Getting There

From Metro Manila, the traveler can go to Baguio, (take buses in EDSA or elsewhere; Victory Liner aircon buses leave every 30 mins, P380 for a one-way ticket) as Baguio is the hub of all travel routes to the Cordillera Mountain Range. The traveler can get a bus to Sagada at the old Dangwa Tranco compound in Magsaysay Ave. Just look for Lizardo Lines within the Dangwa compound. Only Lizardo Lines travels directly to Sagada (P220). Buses going to Besao will also pass Sagada.

Be sure to get to the Dangwa terminal before 11am. The regular last trip to Sagada by Lizardo Lines leaves before lunch so they can get there before nightfall. It’s a six-hour trip from Baguio to Sagada (or 104 kms) via the Baguio-Bontoc Highway (or Halsema Highway) and the curves can get pretty tricky – thus, day trips only. If you want to risk an evening ride (or miss the last trip), you can catch a 5 pm bus to Bontoc and from there, board a jeep for the 45-minute ride to Sagada.

Staying There

In Sagada, the Lizardo Lines bus usually stops near the steps leading to St. Joseph’s Inn & Café (run by the Episcopalian mission). You can rent a small house or opt for a room with a private bath. The Sagada Guest House and Ganduyan Inn are just a few hops from the plaza. So is the Sagada Municipal hall, where every traveler is supposed to go and register at the tourism office.

Those who don’t want to live further off from the plaza can walk a kilometer to Mapiya-aw Inn. Here, you can be surrounded by pine trees, rock formations and the sounds of birds singing.

The average rate for a room with a common bathroom is P200 per person. Those with a private bath are about P400-500 per person per night. These rates are standard for all registered inns (but Sagada innkeepers are flexible).

When there

After settling in your room and registering at the tourism office, buy one of those hand drawn maps that shows much of what is in the municipality. Get the map, illustrated by a certain P.M. Stephens, at St. Joseph’s Café of RJ Crafts. Its green-on-white drawings are fun to look at.

A first timer in Sagada would do well to request the Tourism office for a guide, especially when going to the caves or hanging coffins. The ratio is one guide per four tourists, and costs P400.00 (split four ways). The Tourism office can hook a solo traveler with others so they can all share the guide’s fee. It’s also a fine way to meet and bond with fellow travelers.

I’ve been to Sagada four times and have visited Lake Danom, Matangkib Cave, Kiltepan Point and the cemetery just above Echo Valley. But a quick look in P.S. Stephen’s fun map shows I have more to see. Since there are no taxis, tricycles, pedicabs or karitelas in Sagada, people walk. So it’s perfectly understandable if a traveler can only visit one or two spots a day. As Sagada is located 1,500 meters above sea level, the mountain air can overwhelm the CO2 filled lungs of city slickers, and the steep up-and-down hike can weigh heavy on legs used to escalators and elevators. All this exercise may be good for urbanites but the heavy intake of fresh thin mountain air can make them dizzy. Not to mention the 10° C temperature that kept me up and shivering at night.

Who is there

Sagadans come mostly of the Kankana-ey tribe who have been around for centuries. They built terraces and planted vegetables and rice. Their terraces are fortified with stones, unlike the Ifugaos who use mud to secure the Banaue rice terraces.

Sagadans are a good-looking lot and place a premium on education. This is due largely to Episcopalian missionaries led by Fr. Staunton and wife Senora Maria, who, in the early 1900s, established St. Mary’s High School in the mountain town. They also founded St. Theodore’s Hospital and St. Mary the Virgin church. All are still in operation today.

Migrants also live among the Kankana-eys in Sagada. A prime example is Dr. William Henry Scott, a Yale graduate and Episcopalian missionary who taught at St. Mary’s High School and wrote more books about Philippine history than native Filipino historians. His remains can be found in the public cemetery and his students are scattered all over the country, as most have become professionals.

Another example is Jaime Masferre, a Spanish soldier who left the army and married a Kankana-ey woman. He started a coffee plantation. One of Jaime’s sons, Eduardo, became a famous photographer and his great grandchildren are still operating the Masferre restaurant.

There are also migrants from other parts of Cordillera, like Miguel Talanay, originally from Banaue. When he finished primary school in Banaue, he was adopted by Dr. Scott so he could study in St. Mary’s. Dr. Scott adopted 15 boys from other parts of Cordillera and sent them to school. Mr. Talanay is now a retired teacher and takes care of Dr. Scott’s library but in the morning, acts as a keeper of his daughter’s sari-sari store in the plaza.

A brave few are from Metro Manila like jewelry and doll maker Cez Uhing and her American painter husband, Brian. They visited Sagada a couple of times before finally deciding to move there in 2005 with their son, River, and two maids. They now live in an ex-mayor’s house. For Cez, the move to Sagada also meant making the decision to plunge into painting, designing and doll making.

And finally, there are the transients. Like Gabriele Sauve, a mother of two who lives in England. She hosts a radio show, just held a photo exhibit, and organizes fashion shows and concerts for unsigned bands. She attended a friend’s wedding in Taiwan, and after hearing a Korean tourist talk about Baguio and Sagada, decided to answer the inner yearning. She stayed a few days, attended a village wedding, bought an antique handwoven blanket and ate green mangoes for the first time while on the bus back to Baguio.

Another is Winfred, a towering German who has visited Sagada several times. Married to a Pinay, Winfred also owns a house in Puerto Galera but comes to Sagada during breaks from work in Germany. On his latest trip, Winfred tried chewing Betel nuts (locally called momma).

Most transients come to Sagada to be alone. Away from everything and everyone they deal with in everyday life.

Sagada beckons

There is no nightlife in Sagada, no discos, movie houses or bars and yet travelers come. Is it the cool air, fresh veggies, mountain tea, Arabica Typica coffee, red rice or woven bags? Is it the people whose ancient wisdom and elegance you may sense from their carriage or the awesome culture behind the rice and vegetable terraces? Sagada calls to first timers and to those of us who keep coming back. We always find the answer once we get there. And the answer is different every time.