Sagada Day 2: Kiltepan Peak, Sumaguing Cave and Echo Valley
Monday, March 07, 2016
On our second day in Sagada, we woke up too early for the 4:30 AM call time to catch the sunrise at Kiltepan Peak. I was so happy we didn't have to hike to reach Sagada's highest point. We transferred from the van to a local jeepney that can bring us to the viewpoint. Another group joined us but not all of us can fit inside the vehicle, others have decided to topload. It was freezing cold at dawn. I've heard the toploaders happily screaming as we go up the mountain especially on zigzags. For sure, it was an adventurous thing to do but I didn't regret to have stayed inside the jeep. It is better to be safe than sorry! :)
We were so surprised when we arrived at Kiltepan Viewpoint.. sea of people welcomed us first before we saw the sea of clouds. It was too crowded! It was still dark and I was so amazed by everyone's effort to wake up too early. Funny thing happened to us, as we were about to take photos of the clouds, we realized that we forgot to put back the battery of our camera after charging it, we had to use camera phone instead.
Look at the Kilte-fans!
We had our breakfast at Strawberry Cafe located just in front of Indigenous Inn where we were staying. We enjoyed our Filipino and Continental set. I also ordered a Sagada coffee (a.k.a. Sagada brew) and a homemade Strawberry Yogurt! Yum!
Our next call time was 10:30 AM for our spelunking activity in Sumaguing Cave. The benefit of having Bomod-ok Falls on our first day was to make this activity less difficult for us. It was the largest cave I've explored so far.
At Sumaguing Cave's entrance..
Kuya Jefort was our guide inside the cave. He carried the lamp for us and taught us the easiest possible trail. He was so nice to volunteer to take all our pictures and to even use his own shoulders and thighs to be our ladder. T_T
It was so steep going down the cave.. For each step, we had to be cautious and avoid muddy parts..
Improvised ladder made of old tires...
When we reached the rock formations, we were advised to remove our slippers. The lake water was so cool and it was so relaxing..
Our entire group sitting on a "giant turtle"...
A slice of "caramel cake"..
"The Waterfalls".. At the back was a water flowing from the top of the rock formation. However, this photo didn't give justice to it. :(
Sitting on the "giant snake"..
After an hour and a half exploring the cave, we had to go back since we opted not to pursue Sumaguing - Lumiang Cave Connection activity which will take 4 hours. Maybe next time so we have a reason to go back! :)
Stepping on the rock formations were not slippery at all even when there's water flowing on it. The challenging part was going up, stepping on white rocks or marbles with wet feet was so slippery.
Seeing the light.. Finally, we're done! We've conquered Sumaguing Cave!
We've rested a bit after our caving activity and continued our itinerary. The Episcopal Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, Sagada Cemetery and Echo Valley are located near each other.
The Church of Saint Mary the Virgin.. When it comes to religion, the people of Sagada are mostly Anglicans. As explained by our tour guide, it is very similar to Catholicism except that their priests do not practice celibacy, meaning the priests are allowed to get married.
Sagada Cemetery... We went at daylight and it was not that creepy!
One of the newest and noticeable tomb was that of PO3 Noel Golocan, a brave man from Sagada and one of the fallen 44 victims of Mamasapano Clash. T_T
Echo Valley is just a few walks away from Sagada Cemetery. Cliffs surround the area and shouting on this part gives the best reverberation of sounds.
Visible from the Echo Valley are the famous Hanging Coffins. Coffins are suspended from the cliffs as the ancient people of Mountain Province believed that it will make the dead person closer to heaven and can still see the world. We weren't able to take a closer look at those because it will take another hour to go down that part.
As you will notice, we had a jampacked Day 2 itinerary. Our Kiltepan sunset viewing was supposed to be on the third day. For Day 3, we had to leave Sagada at 3 AM to travel to La Trinidad, Benguet. We wanted to avoid the 10 AM closure of Marcos Highway to give way to Panagbenga float parade. After we bought strawberries, jams and vegetables, we headed back to Manila and at 4 PM I was already at home. :)
We were so surprised when we arrived at Kiltepan Viewpoint.. sea of people welcomed us first before we saw the sea of clouds. It was too crowded! It was still dark and I was so amazed by everyone's effort to wake up too early. Funny thing happened to us, as we were about to take photos of the clouds, we realized that we forgot to put back the battery of our camera after charging it, we had to use camera phone instead.
Look at the Kilte-fans!
Our next call time was 10:30 AM for our spelunking activity in Sumaguing Cave. The benefit of having Bomod-ok Falls on our first day was to make this activity less difficult for us. It was the largest cave I've explored so far.
At Sumaguing Cave's entrance..
Kuya Jefort was our guide inside the cave. He carried the lamp for us and taught us the easiest possible trail. He was so nice to volunteer to take all our pictures and to even use his own shoulders and thighs to be our ladder. T_T
It was so steep going down the cave.. For each step, we had to be cautious and avoid muddy parts..
When we reached the rock formations, we were advised to remove our slippers. The lake water was so cool and it was so relaxing..
Our entire group sitting on a "giant turtle"...
A slice of "caramel cake"..
"The Waterfalls".. At the back was a water flowing from the top of the rock formation. However, this photo didn't give justice to it. :(
Sitting on the "giant snake"..
After an hour and a half exploring the cave, we had to go back since we opted not to pursue Sumaguing - Lumiang Cave Connection activity which will take 4 hours. Maybe next time so we have a reason to go back! :)
Stepping on the rock formations were not slippery at all even when there's water flowing on it. The challenging part was going up, stepping on white rocks or marbles with wet feet was so slippery.
Seeing the light.. Finally, we're done! We've conquered Sumaguing Cave!
We've rested a bit after our caving activity and continued our itinerary. The Episcopal Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, Sagada Cemetery and Echo Valley are located near each other.
The Church of Saint Mary the Virgin.. When it comes to religion, the people of Sagada are mostly Anglicans. As explained by our tour guide, it is very similar to Catholicism except that their priests do not practice celibacy, meaning the priests are allowed to get married.
Sagada Cemetery... We went at daylight and it was not that creepy!
One of the newest and noticeable tomb was that of PO3 Noel Golocan, a brave man from Sagada and one of the fallen 44 victims of Mamasapano Clash. T_T
Echo Valley is just a few walks away from Sagada Cemetery. Cliffs surround the area and shouting on this part gives the best reverberation of sounds.
Visible from the Echo Valley are the famous Hanging Coffins. Coffins are suspended from the cliffs as the ancient people of Mountain Province believed that it will make the dead person closer to heaven and can still see the world. We weren't able to take a closer look at those because it will take another hour to go down that part.
We had our cozy lunch at Misty Lodge's Misty Owl Restaurant. The interiors were so beautiful and I liked their Baked Herbed Chicken so much. We also ordered homemade Cranberry Ice Cream yogurt.
After we eat, we passed by Sagada Pottery House for a quick demo on how to create a simple vase. Their creations are so classy and polished.. a bit expensive for me but the pieces are worth the price.
We also requested our driver Kuya Neil to bring us to Lake Danum before going back to our lodge. The water was brownish-orange probably because the carabaos can swim in the lake. We've seen dried animal dungs in the grasses too.
0 comments