Kapay-Aw Rice Terraces in Sagada, Mountain Province

I love Rice Terraces in Sagada in Mountain Province! I was amazed with this overlooking view of the rice terraces in Sagada.Yes, this is a dream come true to all backpacker and blogger like me and Sagada is place to be. A backpacker haven to explore, unwind, relax, appreciate the nature's beauty, learn their culture, experience adventure & love for nature. You can see this amazing view on the right side of the road when going to Sumaging Cave which is one of the best tourist spot in Sagada, Mountain Province. We meet this Australian solo backpacker - tourist along the way  and he asked me took photo with him. It was a foggy afternoon day hike & about 20-30 minutes walk from the town proper. The place is so relaxing, greenery atmosphere & cold weather. We continue our walking tour to the main entrance of Sumaging Cave, a lot of tourist & local that time so we decided to take a quick rest before going to the main cave. Thanks Sagada! Till We met again :-)

Arriving at Old Cemetery of Sagada in Mountain Province

From the St. Mary's The Virgin Church, you will passed through this public cemetery going to Echo Valley & Hanging Coffins. Did you known that they have a gathering called Sagada's Festival of Light every first day of November? The people of Sagada proceed to this area during that time, then use woods of pine trees and burying them at side of the tomb. All of the tomb (nitso) are colored in white, with different sizes and formation.  This is an unusual tradition in Sagada cannot be seen to other parts of the country. Only in Sagada, Mountain Province! Some of the coffins are well over a century old years. Sagada has more adventure awaiting us, so we proceed to the Echo Valley or "ecological valley" because my friends is so much creepy with this old cemetery on a hill in the middle of the forest. 

Bontoc Rice Terraces along Chico River in Mountain Province

After a quick photo walk at the town proper, we have decided to go with our final destination. That is Sagada in Mountain Province, as part of our 3 days trip from Banaue - Bontoc - Sagada during the weekend. Along the way to Sagada, we saw this majestic view of Bontoc Rice Terraces along Chico River which is their sources of water and about 10-15 minutes away from the town of Bontoc. This area of rice terraces is dry because of the summer season. Made of stone walls in order to separate their rice fields and to produce water irrigation facilities as well. This area is covered with a high mountain ranges and trees, near the national road route going to Sagada and a canopy of luxuriant green forest view from above.  I agree with my friend, that Banaue Rice Terraces & Batad is one of the most beautiful rice terraces landscape in the world. Do do agree about that? Check out about my next blog post - Sagada 2013.

A Quick Bontoc Experience in Mountain Province

Arriving at Bontoc in Mountain Province. Hello Town of Bontoc! Where cultural heritage is well preserve and known to be the getaway up north. It has a total 10 municipalities and 137 barrios surrounding the beautiful town. One of the spectacular place in the province, it's a paradise for all the bontoc people because of their rich culture, mountain ranges landscape, huge plantation and hospitality of the people.  The area has a lot of establishments, vehicle around the place, newly build-hotel and restaurants. We just had a quick stop over at town proper before heading to Sagada, Mountain Province. This area is now developing more structures for their tourist and they maintain cleanliness around. We passing through their clean river, vegetable plantations and streets. As per Mang Agustin, these is the primarily a commercial town used by tourists as a rest stop on the circuit to Banaue in Ifugao or Sagada in Mountain Province.  I wish can go back again and explore this town, spend more time discovering the town of Bontoc. There is so many exciting and unique places in here you should see. 

Rocky Road Trip from Banaue to Bontoc in Mountain Province

I'am a road trip adventurer! From the marker of Ifugao-Mountain Province, we took about 30-40 minutes road trip ride via Banaue-Bontoc national highway. I highly recommend to get a van hire during your trip because the road is not so easy to access because of some falling rocks and big trees along the road. Because some section and area of the road apparently had just been cleared of landslides. There are jeepneys leave Banaue to Bontoc every hour, time travel is one hour and a half. Fare is Php 45 pesos per passenger. This was the original plan of the group, jeepney top-loading adventure during the trip, but the rain poured down and the road became slippery so we decided to take van going to Bontoc-Sagada. But it would be a nice one, to think that we will experience top-loading around Mountain Province. Traveling during the day is a must, to see the spectacular view along your trip and one of the fulfilling part of our trip to Bontoc, Mountain Province. I love this place, although We didn't get to spend more time exploring the province, but I am happy to set my foot here. It is definitely extraordinary amazing place to visit. I wish to do it next time from Bontoc to Tabuk. There you go, sharing with you  on " How to Get to Bontoc from Banaue" . Happy Trip - Bisayang Manlalakbay around the Philippines

Welcome to Mountain Province Marker

This area is part of the boundary of Ifugao Province and Mountain Province, I got to take a quick photo ops at the signage marker before leaving the area. I saw a lot of trees, big rocks on the road, foggy and cool atmosphere that time while on the opposite side of the road, we never expected that a road trip to Bontoc in Mountain Province would not be easy compare to Ifugao but the beautiful mountain ranges scenery, rock formation, tall pine trees, gloomy and cold weather greeted us that morning. This province is just simple yet perfect summer place to visit, I will consider and recommend this place to my friends, family and colleague as well. There are more unique places and attraction waiting for you to explore Mountain Province. If not today! When? Because there is no tomorrow waiting for you so keep on moving, explore, travel, and experience the beauty of the province. 

Mt Polis Rolling Coffee Shop and Restaurant - Another Stop Over in Mountain Province

It was a foggy and cold morning with the group. We take a short break at Mt Polis Rolling Coffee Shop & Restaurant, it is along the road and the driver would usually stop by this area to get some coffee and food to eat. At the same time take some pictures at the signage in front of the coffee shop / restaurant. They are selling freshly brewed coffee and delicious breakfast as well. The highest part of the highway is located here. So it's time to go over the highway and proceed to our next destination in Bontoc, Mountain Province. We all excited to see the town of Bontoc and Sagada which is both located in Mountain Province. Travel time is about 45-1 hour. Check out my next blog post.

Statue of the Virgin Mary in Mountain Province

Feels like heaven! This was the giant 30 foot statue of the Virgin Mary along the road of Mountain Province. We suggest to our driver to have a stop over to this site and took some photos. This area is the part of the summit of Mt. Polis, a birdwatcher's paradise and home to tropical forest as some blogs about Mountain Province. It was a rainy day for us going to Bontoc and Sagada that day with a cold and foggy morning.  According to our guide this is the boundary of Ifugao Province and Mountain Province, you'll find this statue at the right side of the road heading to Bontoc or Sagada. I could not see anything though the road since thick fog covered the whole area of the summit. I want to explore more about the Mt Polis soon but this time I want to share some of my photos and experiences during my long trip from Banaue-Bontoc-Sagada. 

Amazing Municipalities of Solano in Nueva Vizcaya

Solano is a 1st class partially urban municipality in the province of Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 56244, as per Census 2011.  Solano is the central business district in Nueva Vizcaya. The only town so far where giant fast food chains such as Jollibee, Greenwich, McDonalds, and Chowking set up shop in the province.