Sagada ( Philippines) Hanging Coffins and Lemon Pie

After Banaue, we continued on to Sagada. Since I wasn't very keen on riding in the drizzling rain with a jeepney through Baguio, we decided to take the more expensive shuttle minibus.

We left Banaue around 9:00 a.m. and swayed through the mountains on winding paths. Along the way, we had the most fantastic views of the rice terraces and smaller villages. The weather was typical for this region, 18 degrees and drizzling rain.

After about 3 hours, we arrived in Sagada and checked into our guesthouse, Isabelo's Inn. It's a new hostel with a fantastic view of the village and great rooms.

Sagada is a gem in the mountains with good tourist infrastructure compared to Banaue. Beautiful restaurants and lots of activities for the average backpacker. I have always compared the architecture to American cabin style - the main building material being corrugated iron. In the evenings, the ovens putter, and Sagada goes to bed after 8:00 p.m. There is no nightlife here.

We stayed for three days and enjoyed the atmosphere of this enchanting place. Sometimes it rained, sometimes the sun came out and it got warm.

On the first day, we went to see the hanging coffins, which are mentioned in every guidebook. Sagada has much more to offer, especially spelunking (crawling through caves), which we tried in the following days - more on that later.

The way to the hanging coffins led out of Sagada, past the modest church and the even more modest cemetery, and then down a slippery trail.

The path was really slippery and sneakers were already necessary; flip flops should be avoided. We had to show our tourism fee, and it was also ensured that we took the path with an official guide (although it is not necessary). You can spot the coffins from a distance, and they look impressive up close when you are standing right under them.

When asked why chairs were hanging on the rock walls, the guide explained that it was a kind of vigil - it's quite uncomfortable, if you ask me. I also hope that his remark about Grandma and Grandpa being freed from their coffins to enjoy fresh air and a beautiful view was just a wicked joke.

I am familiar with such rituals, but this would be new to me in the Philippines.

These are not the only hanging coffins; if you walk attentively through the town, you can see more hanging on rock walls and stacked in caves.

a cave quite far away

Sagada not only has a charming location, as seen from the church viewpoint, but also a lively restaurant culture, all types of accommodations, and there is actually a direct bus connection back to Centro Manila (Quezon City), which none of the Philippines blogs mentioned. So, don't let yourself be discouraged about the bus ride back; just go to the travel agency next to Sagada Homestay. The cost was just as low as the journey there, but by taking the direct bus, you avoid transfers in Baguio and Banaue and avoid the four-hour layover in Banaue.

View of Sagada

village charm

corrugated iron architecture

Lemon Pie and corrugated iron romance

On our second day, Mathias and I decided not to do the full 'Cave Connection' as it seemed too strenuous. In this tour, you are in caves for hours and walk from one cave to another, sometimes in waist-high water. That seemed too dangerous to us, and luckily we changed our mind.

We decided on a four-hour tour including the burial cave and Sumaging Cave, which is basically the endpoint of the Connection.

The path out of the town led through hanging coffins and a burial cave.

Centuries-old coffins, these days no longer used for burial in caves

Notice the skull of Grandpa, who carefully watches everything that happens here.

The view on the way to Sumaging Cave was once again magnificent, even though the rice terraces are not as steep as in Banaue.

I found the prayer at the entrance of Sumaging Cave quite bizarre. It is a prayer in a country where poverty is so obvious, and the lack of everything is evident at every corner. In this prayer, the poor, poor tourist and all of his luxury problems are placed into God's hands - sigh... I don't know if I should find it funny or cynical :) Each person must decide for themselves.

Entrance to Sumaging Cave

Admittedly, I didn't even make it to the bitter end of Sumaging Cave!

The excursion is not for the faint of heart, steep, dark, and slippery. At times, we had to use ladders and ropes to descend - some people were wearing flip flops, and in the end, you are actually supposed to walk barefoot - not with me. I was also plagued by a nasty cold, so I let the dear husband crawl through the last difficult meters of the cave alone.

ice-cold water to wade through

After three days in the mountains, we said goodbye to beautiful Sagada, a town that I would highly recommend to any Philippines traveler. The journey with the overnight buses is tiring, but it's definitely worth it, and I fondly think back to the imperfect mountain village.

We returned to Manila after a total of 5 days of mountain air and stayed there for one night in Pasay. Then we flew to Palawan for new adventures