Showing posts with label Mountain Province. Show all posts

🇵🇭 CORDILLERA • Bontoc-Tabuk Road: Mt. Province-Kalinga Boundary Crossing

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Edmar del Castillo Guquib at Monday, October 07, 2013 2

Stories of town explorations.

"My blunt brain due to being deprived of sleep was instantly reset to sight-seeing mode after it hibernated for a while when I started seeing this wonderful view that temporarily locked my jaw."

It took me 5 waking-up-at-night events, moderate to severe anxiety, 3 sleepless nights in my hotel in Bontoc and Sagada (tourist towns of Mt. Province) and 7 rounds of mild acute panic attacks in the four corners of my cheap hotel room before I was able to convince myself to pursue this dream destination.

Scenic Bontoc-Tabuk Road: Near Sadanga-Tinglayan Boundary

Waking up early became so easy for a person like me who turns the morning to a snoring holiday during days-out-of-work where life starts at high noon and not on the usual 7am or 8am finger print disclosure to biometrics. The reason is, the emotion was mixing different elements that I can't contain prompting me to become insomniac.

At 5:00 am, I woke up! That was unbelievable on my part that I was able to do it (to wake up early). It made me think that I can be an early bird during backpacking.

The main road of under the dawn was devoid of noisy vehicles making me feel I owned the street. I walked along the street on my way to the area where mini-buses bound for Kalinga are parked. It was an unhealthy cardiovascular work out for a sleepless solo backpacker in the person of me. I saw several people who are early birds at the town market wearing bonnets and thick jackets probably ukay-ukay.

Bontoc-Tabuk Road: Sadanga, Mt. Province Segment

I was the first person to enter the bus bound for Province. I took the front seat just behind the driver. This will be my first time to enter the land of the last headhunters, for real.

Several minutes after, half of the bus was filled while two white American backpackers occupied the back seats.

Someday, I'll also backpack here with my motorbike

Entering the town of , the last town before Kalinga was a journey of both extremes - extremely beautiful vistas and extremely dangerous route.

The road has to pass through some . Some rice paddies have been concreted to become a road. Should I wish to snap a photo, it was just not easy to get a good angle.

Photo Slider: Hover to Unlock the Caption

There are some parts of the route where the road bed is sinking. During this time, some bridges are under construction and vehicles have to pass one at a time with caution.

I remember a narrow part of this mischievous highway wherein our bus has to stop for several minutes to allow another bus to pass even though it was very far yet.

After successfully traversing out of Sadanga, the two white American backpackers at the back shouted under a controlled volume uttering words of amazement while seeing the beautiful view that welcomed us, first-timers, in Kalinga. We're now in Bugnay, Tinglayan, Kalinga!

A Grand welcome in Kalinga, finally!

My blunt brain due to being deprived of sleep was instantly reset to sight-seeing mode after it hibernated for a while seeing this wonderful view that temporarily locked my jaw. The first ever village I have seen in Kalinga is Bugnay. I alighted from the bus and finally stepped to a Kalinga soil for the very first time!

But now, what am I doing here? In fact, I don't know where to go now. All I know is, a legendary tribal tattoo artist is living in the village at the mountains of Buscalan but where is Buscalan? Where shall I go and what are the things that happened to me during my stop-over in Bugnay? I have to say I met tattooed women face to face for the first time! Whoahhh!! I soliloquized, "Is this Kalinga? What an enchanting, somewhat unusual, exotic province where all I can see are festivals to my eyes! Fascinating!" But then again, I have to look for the trail to Buscalan. I hope I can find it and ask someone for help, and for direction. I am alone, and if I have to hike alone, I will. /to be continued...

EN ROUTE: BONTOC-SADANGA-TINGLAYAN SUB-SERIES: | 2 |

Disclaimer: The road as shown and described in this post is the condition on March 2013. Road construction is under way so the description here may be different from your experience after March 2013 since the landscape and condition of places constantly change by time.

Sadanga #TownExploration Series

Map showing the Location of #Sadanga

Click map to view latest articles covering Mountain Province

Cliff-side farming scheme at Mt. Province's high town, Sadanga

I just compared it to a roller coaster but I wasn't twisted. I didn't fall to the ground in negative Newton and never had I annoyed a town. It's just that, the thrill (a travel blogger's version for nervousness and I-don't-want-to-die-yet moment) is something that can not be experienced to more commonly traversed towns out there; like a roller coaster ride that only allows those who are brave at heart and mind.

I witnessed this view (rice terraces) in full-swing WOW, which is a pathognomonic sign of an imaginary emotional disorder I call as Cordilleriasis (Warning! #fiction) - a condition wherein everytime you think about rice terraces, you want to go to the Cordilleras instantly, compulsively. On the other hand, if the Cordilleras is a contagious disease, then the bunch of rice terraces scattered in between mountains and valleys in the region is the presenting symptom and you just can't resist the virulence of the infection.

