The Ultimate Trek to Experience Sagada's Sunrise, Waterfall and Hanging Coffins

On our second (and last) day in Sagada, we had the whole day to explore more of its best attractions. With body still tired and aching from the previous day's spelunking activity, we woke up very early at around 4:30 AM and dragged ourselves to the van. This time we booked for a transportation from SAGGAS to take us anywhere around Sagada.

Our first stop was the Kiltepan Peak. It's a hike up in the mountain which has the best panoramic view of Sagada, the rice terraces and nearby mountain ranges. It also offers the best sunrise view in Sagada, hence, the need to rise early to catch the amazing sunrise and capture its full splendor.

The beautiful sunrise at Kiltepan Peak

The Amazing Spelunking Adventure at Sumaging Cave

A visit to Sagada won't be as exciting and memorable without some spelunking activity. At first, I couldn't imagine caves like Lumi-ang and Sumaging exist in such a high mountainous ground of the Mountain Province. Nevertheless, these caves are among the natural wonders that make Sagada a must-visit destination. Seeing these places gives every traveler a taste of history and adventure.

After six hours of bus trip from Baguio City, we finally arrived in Sagada and immediately checked in at George Guest House, one of the popular and affordable inns in Sagada. Our room costs P600 for two persons - it was big enough to fit four pax.

George Guest House entrance

The Scenic and Endless Winding Road to Sagada

Originally, we wanted to go to Caramoan Island in Camarines Sur last May but typhoon Bebeng started rampaging across the whole Bicol region just days before our scheduled trip. Good thing we had planned for a Sagada trip as a Plan B. We only had less than a week to finalize everything but organizing a trip to Sagada did not seem to be a daunting task. Thanks to dozens of information all over the internet.

It takes at least 12 hours to reach Sagada from Manila by bus. Although there are no direct trips from Manila, there are three available options on how to get there. VisitSagada.com is a great website that has everything you need to know when planning for your do-it-yourself (DIY) Sagada getaway.

My friend and I chose the Manila-Baguio City-Sagada route. I know most people would leave Manila by midnight just in time to catch the first trip of buses bound for Sagada in Baguio. However, we didn't like the idea of sitting for at least 12 straight hours on the bus (6 hours from Manila to Baguio, another 6 hours from Baguio to Sagada). It would be our first time to travel that long by bus, if ever.

So off we went to Victory Liner terminal in Pasay and took the 11:00 AM trip bound for Baguio City. We decided to stay in Baguio for a night.

Gloomy sunset view from SM Baguio

Where Have I Been this 2011?

I'm so freaking blessed to have traveled to many major destinations in the Philippines this year. One of my new year's resolutions which was to travel only every other month has become an almost monthly routine. I kicked off 2011 with a Puerto Galera getaway and soon found myself crazy booking for domestic flights in every seat sale opportunity I can get. I thought the travel bug was beginning to bite me hard.

Just to summarize, below are the places where I've been in the past year. I will be writing about my adventure in each of these destinations in the next couple of days weeks. Looks like a lot of backlog to catch up on. :-)

Puerto Galera, January 2011

Why Travel Blog?

Putting up a travel blog never crossed my mind. All I wanted to do was to travel, take pictures of my trips, share some photos on Facebook and keep the travel experiences in my memories.

Then a few weeks ago I heard about the resignation of former DOT Secretary Alberto Lim that made headlines. Rumors and speculation about his resignation started to come out. Despite the controversy, I tried to remain hopeful and focused on the positive news that Philippine tourism has seen a rapid growth in the first five months of 2011. By the way, this news came out even before Lim's resignation so I didn't quite get why leave in the middle of the celebration. Or was there a more serious issue behind his resignation?

Anyway, like I said, I'd rather focus on the good news. A new DOT chief has now been named. Like what everyone else believes, I'm very positive that Ramon Jimenez can do a better job. I'm happy in his enthusiasm in encouraging everyone to promote the Philippines - comparing the country to a "chicken joy which is very easy to sell". I deliciously second that! LOL.

Whether good news or bad news, we cannot deny the fact the Philippines is a beautiful country. And for me, that is an understatement. I'm putting up this blog so that other people realize that fact. Every Filipino should be aware that there are plenty of hidden gems all over the country, waiting to be discovered. I don't hate my friends or some people who prefer to travel to other countries but one thing is for sure, they are missing to experience the treasures in their own backyard.