#kiltepan

I did a quick non-thorough search and found out about Sagada. There was one photo of the sunrise from Mount Kiltepan in Sagada that caught my attention and convinced me that this was going to be my next destination.

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One of my biggest insecurities when I travel somewhere new is that I wonder whether I’ll actually meet any people or if I’ll end up roaming around the place all by myself.

I was kind of feeling social, so I decided to put a “shout out” for anyone going to Sagada on Facebook. I got a message from a French girl who was living in Baguio and was planning a short trip to Sagada with one of her friends at the same time, so we decided to meet.

That meeting turned into an all-night-long drinking debauchery, which caused us to miss our 5:00 AM bus. With the power of conviction and the stench of alcohol, we somehow still managed to convince a taxi to drive us the 5 hours from Baguio to Sagada.

The road took us through the mountains, passing through small villages and towns. The very early morning drive also allowed us to drive on top of a cloud forest hanging right beneath us as the car continued its ascension to ever higher points on the road.

Sagada is one of those places that you cannot help but fall in love with from the moment you get in. A very small town located on top of mountains and surrounded by nature with only one main street where most of the commerces and houses are located. Plus Sagada has some of the best food I tasted while in the Philippines, surprisingly offering many western options as well.

Although the wonders of hangover-ism and the rain deterred us from doing much hardcore that first day, we were still able to walk around town and meet some people.

What the fuck?

That’s what I let out when I saw what seemed like coffins hanging from the side of a mountain.

The people practising this type of burial tradition belief that by moving the bodies of the dead as high as possible, it brings them closer to their ancestral spirits. Although the number of people practising this has faded over the last few decades, it is still a burial tradition that has been kept alive for over a millennia.

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We set up our alarm for a ridiculous 4:15 AM the next morning. We were planing on hiking to the top of Mount Kiltepan for one of the most beautiful sunrises in the Philippines.

For that we first needed to walk through dark streets to find an unmarked path to get to the top of the mountain. Mud and thorns made the hike a little difficult, so much so that I fell on my ass and ended up with scratched legs.

We could have taken a jeepney to the top like all locals do, but a hike in complete darkness at 4 in the morning was too much of an adventure to not do it.

By the time we got to the top there was already a mass of people gathered waiting for the sunrise. Nearby a line of jeepneys who had taken those same people up, while coffee and soup vendors greeted anyone willing to buy something to warm themselves up.

As the sun rose and the clouds lowered, the sky turned into a beautiful yellow colour. We stood on top of the cloud forest, barely seeing the mountains below. As the clouds continued to lower, the first sight of the mountains appeared. The entire spectacle had made the early morning hike extremely worth it.

Our next crazy activity was spelunking, or caving, which involved going through limestone caves way deep below the surface on an almost 6-hour long journey. The activity we had chosen was called the “cave connection” and involved going from the Lumiang cave to the Sumaguing cave.

We did not really know what to expect beyond the fact that this was going to take us a full morning and part of the afternoon to complete. We had not been asked for much other than if any of us were claustrophobic. We hadn’t even had to sign one of those “if-you-die-it’s-not-the-tour-guide’s-fault” forms we normally sign for this kind of activity.

At first, we did not think much about the fact that all our guide had was a lamp…. he was even wearing flip-flops. The first few minutes descending are quite easy.

This changes after the first 30 minutes, when holding on to slippery rocks while climbing is made scarier by the total darkness of the bottom. It was easy to think that if any of us fell, we would never find the body.

The whole cave connection was far from easy, especially when going through tight spaces. Molding my body to make it smaller than it is and playing contortionist all the while climbing on wet rocks was certainly a challenge, but one which at the end of the day was super enjoyable.

If 6 hours of spelunking sounds like too much, there is a much shorter option of exploring only the Sumaguing cave for 2 hours.

There was so much more I would’ve liked to see in Sagada, but I was unable to stay courtesy of the shitty 2 ATMs in the city. For whatever reason, none of the ATMs in town would let me withdraw any money, so I had to leave before I ran out of cash.

I had thought about heading back, but the next city happened to be a few hours from Sagada, so coming back was not an option.

Nevertheless, my time in Sagada was the most amazing time I had in all of the Philippines, and I highly recommend making the journey here.

Have you been to Sagada?

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