Eat Explore Experience Sagada – Explore Series (Spelunking at Sumaguing Cave)

There are lots activities in store for you if you come to Sagada and most of  them deals with walking, hiking and trekking.  Always secure a local guide/escort for a safe adventure.

After having lunch at Yoghurt House, we start prepping for our Spelunking activity at Sumaguing Cave.  We took the Short Course Caving as we start late in the afternoon. The estimated 1 1/2 hour of exploration turned out to be 3 hours. LOL

Sumaguing Cave is approximately 30 mins to an hour depending on how physically fast you are from the town center. While walking towards Sumaguing Cave, we pass by the view point of Hanging Coffins and Rice Terraces.

Hanging Coffin ViewPoint 

The Rice Terraces of Sagada

 

When we reach the drop off point for Sumaguing Cave we showed our registration receipt and the lady told us not to lose it as we need it on every destination that we wanna go to.

 

Our Short Course Caving will start from the mouth of Sumaguing Cave and will be climbing back the same route once done. The cave has huge opening and chamber , there’s also a huge tunnel at the end part of wherein we have to wade through waist deep water or skip by passing another route.  From the entrance our guide gave us a briefing of the three divisions of the cave: Slippery Rocks, Bat Kingdom and Rock Formation.

Entrance of Sumaguing Cave

Proof that it’s indeed slippery inside the cave, I have to take off my slippers as I felt safe without them.

After the slippery rocks, we passed by the bat kingdom but i wasnt able to take pictures. There were dripping bat dung along the way, well yeah it’s just part of the adventure. LOL The last part/section of the cave are the amazing rock formation where rappelling and boulder climbing is required.

The Awesome Rock Formation Inside the Cave

View Full Album

Rappelling Inside Sumaguing Cave

We survived the Sumaguing Cave exploration and it was such an amazing and memorable experience. Different from other Caving activities I have gone through. I guess one of the reasons why most of the shirt have “Survivor” theme. Indeed it’s rewarding and will take pride of saying, “I am a Sagada Survivor”. The feeling was indescribable the moment i saw these rock formations, finally stepping inside this cave and seeing them with my own two eyes is such an achievement. So don’t miss this Adventure when you find yourself in the ruggedly enchanting town of Sagada.

En Route Sagada

This is it. I finally took the courage and embark another solo backpacking and this time I am going to conquer the mountain ranges. Not specifically climb the mountains but just to enjoy and be mesmerized with what nature has to offer. It has always been my dream to see the Rice Terraces and set forth my feet on these grounds and get stunned.

There are multiple ways to go to Sagada.  Traveling to the Western side is slightly convenient due to more buses scheduled: Manila – Baguio – Sagada. Traveling via eastern side via Ohayami Bus have lesser options but gets you to the place earlier: Manila – Banaue/Bontoc – Sagada.

The road towards realizing this dream was never easy. I need all the courage to endure the long hour bus ride and this is not just a smooth trip as they say. Wild zigzag roads and bumpy pavements will be experienced along the way and i guess that makes this ride more exciting and fulfilling.

The schedule of my trip is just in time with Baguio's famed Panagbenga Festival so this makes it more inconvenient to find busses with Manila-Baguio-Sagada route so for this trip I'm taking Manila-Banaue-Sagada. Let's see how this goes. I am just happy I found fellow travelers in the bus that will surely be going to Sagada so the jeepney ride will be easier later once we arrived in Banaue.

 

 

Ohayami Trans is the only bus departing from Manila to Banaue. I paid Php450.00 for one way and this will take roughly 9 hrs to reach my destination. The bus is not really that new but i suppose its safe :)  i just hope the WiFi works later so no boring moments if I wont fall asleep during the ride. Kudos to Ohayami Bus, we left exactly 9 PM and arrived as scheduled and alive. Excited for the new adventure and new set of friends I'm going to meet along the way.

 

Just as scheduled we arrive in Banaue roughly 6 in the morning. Its drizzling a bit but manageable. I just love feel of cold temperature. Upon arriving its mandatory that you register in the Department of Tourism of Banaue. There's a registration fee pf Php 20.00 and after which there are vans parked near the office that will take you to Sagada at Php300.00 per person.

Upon registering i hopped into the van with the rest of guests bound for Sagada. There were 12 passengers for one trip, they dropped us at People's Restaurant to grab breakfast. The resto offers great food at reasonable prices. I paid Php125.00 for my breakfast plate. You can either choose American or Filipino style breakfast with coffee or tea.

 

My Meal for the Day

 

 

 

After over an hour of filling in my empty stomach, i took the liberty to roam the place and get some shots on the surrounding. Of course, i bought my Banaue Souvenir shirt coz i might be taking a different route going back home.

Places of Interests Posted inside the Restaurant

 

 

View from the Balcony of People’s Restaurant

 

Travelers bound for Sagada having Breakfast

 

Exactly 8 in the morning were traversing the road to Sagada and had to pull over on 2 view decks to get a glimpse of the Banaue Rice Terraces.

 

 

The Banaue Rice Terraces – from the View Deck

 

 

 

For sure i will be going back here and stay in Banaue. That should happen sometime in the future.  So off we go all the way up and down Mountain Province, Sagada here I come!  Along the way, I can’t help but be amazed on how beautiful Mountain Province is. Aside from the cold temperature, the amazing Rice Terraces, the sea of clouds is just breath taking. I always get stunned whenever I see clouds, forest, mountains and sea.  The joy is just indescribable seeing these with my eyes and capturing it through my lenses.

 

 

Recently a tragic accident involving showbiz comedian Tado has been reported and we passed by the exact place where the bus fell from the mountain and the debris were still there. According to our Van Driver, GV Florida don't have scheduled trip going to Bontoc/Sagada, and can be one of the reason why the Bus Driver is not familiar with the twists and curves of the roads. Lesson learned, make sure to always secure a driver who’s familiar and skilled enough to drive especially if your traveling to places like this.

 

 

Exactly 10 in the morning, I arrived in Sagada, Mountain Province. Yes!!!! I survived that 12 hours bus ride and if you were ask me if I am willing to do it one more time, I will undoubtedly say YES! It’s definitely worth going all the way up here :)

 

For information regarding Ohayami Trans you can visit their website.