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🇵🇭 ILOCOS SUR » Tagudin-Cervantes-Sabangan Road: A First-Time Account

Edmar del Castillo Guquib at Monday, June 30, 2025 2

Stories of town explorations.

I was the architect of this escape, but it was a decision out of thin air.

» This road is the reason why I became a travel blogger in 2010.

» The original adventure-high would always be the sweetest and the baseline—the enduring gold standard of my story telling and travel blogging.

🇵🇭 ILOCOS SUR

ROads and Routes, INFRASTRUCTURE, Ilocos, Ilocos Sur

It took me 15 years to write a dedicated post about this road. I have written several stories that involve this road, but it's only after 15 years that I got the wisdom to put my experiences into words for an article dedicated to this road.

The old followers and readers of this blog would probably have known that this road, the Tagudin-Cervantes-Sabangan Road, started it all. It launched my travel blogging journey and my online persona as a travel blogger.

► Backstory: It all started here

Gawd! That was 15 years ago. I was careless, spontaneous, and hopeless romantic. Since then, this travel blog served as my personal diary—injecting personal life angles in my travel anecdotes and blogs. Diaries are meant to be personal, right?

This road is the reason why I became a travel blogger. Although I have been posting travel photos since 2006 through Friendster (the Pinoy Millennials' mainstream online platform back then), I wasn't considered a travel blogger. The details on how I became a travel blogger would be narrated on my next blog.

When I posted about my photos and stories about this road in a certain Facebook group in 2010, it became viral. That was my first viral post.

Social media aside, it was not about the shares and online visibility. The nostalgia I have with this road is rooted in a genuine experience that hit me hard and different. It deep dove into my soul that such experience would become a part of who I am now. It's the most cliché description, but it's also the most accurate—the truth.

To guide you in this story, I added an index map of our stopovers along this road in 2010. See below.

This road influenced the purpose and reason why I am still traveling up to this day. I'm still looking for that adventure-high feeling of being on the road. That dopamine reward I had when I was 22 years young has never been duplicated by any of my travels after this.

The original adventure-high would always be the sweetest and the baseline—the enduring gold standard of my story telling and travel blogging. 15 years after, I still couldn't duplicate that feeling of adventure-triggered pleasure—one major reminder that the first time is the sweetest spot—and on why I keep traveling until now among other reasons in search for growth, meanings, and another sweet spot.

This road was part of our Vigan-Cervantes ride with my brother who was 20 years young then. I was the architect of this escape, but it was a decision out of thin air. Well, that's for another story—part of this series of rekindling my 2010 travel stories.

► 1 Bitalag Junction, Tagudin

With my 6-month-old Honda Beat scooter, I wasn't certain if the gasoline tank could bring us to Cervantes. Back then, there was no gasoline station along this stretch from the gasoline station in Tagudin to the first gasoline station in Cervantes. With the ascending road, the small tank of my Honda Beat could not supply the whole journey to Cervantes población. For this reason, I bought a purified water so that I could use its emptied bottle to store our reserve gasoline.

We entered the west end of this road via Bitalag junction in Tagudin with the MacArthur Highway.

As far as I remember, we did not stop in Tagudin aside from our gasoline refill stop. After a few minutes, we were already entering Suyo.

That was also the first time I entered the town of Suyo.

► 2 Suyo Welcome Marker

Suyo Welcome Marker, Suyo, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos, Luzon Island, Luzon Archipelago, (Philippines), Philippines, Southeast Asia, Asia, World, Welcome Markers » 16.9634114248808 120.46458885474196

SUYO » Like an innocent child, reaching Suyo in 2010 was already a big achievement for me.

As we entered Suyo, we saw the 2010-ish welcome markers of Suyo. It's our first road stop in Suyo. Suyo had a welcome marker at that time that is similar to some towns in Ilocos Sur. It's a green metalic signboard which was an initiative of the late Governor DV Savellano.

Baringcucurong is the first barangay in Suyo after Tagudin via the Tagudin-Cervantes-Sabangan Road.

Suyo Welcome Marker, Suyo, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos, Luzon Island, Luzon Archipelago, (Philippines), Philippines, Southeast Asia, Asia, Welcome Markers » 16.9634114248808 120.46458885474196

🇵🇭 SUYO » Apologies for the hideous color processing applied in this photo.

On the other side of the road stood another welcome marker of the town. From this point, you would see that the hills and mountains around are gradually rising as you go eastward.

This section is the road-based perspective of this story.

► 3 Somewhere in Baringcucurong

Burayok Creek in Baringcucurong, Suyo, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos, Luzon Island, Luzon Archipelago, (Philippines), Philippines, Southeast Asia, Asia, World, Rivers and Creeks » 16.961022440797635 120.47982645412496

🇵🇭 SUYO » I spotted a random body of water from afar.

