🇵🇭 𝗖𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗦 (2010) » First Time in the Summer Capital of Ilocos Sur

We told Mom we were just heading to a resort down the road—that was a lie, and by the time we reached Bessang Pass with numb fingers and no extra-warm jackets, I realized we'd stumbled onto a battlefield we never even learned about in school.

» The sun was scorching in Vigan that morning, but hours later, shivering at the top of a mountain in June, I kept waiting to see my own breath while standing in front of pine trees that had no business being in our province.

» I borrowed my late aunt's cheap digicam, we took off with nothing but a tiny scooter and empty stomachs, and somehow ended up at the Great Wall of China—except it was just a winding road in Cervantes, and it was the most beautiful accident of my life.

 ►  WE TOLD MOM WE WERE GOING TO A RESORT—WE ENDED UP AT A BATTLEFIELD

The road wasn't supposed to lead here—but in 2010, my brother and I rode straight into a piece of history we never learned in school.

The heat in Vigan that morning was brutal—the kind that sticks to your skin and makes your helmet feel like an oven. But the higher we climbed, the cooler it got. By the time we hit Bessang Pass, my fingers were numb; and I was dreaming to see my own breath. Snap, it was a tropical cold. Nah, my warm breath does not freeze on air. But... it was the coldest air I've ever felt during a hot month in our place—yeah, that was June... June 12th of 2010 to be exact.

Neither of us knew Bessang Pass was anything special. We pulled over because I saw a random road. That's when we noticed the pine trees. They looked out of place, like someone had dropped them there by mistake. Then we saw the markers—old war remnants, faded signs mentioning the Battle of Bessang Pass in 1945. We were standing on ground where soldiers had actually fought, and we'd only ended up there because we were too stubborn to turn around.

We took many photos, then we argued about moving forward or backing down. Nothing cinematic. Just two idiots riding on a small automatic motorbike, shaken, realizing we had to take a scooter with small gasoline tank down 60+ kilometers of mountain road with no cell signal.

I don't have a neat lesson from that day. But sometimes, when I'm stuck in traffic or sitting through a boring meeting, my mind drifts back to that cold air, those sudden pine trees, and the quiet realization that we'd stumbled into something older and bigger than us—not because we were wise or curious, but because we were bored and were careless kids.

 ►  I RODE INTO A DEATH TRAP AND FOUND A HIDDEN PARADISE

The road to Cervantes was a death sentence I'd always heard about—narrow, unpaved, one wrong turn away from a cliff drop. But when I finally took it in 2010, I found myself standing at a pine-clad mountain pass, alone with my brother, staring at what felt like my own province's secret Great Wall.

Oh yes... I'm from Ilocos Sur, and I had heard about the town of Cervantes several times. I always had the urge to go, but there had never been a chance; besides, it's too far from the city where I live.

I had always heard that the road going to Cervantes wasn't good. It was a matter of life and death! The roads were too narrow, with falling rocks from the mountain. The roads were unpaved; and a few steps away, it was KABOOOOOOOOOOM! You're falling off that cliff! If it rains, the town is literally isolated!

🇵🇭 𝗖𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗦 (2010) » My brother also lay on the concrete block, emulating what I had done. Using a cheap digicam I had borrowed from my late aunt, we were able to document our first experiences in Cervantes.

...that was before, but traveling through this road now is as smooth as silk. It is a beautiful winding road. If you're at a higher altitude, the road below may look like the Great Wall of China (or at least like what I have seen in photos). You may say, "I'm at the Great Wall of Ilocos!"

The highway was not busy. Most of the time, my brother and I were the only ones traveling along this highway. This scenario may change, though. Who knows? Cervantes might boom later, and the road will become busy. Lucky me, I witnessed it this way.

🇵🇭 𝗖𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗦 (2010) » I love taking photos of myself. Sometimes, my self-photos become more important than the views. I took every opportunity to have my photo taken at each stop we made.

🇵🇭 𝗖𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗦 (2010) » The first time I saw this marker of Cervantes, which was identical to the rest of the markers in all the towns in Ilocos Sur that year (a project of then-Gov. DV Savellano), I went over to have my photo taken.

🇵🇭 𝗖𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗦 (2010) » It was my first time seeing a mountain of pine trees inside my own province

Although ▼ BAGUIOLATEST STORIES COVERING BAGUIO

had already given me this kind of sight, it felt different to see pine-clad mountains for the first time in my own province. It was something I did not expect.

This was in 2010, when I was still new to this kind of traveling.

 ►  WE FOUND HISTORY BY ACCIDENT

They said the road to Cervantes would kill me—I rode it anyway and found my province's secret Great Wall.

