Destination: Mountain Province

A Philippine destination that’s a magnet for visitors who want to get away from it all and enjoy nature amid the fresh, cold mountain air, Mountain Province has much to offer. Fantastic panoramic views, wild nature, blessedly cool compared to the lowlands and, central around Sagada, steeped in mystery and ghostly folk law.

Travel to Mountain Province can be a bit of a chore, especially if you travel in the rainy season (or just after). Even in the best weather, although there are four routes into the Mountain Province, the western approach from Ilocos Sur has such a poor, unpaved road surface that using it is not recommended unless you have a very strong constitution. The most popular route into Mountain Province is undoubtedly from Baguio via Benguet along the old Halsema Highway. Many visitors enter Mountain Province via this route, and then exit from Bontoc down to Banaue to see the famous rice terraces. However, before you travel you must be aware that all journeys around the Mountain Province require a sturdy vehicle – preferably one with high ground clearance.

Also, due to the narrow, twisting roads and the large number of rock and mud slides, it is much safer to travel only during the dry season, during daylight hours. However, roadside views traveling to, from and around Mountain Province are truly stunning and make any trip a real memory maker - with many excellent photo opportunities along the way. 

A delightfully picturesque spot to visit in Mountain Province is Sagada. Sagada is a delightful little town surrounded by high mountains, dark valleys and natural forests – an area filled with old legends and tales of ghosts, demons and spirits. Sitting in about 11-kilometers from the Halsema Highway turnoff, Sagada was once very popular with hippy backpackers because of certain, shall we say exotic herbal plant life that they cultivated in the area. Nowadays Sagada is a big draw for those who like peace and quiet, and, of course, people who just want to see the famous Sagada hanging coffins.

Although there is a tourist office in Sagada town hall, the Yogurt House on the main street not only serves the best food in town, (I highly recommend their home-made yogurt with granola), but it it the only place in Sagada that keeps an up-to-date listing on contacts and rates for local guides, as well as jeepney routes, schedules and rates.

Around Sagada many of the locals are still very proud of their ancient Igorot roots. So much so that quite a number of townspeople still perform their traditional ceremonies, such as taking a daily wash in the cold mountain streams before undertaking the walk to their morning prayers dressed in traditional costume. In addition to these daily traditions, four times a year, the major Igorot festival of Begnas is held at tribunals called dap-ays at locations around Sagada town.

If you drive past Sagada and carry on the Halsema Highway towards Bontoc (the provincial capital of Mountain Province), just before Bontoc town the road curves around the side of a mountain. Look across the valley here and your vision is filled with a mountainside stacked with row upon row of rice terraces. Almost as large as the more famous Banaue Rice Terraces, the Maligcong Rice Terraces hold the added distinction that unlike the soil bordered terraces at Banaue, Maligcong’s terraces had to be reinforced with stone walls to stop the precious soil from washing away. To manage this backbreaking building project required tons of stones to be painstakingly carried one-by-one from the river bed far below. You can quickly learn for yourself that this was no easy feat – just take the time to climb through the terraces from the river to the mountain top!

Well worth a couple of hours of any stay in Bontoc is a visit to the Bontoc Museum. The museum’s native-style architecture is eye catching and, unusual in the Philippines, is very easy to find in the school grounds at the side of the provincial capital building. Within the main museum building, the walls are stacked with displays and artifact exhibits covering the area’s history and the life of the old tribal peoples. There is also a large annex of displays and exhibits outside the main building itself. The annex also serves as a souvenir shop, selling snacks, books, knick-knacks and many unusual local native trinkets. At the back of the museum sits a complete open-air Igorot native village. Built to full-scale, the real-world displays include information on each type of hut and its purpose within the tribal lifestyle.

Although Mountain Province and spooky Sagada are a great place to visit, tales of warning about road conditions around the province are no joke. You should really not attempt the journey unless you are sure of your vehicle - and the driver.