We continued our journey along this road. My brother and I were on high spirits. We reached a place called Baringcucurong where we had our second stop along this road. The road has started ascending, and we paused for a break at a certain part of this road located within a forested area.

From where we stopped, we could hear a loud sound of gushing water. I thought it was a waterfall. I zoomed my digicam and found a moving body of water. We definitely could hear the loud sound of gushing water coming from that distant area. Well, 2 years after, I revisited this area; and I hiked my way to that body of water.

Tagudin-Cervantes-Sabangan Road, Suyo, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos, Luzon Island, Luzon Archipelago, (Philippines), Philippines, Southeast Asia, Asia, World, Roads and Routes » 16.961022440797635 120.47982645412496

🇵🇭 SUYO » I also spotted that mountain with exposed soil.

From the source of the water sound, I saw a mountain with exposed soil. I didn't know if it was due to landslide or a result of human activity.

We continued our journey until we crossed a virtual zone that I considered outside the safe zone. The place was so unfamiliar which prompted me to make a decision. The adventurous young in me still wanted to continue, although half of me was so unsure and nervous.

► 4 Chico River

Chico River, Suyo, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos, Luzon Island, Luzon Archipelago, (Philippines), Philippines, Southeast Asia, Asia, World, Rivers and Creeks » 16.980193, 120.507784

🇵🇭 SUYO » At a certain part along the road is a viewpoint near the Chico River.

We've ascended the road until I saw a curve with the view of a certain river called Chico river.

That was a great viewpoint. I couldn't help but to stop and document the beauty that I saw. There's a good point along the road to take photos of the river. We left this viewpoint satisfied of the view of the river and the mountains.

► Somewhere in Suyo

🇵🇭 SUYO » The mountainview backdrop was worth a photo stop.

This story happened 15 years ago, so I couldn't remember the exact location of this spot on the map.

As we continued to ascend to a higher elevation, we saw a spot that had a good view of the mountains. I saw a mountain that shaped like a perfect cone like Mayon. We had to stop for a while to document the view. In 2010, I was impressed of the road quality of the Tagudin-Cervantes-Sabangan Road when we made it this far.

► 5 Urzadan Bridge

Urzadan Bridge, Suyo, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos, Luzon Island, Luzon Archipelago, (Philippines), Philippines, Southeast Asia, Asia, World, Bridges » 16.98353008556654, 120.52566862497913

🇵🇭 SUYO » This bridge has a monolith background.

Another stop was the Urzadan bridge. The view of the gigantic monolith that served as backdrop of the bridge was worth documenting when I encountered that view for the first time. Below the bridge is a river with sources from Sigay town. Its stream meets the Chico River in Brgy Kimpusa.

► 6 Suyo Mountain Resort

Suyo Eco-Mountain Resort, Suyo, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos, Luzon Island, Luzon Archipelago, (Philippines), Philippines, Southeast Asia, Asia, World, Resorts » 16.953694536006875, 120.58714856730883

🇵🇭 SUYO » Suyo Mountain Resort seemed to be the only resort along the Tagudin-Cervantes-Sabangan Road in 2010.

Suyo Mountain Resort in Man-atong: We continued to ascend until we reached the Suyo Mountain Resort in Man-atong. We did not enter the resort because there seemed to be an ongoing event inside. We only took photos of the wall signage.

This resort is the only resort I've seen along the Tagudin-Cervantes-Sabangan Road in 2010.

► 7 Bessang Pass Viewpoint

🇵🇭 SUYO » One of the best viewpoints of the Tagudin-Cervantes-Sabangan Road

There's a part of the road that provides a good vantage point of the Bessang pass with the snaking road on mountain slopes. It's a good viewpoint because it's on a higher elevation juxtaposed to give a perspective of the snaking road from afar.

► 8 Cervantes Welcome Marker

Cervantes Welcome Marker, Cervantes, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos, Luzon Island, Luzon Archipelago, (Philippines), Philippines, Southeast Asia, Asia, World, Welcome Markers » 16.96984500278723, 120.63946853847425

🇵🇭 CERVANTES » This one is a scenic welcome marker located at Bessang Pass.

This welcome marker is visible along the road. Pine trees surrounded this area in 2010. The location of the marker also provides another great vantage point of Bessang Pass Natural Park. It's one of those welcome markers with the best view in my opinion.

► 9 Bessang Pass Monument

Bessang Pass, Cervantes, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos, Luzon Island, Luzon Archipelago, (Philippines), Philippines, Southeast Asia, Asia, World, Monuments » 16.960233, 120.657713

🇵🇭 CERVANTES » This is the Bessang Pass Monument, a historical marker and memorial.