Going to Cervantes that day was an accident. I just asked my brother to join me for a joyride. We reached Cervantes unexpectedly. We never thought we could.

We are not bad people, but we had to tell lies to pursue this adventure. We told our parents we were just going to a resort nearby because we knew they wouldn't let us traverse the highway. They said it was risky. One more thing: we were the only good-looking, boys-next-door in our village. The whole village was afraid its boys would get into an accident (this is my secret, keep it between you and me, lol—enough daydreaming).

🇵🇭 𝗖𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗦 (2010) » My brother and I stopped at Nakayang view deck, where we saw the beautiful valley of Cervantes.

🇵🇭 𝗖𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗦 (2010) » My brother was enjoying the view of the beautiful Cervantes valley from the Nakayang view deck.

It was a hot day in Vigan, where we came from. We just decided to go to ▼ CANDONLATEST STORIES COVERING CANDON

City, only to find ourselves already reaching the remote town of Cervantes with our scooter. That day was hot, and the sky was clear. There was no time for rain drama. But even though it was summer, it was cold in Bessang Pass.

See the images below. The ambiance was really cold. It would be so romantic for lovers to hug each other while driving (Huh? That sounds crazy). This time, it was my younger brother with me, whom I love; but hugging him while riding on a scooter would have been suicide! BRAGGGG!

🇵🇭 𝗖𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗦 (2010) » Looking at this photo, it reminds me how chilly this spot was.

🇵🇭 𝗖𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗦 (2010) » We went further, until we already started to descend. The road went zigzagging down to the valley. The cold breeze was replaced with hot air.

🇵🇭 𝗖𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗦 (2010) » MY Honda Beat just made it!

We weren't able to see the must-sees of Cervantes, because we had no tour guide. We didn't know where to go. In fact, Cervantes is so historical. It was where a battle during World War II happened.

The town has the Yamashita Cave, McArthur Tunnel, Bessang Pass National Park, and Gambang Falls, which are all part of the history of the Philippines! For us, however, the scene we saw along the Cervantes highway was already a must-see, and the romantic, freezing breeze and ambiance of the town was a travel bonus! To my surprise, there were pine trees! It was an awesome view. It felt like I was in Baguio minus the crowd and commerce.

🇵🇭 𝗖𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗦 (2010) » We spotted this rice field in the valley.

While we were on our way, there was a bike race going up to Bessang Pass. Bessang Pass is the highest point traversed by any highway system in Ilocos as of now. It is foggy and cold.

Cervantes is the crossing for the four provinces of Ilocos Sur, ▼ ABRALATEST STORIES COVERING ABRA

, ▼ BENGUETLATEST STORIES COVERING BENGUET

, and ▼ MOUNTAIN PROVINCELATEST STORIES COVERING MOUNTAIN PROVINCE

. Rice terraces are present in Cervantes too!

We didn't find closure or answers of our stupid side that day—just numb fingers, a borrowed camera, and a mountain that kept its secrets. But fifteen years later (rewriting and editing this story on 2026-July-10, five months after moving to America, I still catch myself drifting back to that random road, not because it changed me, but because for a few hours, I was completely, stupidly alive. ■ END OF DIARY

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► FOOTNOTES, DISCLAIMERS, ACKNOWLEDGMENT, ETC

🏍️ This post was filed under the category "Motorcycle Diaries." See more posts related to this below.

🏍️ The maps I used on this post are from Wikipedia.

🏍️ All photos are mine.

🏍️ The insights, condition, and name of places or properties I mentioned here are based on the facts and situation on the day of my visit. Take note that you may have a different experience when you try or see the properties or places mentioned here. Names of places and properties may also change by time, so it's not my responsibility to update all the information on this blog because once published, I already consider it as an archive. I don't necessarily update my narratives, because I want them to become my references of what have happened in the past. I'm very particular of the dates, because I want my amazing readers to understand that I am writing stories based on my perspective and insights on the day of my visit. You can see dates almost everywhere on this blog. Exempted from this rule are my travel guide posts that need to be updated.

UPDATE HISTORY FOR THIS BLOG POST
► 19-February-2022: Separator line added in between the two sub-headlines. Paragraph 3 transferred below the image / 1 /.
► 06-February-2022: Page lay-out overhauled. Copyreading applied. Sub-heading lay-out modified. Additional scripts added.
► 24-January-2011: This article was published.

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EDMAR GUQUIB y DEL CASTILLO

Born and Raised in Vigan, Philippines. Hardcore Ilocano-Cordilleran. Professional Nurse on Weekdays. Coffee Addict. Travel Blogger in Between. For collaboration or partnership, email your business proposal at admin@edmaration.com.

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