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What to do in Sagada, Philippines - Abby's Hearth

What to do in Sagada, Philippines

This post may contain affiliate links. (Disclaimer here) And if you wonder why some images are marked AbbysPlate or TheWingedFork, it's because some posts were once a part of my older blogs.

About the Philippine town of Sagada

The town of Sagada is one of the popular places to visit in the Philippines. It is a town located in the province of Mountain Province. Approximately a 10-12 hours trip from Manila. Some popular activities to do in Sagada are spelunking, trekking, rappelling, visiting historical sites, or exploring waterfalls.

Once you arrive at Sagada you need to register at the Municipal Hall and get a tour guide. It’s mandatory to have a tour guide for your safety in this town, and you can get a guide at the Sagada Genuine Guide Association. Now here are some of the most incredible things to do in Sagada!

Here are the places or activities to try in Sagada, Philippines.

● Spelunking from Lumiang Cave to Sumaguing Cave
● Trekking to Echo Valley, underground river, and Bokong Falls
● Visit Sagada Weaving
● Marlboro Hills or Kamanbaneng Peak
● Kiltepan Peak
● Lake Danum
● Sagada Pottery
● Blue Soil or Kaman-Utek Hills

Spelunking from Lumiang Cave to Sumaguing Cave

Entrance of the Lumiang Cave you will find the wall of stacked coffins.
Coffins entrance Lumiang Cave

Fun and challenging activity to try in Sagada. The duration of this activity is approximately 4-6 hours. The starting point of this activity is at the Lumiang Cave going to Sumaguing Cave which is also called the Sagada Cave Connection.

The guide will ask you to walk barefoot while exploring the limestone area.
Sumaguing Cave

*Bring headlight and normal flip flop slippers.

In the entrance of the Lumiang Cave you will find the wall of stacked coffins. Coffins are made of wood with some carvings on it. The corpses are laid in a petal position. Also. you will find some bones and human skulls in some areas in Lumiang Cave.

Sumaguing Cave has stalagmites and beautiful rock formations.
Limestone

You will crawl, squeeze to vertical or horizontal pathways, rappel down, cross in some pools while exploring inside Lumiang Cave. While Sumaguing Cave has the biggest chamber which features stalagmites and beautiful rock formations.

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*Your guide will help you in navigating inside the cave. You will even step on his shoulders/legs to help you get down or up inside the cave.

Sumaguing Cave has stalagmites like The King Curtains.
Sumaguing Cave – Kings Curtain

Some rock formations you can see inside the cave are like Cauliflower, The Pregnant Women, The King Curtains, The Bear and many more you can imagine.

*The Sumaguing area is very slippery. So the guide will ask you to walk barefoot while exploring the limestone area.

Trekking to Echo Valley, underground river, and Bokong Falls

The famous hanging coffins is an ancient ceremonial ritual in Sagada.
Hanging Coffins

Echo Valley is the place where you can see the famous hanging coffins which is an ancient ceremonial ritual in Sagada. The coffin is put on the cliff of the steep mountain. According to the old saying the higher the position of the coffin the closer it will get to heaven.

Approximately you can finish trekking Echo Valley to Bokong Falls around 2-3 hours. You will start to visit the echo valley going to the hanging coffins, then pass some big boulders going to the underground river cave. Once you get out of the pathway inside the cave just follow the stream of water going to the Bokong Falls.

Rock stacking art by the tourist at underground river cave.
Stacked stones underground river cave

Some stalagmite rock formation can be found while walking inside the underground river cave. Lots of pebble or rock stacking arts created by some tourists can be found also in the entrance of this underground river cave.

Bokong Falls is a twin waterfall of 20 feet height and deep pool.
Bokong Falls

Bokong Falls features a twin waterfall having a height of around 20 feet and has a deep pool. The water in the pool is less colder from the other waterfalls in Sagada.

*If your accommodation is just near the town. You can go to the Bokong falls without a guide, just ask for the locals for directions.

Visit Sagada Weaving

Sagada Weaving is located at Nangonogan, Poblacion, Sagada. It is a working area and also a souvenir shop. They sell authentic quality products like bags, pouches, purses, blankets, place mats, or other products.

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In the working area, there is a signboard that says “No Taking of Pictures”. Here you will see the employees doing their work in the wooden weaving loom. But better don’t disturb them working or you can ask politely the owner of the shop if you can take a photo inside.

They produce colorful products which consist of colors of black, red, green, blue, yellow or white patterns.

Marlboro Hills or Kamanbaneng Peak

View from Kamanbaneng Peak or the Marlboro Hills.
Aerial view of Kamanbaneng Peak

Kamanbaneng peak or the Marlboro Hills is another sunrise destination you can do in Sagada. It is usually the alternative sunrise hike for the famous Kiltepan peak. Approximately, 40-60 minutes walk from the drop off point you can reach the Kamanbaneng peak.

*If your accommodation is not near the drop point you can ask the help of your guide to find a vehicle that can drop you at the drop point.

Kamanbaneng peak is a sunrise hike you can do in Sagada.
Sunrise at Kamanbaneng Peak

What you will see on the top of the Kamanbaneng peak? 360 views of the surrounding mountains of Sagada, cows grazing on the grass, sea of clouds, beautiful sunrise, small cafe store to buy some coffee or tea or food, wild berries, wild horses (if you’re lucky enough to see it), and photo spot for your instagram.

Kiltepan Peak

The view of rice terraces is covered with a dense sea of clouds.
The sunrise view at Kiltepan peak

The most famous sunrise destination in Sagada which is the Kiltepan peak. It gained popularity when it was featured in the movie “That Thing Called Tadhana.” expect lots of crowds of people while waiting for the sunrise view.

You can camp using a tent while waiting for sunrise but you need to pay for the camping ground. Rest room is available at the cafe store near the viewpoint of Kiltepan peak.

The sunrise view in this area is beautiful. The view of rice terraces is covered with a dense sea of clouds which is good for your photo shoot.

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Lake Danum

Lake Danum is a nice spot to watch sunset in Sagada. The lake looks like a pond especially on summer days. You can opt for camping for stargazing or just wait for sunset to have your photo shoot. It is a nice opportunity also to see the lake when it is foggy or misty for your photo shoot.

Sagada Pottery

Sagada Pottery is actually a small hut for pottery workshops near Sagada-Besao Road, Poblacion, Sagada. Inside you’ll find the gallery display of the pottery artisan. The creative and artistic design of the pottery are passed and teached to the younger generations. You can try to make your own pot with the guide of the artisan but you cannot take it home due to the fact that it needs to be dried.

Blue Soil or Kaman-Utek Hills

High content of copper sulfate at Kaman-Utek Hills or Blue Soil.
Blue Soil

Kaman-Utek Hills or Blue Soil is an attraction in Sagada where you will see the soil is bluish in color. According to some researchers, this is due to high content of copper sulfate but it is for tourists. When the soil is moistened, the color of the soil will become bluer. Usually guides suggest tourists to do the Kamanbaneng traverse to Kaman-Utek hills, which will start the sunrise trek to Kamanbaneng peak then go down to the Kaman-Utek hills.

About the Author: Nathaniel & Joanna

Pic of girl and boy - Nathaniel & Joanna from Joanathx.
Nathaniel & Joanna from Joanathx

Hi, we’re Nathaniel and Jonna. We’re travel bloggers from Philippines who share crazy adventures and life experiences. We love photography, hiking challenges, and explore the unknown. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and Pinterest.

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Pinterest images of sunrise at Kiltepan peak andwalk barefoot while exploring the limestone area.
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