This segment is the highest elevation of this road. In 2010, pine trees dominated the mountain vegetation around this area. At 12 noon, the place remained foggy and cold. Bessang Pass Natural Monument is one of the five listed "Natural monuments of the Philippines" under the umbrella category of "protected landscape of the Philippines as of this posting.

We saw a historical marker situated inside an enclosed park. Behind the park is a cliff. However, a foggy backdrop covered the cliff view during our visit.

► 10 Nakayang Viewdeck

🇵🇭 CERVANTES » The Nakayang Viewdeck provides a view of the descending road and the Cervantes valley.

Nakayang view deck: We didn't know that a view deck existed along this road until we witnessed it ourselves. It's located at a point along the road that provides a view of the valley of Cervantes (poblacion) and the descending road after the highest point in Bessang Pass.

► 11 Cervantes Valley

Cervantes Valley, Cervantes, Cervantes Valley, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos, Luzon Island, Luzon Archipelago, (Philippines), Philippines, Southeast Asia, Asia, World, Valleys » 16.988989 120.7358315

🇵🇭 CERVANTES » This is the Bessang Pass Monument, a historical marker and memorial.

We reached the lowlands after descending from the Bessang Pass. I had my first glimpse of a flat rice field for the first time since we passed through the ricefileds of Bitalag in Tagudin. This was taken in the valley of Cervantes where the Abra River flows through, specifically in Brgy Rosario before Poblacion.

► 12 Cervantes Crossing

Cervantes Crossing, Cervantes, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos, Luzon Island, Luzon, (Philippines), Philippines, Southeast Asia, Asia, World, Roads and Routes » 16.988989 120.7358315

🇵🇭 CERVANTES » This crossing has made Cervantes the crossroad for trade.

Cervantes Crossing: Finally, our last stop for this 2010 ride was the Cervantes Crossing. This is a strategic crossing. This crossing is a melting pot of trade. It's an access link to Benguet, Abra (via Quirino), and Mountain Province. ▬ END OF STORY

NAGUSTUAM DIAY NABASAM/NAKITAM? MABALIN MO MET I-LIKE.

[Santa] All Ilocos Ilocos Sur INFRASTRUCTURE Latest Luzon Luzon Island Philippines Roads and Routes South East Asia

🇵🇭 SANTA » Driving Through Silence: Pandemic Memories in MacArthur Highway

Edmar del Castillo Guquib at Monday, December 02, 2024 0

Stories of town explorations.

The reason why I like the town of Santa is because much of its land area is covered by a national park—meaning, the town has a spectacle of forest reserves, pristine mountain ranges, low-key springs, and biodiversity that probably is unknown to an average Ilocano (including me).

• What a great way to reminisce about my pandemic experiences. I realized that it was not a bad season at all. I came to understand and learn about my province more intimately.

• My context for this blog [...] is the story of Santa in relation to the Manila North Road (MNR) during the pandemic..

• [...] the Manila North Road [...] facilitates us to have a glimpse of the panoramic townscapes and adventures awaiting a curious town explorer.

🇵🇭 SANTA, ILOCOS SUR

From the excruciating process of obtaining my travel documents in Makati to a private van ride back home in Ilocos, many of my significant pandemic stories are all in my hard drive. Of course, breaking free from the stringent regulations of mobility at that time was also a process worth keeping in my hard drive. Even the smallest hint of freedom gave me chills of excitement. It was like a "there's no mountain high enough" or "I will cross the ocean for you" moment to finally break free even for a moment.

Note: MacArthur Highway and Manila North Road are the same. In Ilocos Sur, we simply call this road as "highway" because this is the only national highway in our province that directly connects us to Manila. The official name MacArthur Highway or Manila North Road is not commonly used in Ilocos Sur.

► Backstory: I am breaking free!

I'm writing the opening spiel of this blog post today—2024-November-02; and I couldn't be any happier to finally lessen my backlog of pandemic stories. This story happened on 2021-December-19. My pandemic memories were intentionally saved by me in a format where I could revisit the actual events. As much as I want to store everything in my brain, it's not just possible for me to remember every detail. So, my significant pandemic memories of being locked in until the day I went home to Ilocos were all documented and saved in my drive.

Because of these circumstances, our random ride on 2021-December-17 led us to the town of Santa while plying the almost empty (MacArthur Highway). This is the only primary highway that connects my province Ilocos to the rest of the world on the ground.

Luna Hill, Santa, Northern Luzon Heroes Hill National Park, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos, Luzon Island, Luzon Archipelago, (Philippines), Southeast Asia, Asia, World, Vantage Point: Manila North Road or MacArthur Highway, Hills » 17.4769176,120.4329021

🇵🇭 SANTA • In the photo is my brother waiting for me on the seawall along the Manila North Road with the view of the Luna Hill at the background.

