facts about Sagada, 1) it is the only town in the Philippines that is predominantly Protestant, with 95% of the inhabitants having been baptized into the Episcopal Church. And 2) majority of its inhabitants speak fluent American English, so much so that our guide said, a call center was going to open soon in Sagada. When that happens, there may be no more English speaking guides to take you to the sights!
She brought us to three places. One of them was just a cave where the coffins were stacked one on top of the other, here she said, were buried those women who died in childbirth.
Our guide explained that during the wake for the dead, the bodies were made to sit down and once rigor mortis has dissipated, around 48 hours after death, the corpse was folded in a foetal position and put into the wooden coffins. This manner of burial has been practiced for centuries, there are coffins that go back 2,000 years with the most recent addition in 1992.
Some coffins are stacked on cliff sides, how they got it there, one can only guess at.
We also walked down to one of the caves. The hike down was not too bad.
As you get to the top of the cave opening, a rather dramatic sight welcomes you. At this point I was not very sure I wanted to continue down, especially seeing what looked like a bottomless pit from where I was resting to catch my breath.
Descending with care, we only noticed the coffins stacked up on the sides when we got onto the next ledge.
The way back up was considerably more difficult. I had to stop a couple of times to catch my breath. Our guide, seeing me struggling offered to carry my camera bag for me. Without the added weight, it became a little bit easier, only a little! Oh yes, age is catching up with me!
So we left Sagada with mixed feelings, disappointment that the town is no longer the way my daughter described, but awed by a culture and tradition preserved through the centuries. And I made a conscious decision to return, not during the summer months but when there were not too many tourists. Maybe seeing more of the must see sights and staying over when Sagada shed her tourist's garb, I might get to experience the real nature of Sagada.
When we were nearing Sagada, we began to see the Sagada rice terraces. I am told, they are small and less in number than the Banaue rice terraces, but to us they were no less dramatic. Carved from the mountainside, resembling giant staircases, Sagada's terraces are made up of small stones piled one on top of the other, while the rice terraces of Banaue are made of compacted soil. I am told that the Banaue rice terraces are beginning to crumble because of an infestation of earth worms!
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| a closer view |
When we finally found a place to park, we walked around, rather we pushed our way around looking for a place to eat. Eating places that were recommended to us where not open and the one that was, had a screeching karaoke machine on full blast surrounded by teenagers singing or attempting to sing. We decided to eat in the car, thanking the foresight of my cousin who had provided us with sandwiches and drinks for the trip.
After this we decided to see just one of the must see sights, the hanging coffins of Sagada. For this purpose we hired a guide. She was a member of the Kakana-ey tribe, which she said was the biggest tribe in these parts. She spoke fluent English with an American accent. I was to find out later that these parts of the Mountain Province and large areas of Northern Luzon had been evangelized by American Episcopalian missionaries. This accounts for two facts about Sagada, 1) it is the only town in the Philippines that is predominantly Protestant, with 95% of the inhabitants having been baptized into the Episcopal Church. And 2) majority of its inhabitants speak fluent American English, so much so that our guide said, a call center was going to open soon in Sagada. When that happens, there may be no more English speaking guides to take you to the sights!
She brought us to three places. One of them was just a cave where the coffins were stacked one on top of the other, here she said, were buried those women who died in childbirth.
Our guide explained that during the wake for the dead, the bodies were made to sit down and once rigor mortis has dissipated, around 48 hours after death, the corpse was folded in a foetal position and put into the wooden coffins. This manner of burial has been practiced for centuries, there are coffins that go back 2,000 years with the most recent addition in 1992.
Some coffins are stacked on cliff sides, how they got it there, one can only guess at.
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| Limestone cliffs with coffins from afar |
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| stacked coffins |
We also walked down to one of the caves. The hike down was not too bad.
As you get to the top of the cave opening, a rather dramatic sight welcomes you. At this point I was not very sure I wanted to continue down, especially seeing what looked like a bottomless pit from where I was resting to catch my breath.
 |
| Looking down |
Descending with care, we only noticed the coffins stacked up on the sides when we got onto the next ledge.
The way back up was considerably more difficult. I had to stop a couple of times to catch my breath. Our guide, seeing me struggling offered to carry my camera bag for me. Without the added weight, it became a little bit easier, only a little! Oh yes, age is catching up with me!
So we left Sagada with mixed feelings, disappointment that the town is no longer the way my daughter described, but awed by a culture and tradition preserved through the centuries. And I made a conscious decision to return, not during the summer months but when there were not too many tourists. Maybe seeing more of the must see sights and staying over when Sagada shed her tourist's garb, I might get to experience the real nature of Sagada.
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