Bekigan Rice Terraces, Sadanga, Mountain Province

A portion of Bekigan Rice Terraces

From , I started this solo backpacking to the hinterlands of Kalinga Province via riding a mini-bus (probably the smallest of its kind in the 'mini-bus' bracket I have seen by far). I wasn't even aware that such array of rice terraces exists on my way to Kalinga.

About an hour of WOWs and OMGs (because of the view and my intolerance to beautiful scenery where I put my head out of the bus window), the journey has to make me call for the protection of the Holy Spirit; to manifest and keep me safe and sound during the travel. The road has turned disastrous.

Bontoc-Tabuk-Tuguegarao Road (Sadanga, Mt. Province Area)

The road to Bekigan Rice Terraces

The picture I am showing you above is a road in , but this is one of the best sections of the road, though evidence of rock slides and land slides is everywhere. The deadly part of the road is located near the Sadanga-Tinglayan boundary.

Enough for these road worries, I just can't get enough with my newest discovery. It's yet another cultural heritage to be added on my Rice Terraces label.

Bekigan Rice Terraces marker

According to the marker, the Bekigan Rice Terraces of Sadanga town (Sagada is different, don't be confused) is a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site collectively known as the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras.

While many tourists are lured with the beauty of , the most popular of its kind in the region, some less known rice terraces like this one can actually rival the latter. The rice terraces in Batad is known for its soaring height that made it so popular. However, I believe that each group of rice terraces in the has its own interesting story and quality to brag about. There are just things that a certain terraced rice field could offer that others don't have if only we try to scrutinize each.

Photo Slider: Hover to unlock the captions

For Bekigan Rice Terraces, the thing that makes it different from the more popular ones is it is not well-known. It maintains its aboriginal beauty the way the ancestors maintained it. It has no influx of tourists that triggers the popping-out of hotels, souvenir stalls and tourist crowd. It is as simple as it is. Its original purpose the time it was built thousands of years ago is the essence of the encounter. Just plain cultural heritage to that effect. Goosebumps!

Yes, not so well known that not so many tourists care about. That's a good news in my point of view. The original purpose is maintained. It is used the way it was made for that purpose. It is not altered just to fit the demands of common tourist. In this connection, not every beautiful beach should be crowded, not every mountain should be hiked and for the case of these Rice Terraces, not every rice terraces should be flocked by visitors.

Sometimes, we have to set the limit. There are just some destinations worthy of not allowing any visitor at all in the name of preservation.

The oh-freak journey to Tinglayan from Bontoc

And the journey to Tinglayan continues (and currently, I am enjoying my time in Sadanga, Mountain Province). The emotional OMG-factor heightened to a level that dwarfed the mountains around me as the road gets dirty, rough, narrow and considerably deadly without caution. The driver was an ace while two white American backpackers at the back are uttering "That's crazy! That's crazy!" as they point out to a sinking road bed with width of a very little wider than the width of our mini-bus.

Literally, if you look below from the bus window, it's a gradually falling soil bed that keeps threatening the road. A simple rain for that could turn this part impassable. What will happen to us next? Are we going to survive the trip and where is my next destination after this? Honestly, it's my first time to visit this part of the country and I am heading to a place known for headhunters, solo and unsure where's the right path after dropping off the mini-bus. I hope I can find my way to a village I have dreamed of seeing! /to be continued...
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HOW TO GET HERE + TRAVEL GUIDE AND TIPS
1. From Bontoc, ride on a bus bound for Tabuk and/or Tinglayan. The parking area is located near the Mountain Province Polytechnic State College along the main road. Or if you are not sure, just ask any local politely this way: "Where is the parking area of mini-buses bound for Kalinga?" They will tell you where.

2. As far as I can remember the first trip is around 5-6 am (depending upon the volume of passengers). The second trip is around 9 am.

3. If you have your own motorbike (or should you wish to drive an SUV or a posh car - goodluck!), just follow the road northwards. It could take up to 1 hour before you reach the site. If you choose to commute, the fare (as far as I remember) is around 100-120 up to Bugnay Village in Tinglayan. You will pass through this site. Should you wish to cut the trip here, the fare would be cheaper, of course.

4. There are no accommodations near this site. It is only good for a side trip. If you opt to commute, you can see it along the way to Kalinga. Choose the window seat at the right side of the bus if you want to see the view. The marker is located at the left side of the road though (from Bontoc) which I hope you can notice - goodluck! If you choose to cut your trip here, the last bus going back to Bontoc is around 12 PM to 1 PM. Expect that the bus is already full. You may need to topload.

5. While waiting for 12 pm, you can ask locals (if any) a better vantage point of the Bekigan Rice Terraces. You may need to hike. Be sure to be back at the road by 12 PM, or else, you'll be stranded that day.

Disclaimer: The road as shown and described in this post is the condition on March 2013. Road construction is under way so the description here may be different from your experience after March 2013 since the landscape and condition of places constantly change by time.