Even though I've been to Santa countless times—countless enough that the town has become so usual and ordinary in my perception—my pandemic imprisonment opened me to another perspective. At that time, I saw the town of Santa from a different light. Its idyllic beauty, the majesty of her mountains (my favorite in Ilocos), and the sparkle of its sea exuded more meanings.

It's only 15 minutes away from on a scooter, but my Vigan-washed view of things changed differently.

► Manila North Road: a window to the charm of Santa

As a local of Ilocos Sur, I am pretty much familiar with the nooks and crannies of the MacArthur Highway segment of Ilocos Sur. I probably know more detail than what an average Ilocano may know. This is because I'm fond of paying attention to details, and I document them in my notes for future reference; and if someone would ask me which is my favorite part of the MNR aka Manila North Road (another name for MacArthur Highway), that would be the total stretch of Santa and a segment of the road up to Sulvec Bay in its neighboring town of Narvacan.

Manila North Road, Santa, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos, Luzon Island, Luzon Archipelago, (Philippines), Southeast Asia, Asia, World, Roads and Routes » 17.4717423,120.4347082

🇵🇭 SANTA • The Manila North Road is a gateway to the wondrous corners of Santa.

The reason why I like the town of Santa is because much of its land area is covered by a national park—meaning, the town has a spectacle of forest reserves, pristine mountain ranges, low-key springs, and biodiversity that probably is unknown to an average Ilocano (including me). This vast area makes the town of Santa a poetic destination for creatives and those who appreciate the kind of character that Santa has. The great thing here is the presence of the Manila North Road that facilitates us to have a glimpse of the panoramic townscapes and adventures awaiting a curious town explorer. While on this road, the external glory of Santa's natural masterpieces can be seen closely, yet so far; clearly, yet elusive.

Meanwhile, the people of Santa live in a narrow plain—dissected by the Manila North Road—in between the gigantic mountain ranges and the mouth of the Abra river. The people of Santa live in a paradise they may have not recognized—maybe because it’s a “normal” thing for them. I have other reasons why I like the town of Santa, but that's a story that deserves another spotlight. My context for this blog by the way is the story of Santa in relation to the Manila North Road (MNR) during the pandemic.

• Luna Hill

To be honest, the look and location of the mountains located along the highway of Ilocos Sur are very familiar to me; however, I didn’t really know the name of some mountains that could be seen from the Manila North Road.

The specific mountains in Ilocos Sur that I could name are the Mt Bullagao (at the Abra-Ilocos Sur border), My Tupira (in Bantay), and Mt Gusing (in Narvacan). All of these mountains are visible from the highway. The name of the rest of the mountains are unknown to me.

🇵🇭 SANTA • The Luna Hill is one of the prominent mountains alongside the Manila North Road in Santa.

Thanks to this website Peak Advisor for allowing me to decode the mystery of the mountain’s name. Its rich graphic data is very helpful to me in learning more about my province—especially our Ilocos mountains.

According to the Peak Advisor website, the name of the mountain in the photo above is Luna Hill. It rises 486 meters above sea level.

Luna Hill, Santa, Ilocos Sur

In fact, the MNR runs through a portion of its slope in Magsaysay District. The slope of the Luna Hill extends down to the shoreline of Santa. Luna Hill is the epicenter of the Northern Luzon Heroes Hill National Park which occupies much of the terrestial area of the town of Santa.

This mountain is very visible from the MacArthur Highway.

• Santa Seawall

Another notable site along the MacArthur Highway is the Santa Seawall. The highway runs on top of this seawall serving two purposes. My brother and I dropped here to take photos of the beautiful landscape of Santa. This is also one of my favorite spots along the MNR segment of Ilocos Sur because it’s loaded with the wondrous view of the municipal waters of Santa and the gigantic Luna Hill on the other side.

🇵🇭 SANTA • The Santa Seawall protect this segment of the Manila North Road from coastal erosion.

• Magsaysay District Beach

From the Santa Seawall segment of the MNR, you can also view a portion of the . From the highway, I descended to the beach area for documentation.

🇵🇭 SANTA • The Manila North Road runs alongside a portion of the Magsaysay District beachline in Santa.

► Post Scriptum

What a great way to reminisce about my pandemic experiences. I realized that it was not a bad season at all. I came to understand and learn about my province more intimately.

In regular days, a ride along the Manila North Road is more like a necessity or synonymous to daily grind; but during the pandemic, a ride on this highway was a poetic luxury. The natural landscapes that decorated the route are worth every moment during the pandemic—a takeaway I carried with me even after the pandemic. That’s the reason why I’m writing this story now.

▬ END OF STORY ▬

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