Beyond fun and relaxation offered by many tourist destinations, visitors to Sagada will attest not only to the breathtaking landscape but also to the rare chance it offers to test one’s faith and strength.

A mountain paradise in North Luzon, Sagada is nestled in a valley around Chico River in the Cordillera Administrative Region. It is home to more than 11,315 Igorots who have rich cultural traditions, particularly in the way they bury their loved ones.

Sagada is known for the hanging coffins that abound in majestic limestone mountains around the province. The Igorots believe that burying their loved ones this way will allow their souls to easily leave Earth and go to heaven.

The central town, situated 1,500 meters above sea level, is believed to be once submerged in ocean some billions of years ago as seashell fossils were inside its huge caves and limestone mountains.

Visitors will have the chance to commune with nature during their stay in this very tranquil town as there are no high-end hotels or noisy bars—only quiet moments in the few cozy coffee shops and small dining places. The municipal government imposes a 9 pm curfew.

Sagada is located 275 kilometers from Manila. Tourists coming from the capital are usually encouraged to take the midnight bus ride to Baguio City, which takes around five to six hours. This will allow them to catch some coffee breaks and an early breakfast in Baguio before taking the earliest bus trip to Sagada, which is another six hours.

Sagada has a number of hostels and guesthouses, which are enough to accommodate an average of 1,500 to 2,000 tourists who visit every month. But home stays are also popular in Sagada during the peak months of February, March and April, where the number of tourists balloons to 4,000 to 5,000.

Tours are usually taken on foot—from 30-minute to two-hour treks through the scenic rice terraces and mountains. Vans can also be hired. Tourists are required to register at the municipal hall near the bus terminal and pay a P20 environmental fee.

Getting tour schedules are very organized as municipal officers are the ones who provide visitors with the information on places to go, as well as rates and ideal time of visits. Tourists are required to hire local guides, especially when going to the caves.

Picture-perfect scenery

On a clear day, the earliest bus ride to Sagada is breathtaking as the rays of sunrise seep through the idyllic clouds hovering on the mountaintops. It is also advised to leave Sagada during the last bus trip at 1 pm going to Baguio to take a glimpse of full dark orange sunset seeping through thick clouds. Such picture-perfect scenes while riding the bus are simply priceless and memorable.

Late-afternoon walks can be exciting by going to the Echo Valley, which is a five- to 10-minute walk from the central town. The view deck also offers a glimpse of the hanging coffins. You can choose your adventure by trekking down for a closer look at the hanging coffins or climbing to the top of the limestone mountain for a sense of being on top of the world.

A visit to Sagada is made more exciting by going through the caves of Sumaguing, known as the big cave, and the Lumiang burial cave.

The entrance of Lumiang cave can be reached on foot after a 30- to 45-minute walk. Igorots say those buried here were the ones who died of old age. Some people, who died of serious illnesses and those who were killed, were, however, buried in deeper parts of the cave.

The 30-minute trip on foot to Sumaguing cave is a picturesque one with the majestic scenery of rice terraces.

For first timers, the two-hour-plus tour to the Sumaguing cave is like going down to the Earth’s core and will simply test your faith

The entrance of the cave appears to be scary. As you go deeper, you can only hear the sound of bats and water flowing. For those who have seen many Hollywood horror films, the scene may scare you to the point of backing out.

But tour guides are prepared to psych you up as they assure tourists that they will never leave you no matter what. During the brief orientation, they will tell you to strictly follow directions, like stepping on the floors, avoiding slippery parts and not moving too quickly as the terrain is uncertain for first timers. Tour guides are equipped with a gas-powered lamp and a flashlight.

Fear of uncertainty enveloped me when the lamp went off while going down. This fear was further intensified when the lamp went off again, while we were in the middle of the cave. We were just three inside the cave and there was complete silence. I held my son’s hands and prayed quietly. The only sound that you can hear comes from the bats and some drops of water from afar.

It took almost 15 minutes for the tour guide to fix his lamp, and I just couldn’t hide my fear. I was about to back out but the thought of leaving my son there and not being able to be on his side in case of problem or when he also gets scared convinced me to push through.

Sagada is also known as a network of limestone caves and subterranean streams. The formations inside the Sumaguing cave give you a sense of reaching a hidden kingdom. There are rocks that look like a chocolate marble cake, a pregnant woman’s tummy and, of course, bananas, from where the name of the cave originated (Sumaguing, from the word saging, or banana).

