Trifter

Yellow calcite formations hanging from the ceilings of the Sumaging Caves, above, resemble bunches of bananas (saging), from whence, perhaps, the name of the caves were derived.

Sagada is magical. Here, Mother Nature has been generous, with landscape of pine-tree groves, spectacular limestone rock formations, caverns, waterfalls, ancient rice terraces, and cloud-covered mountains. And the proud people of Sagada, while a hard-working lot, know how to enjoy life.

Favored by spelunkers, Sumaging is one of many ancient burial sites where visitors can find the hanging coffins, for which Sagada is famous.

The magic begins with a bumpy, dusty but exhilarating seven-hour bus ride north from Baguio City over the Halsema Highway—the highest network of roads in the country—7,000 feet at one point. Deep into the Cordilleras, the massive mountain range of northern Luzon, passengers watch a scenery of mountain, valley, village, rice terrace and vegetable field unfold. Closer to Sagada, the colors get deeper and the stands of trees on the surrounding mountainsides thicker. And then one beholds the distinctive limestone formations that announce Sagada.

Happiness is a day spent in the swimming holes of Mainit Springs. The hot water of the spring may have inspired its name–mainit being the vernacular for hot. Blending in with the surrounding greenery.

These jagged outcroppings are the town’s natural icons, bursting out of the earth in an effort to reach the heavens. An imposing pair forms a natural gateway to Sagada. Used to anyway: this time around, one of the portals is gone and in its stead stands a drab concrete and hollow-block four-storey building, a profane blot upon an otherwise sacred landscape. There are numerous easy treks into the surrounding countryside. And a variety of destinations, too: Matangkib, Lumian and Sumaging, some of the burial caves for which Sagada is famous; Fedilisan and Bokong Falls, which have natural swimming pools; the rice terraces; and the town’s traditional hamlets. Visiting Sagada is like that: immensely refreshing. High above the lowlands, I revel in the enchantment of this oasis, re-learning a childhood truth, that in simple things can lie pleasure.

Rice terraces such as these in Banga-an line the road Sagada, bearing witness to the centuries-old tradition of carving out a livelihood from the harsh land. The hardy inhabitants of these mountains climes have handed down this method of tilling the land to the present generation.