The more than two hours of experience of spelunking, trekking and swimming in the cold waters inside the Sumaguing cave is a must-try for visitors to Sagada.

Mountain treks

There are two famous falls in Sagada—the Bomod-ok, or the big falls, and the Bodok falls. The trip to Bomod-ok falls requires a 30-minute ride on a van and two hours of trekking in the mountains, going around rice terraces.

The trip to Bodok falls, or the small falls, however, is a lot easier as it can be reached through a 45-minute trek. The trails are easier to track and the scenic rice fields are ideal for water breaks and stopovers.

In the eastern part of Sagada, more adventurous tourists can go to the so-called Marlboro country, where there are wild horses, rice terraces and more limestone formations.

After the adventure to the caves and heart-pounding treks to rice terraces and mountains, tourists can treat themselves to mouthwatering homemade yoghurt from Sagada’s famous Yoghurt House, which also serves pasta dishes and salads. There are several small dining places that specialize in pinikpikan, a signature chicken dish in Sagada.

There are three mountains around Central Sagada, which are favored by adventurous mountaineers. There are guided trips called Sagada Bonfire, which will take trekkers up Mount Buasaw, Mount Sisipitan and Mount Ampacao.

Unprepared for tourism

Sagada is rich in both natural resources and cultural heritage but the majority of the Igorots who have lived quiet lives in the mountains for many generations are now wary of their future.

A tourism officer of the Sagada municipal office admitted that the province is not prepared to meet the needs of an increasing number of tourists.

The situation particularly gets out of control during Holy Week, when tourists from Metro Manila flock to colder destinations like Sagada as an alternative to Baguio, which is now crowded and polluted.

Statistics from the tourism office show that 10 percent to 15 percent of the tourists in Sagada are foreigners, mostly from European countries like France, Austria, Germany, as well as Australia and the US.

He said the province still lacks facilities such as ATMs, moneychangers and commercial banks that are open on weekdays. The only provincial bank in Sagada is open only every Tuesday and Thursday, in time for market days.

The limestone mountainranges also face threats of destruction as more investors began building hotels and restaurants to cater to the increasing number of tourists.

On the way to Sumaguing and Lumiang caves, there is a disturbing site of a hotel being constructed, which reportedly will have casino. The Igorots have opposed the project, as it sits on top of a limestone mountain. The case is still pending decision by the municipal board.

The tourism officer said many Igorots are opposed to uncontrolled infrastructure developments in the province as they destroy the natural resources.

“Of particular concern are the limestone mountainrange known to be Sagada’s natural treasure,” he said.

Officials of the Sagada municipal province also limit the number of tourist destinations that can be explored to preserve the beauty and richness of the province’s natural resources.

“Many Igorots also do not tell tourists where the other hanging coffins are located because some of the tourists exploit those that are already known,” the tourism officer said, adding that many tourists place graffiti on hanging coffins, mutilate the skeletons of those in burial caves and get pieces of wooded coffins as souvenirs.

The influx of tourists in Sagada has also prompted farmers, particularly male members of the family, to abandon the rice terraces, to work instead as tour guides, which give them easy money.

“Now people of Sagada need to import rice from nearby provinces because there are less people into farming,” he said. “Water supply is also becoming scarce because of the influx of tourists.”

Dilemma

Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim said tourism sector   in the Philippines is a huge source of revenues for many local government offices, contributing 6 percent of the country’s gross domestic product last year. He also said the sector generated 10 percent of the country’s total employment, or 3.4 million people.

The government is seeking to increase foreign tourist arrivals from 3 million in 2009 to at least 6 million in 2016.

One of the measures to attract foreign travelers to the country is to increase the number of hotels and resorts to accommodate them.

But the Igorots of Sagada, who have lived for many decades of subsistence farming and local tourism, face serious repercussions while increasing revenues.

The government needs to tread cautiously on the issues of building more infrastructure projects, particularly in tourist destinations that are sensitive to degradation.

There is a very thin line between attracting tourists to increase investments and create jobs and the catastrophic impact of destroying habitats and natural landscapes to build more hotels and resorts.

Both nature and the people, particularly indigenous tribes, are the ones who suffer the heavy consequences.

This serene mountaintop town, rich in beauty and grandeur, faces real challenges but many Igorots are resolved to preserve their treasures.