Things to do in North Luzon
-
Yoghurt House
Fuel up here with mountain coffee and delicious homemade yoghurt before a long day of hiking or caving. Then return for dinner to carb-load on delicious vegetarian pasta dishes or rösti (shredded fried potatoes).
reviewed
-
Café Leona
This popular eatery spilling out onto Crisologo St is a godsend for weary travellers in search of libation and sustenance after a long hot day of sightseeing. Pluses: excellent Japanese and Ilocano specialities, and frequent all-you-can-eat pasta buffets. Fusses: plastic patio furniture and a loud adjoining open-air karaoke bar.
reviewed
-
Masferré Inn & Restaurant
The food here is among the best in town, but what really makes this place stand out are the awesome, powerful prints of the late Sagada-born photographer Eduardo Masferré. Ask the proprietor for a tour of the Masferré Gallery, which is just outside of town. Rooms were under renovation when we visited.
reviewed
-
A
Cafe by the Ruins
The interior is awash in art, foliage and sculpted wood. It specialises in Cordillera-inspired Filipino dishes. Try the eggplant omelette with carabao cottage cheese for breakfast, or the suman at tsocolate (hot chocolate and sticky-rice cake) for afternoon tea.
reviewed
-
Pizza Volante
The pan pizza here is tops in town, and it’s not a bad place for a beer either, especially after everything else has closed. It also has a delivery service.
reviewed
-
Bana’s Cafe
This artsy place specialises in coffee and breakfast (great omelettes). Its narrow balcony overlooks a gorge and catches the morning sun.
reviewed
-
B
-
Crisologo Museum
The Crisologos, Vigan’s most prominent political dynasty, have also converted their ancestral home into a strange but interesting family shrine, the Crisologo Museum. In addition to the usual fare of books, photos and other personal items, there is the old Chevy that Governor Carmeling Crisologo was in when she was ambushed in 1961. She survived, but her husband, Floro, a long-time congressman, was not so lucky when he was attacked in a church in 1970. There are a few lurid photos of the killing, and the blood-stained pants he was wearing are preserved in a glass case. The 1st-floor sala is kept mostly as it was when it was occupied, and contains several pieces of colon…
reviewed
-
C
Camp John Hay
Formerly a US military rest-and-recreation facility, 246-hectare Camp John Hay has been reinvented as a mountain resort with restaurants, hotels, shops and a fantastic golf course sprinkled amid rolling hills and stands of Benguet pines. Worth a visit is the Historical Core with the attractively landscaped Bell Amphitheatre and some walking trails. Nearby is the unique Choco-laté de Batriol restaurant. There’s a nice panorama from the Mile High viewpoint; the Butterfly Sanctuary is also worth a look. It’s free to enter Camp John Hay, although modest admission fees apply to some sights.
reviewed
-
Padre José Burgos National Museum
Built in 1788, the Padre José Burgos National Museum is in the ancestral home of Father José Burgos, one of the three martyr priests executed by the Spanish in 1872. It houses an extensive collection of Ilocano artefacts, including a series of 14 paintings by the locally famed painter Don Esteban Villanueva depicting the 1807 Basi Revolt. Weavings, Tingguian (Itneg) jewellery, musical instruments, pottery, and farming and fishing implements are also on display.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
Good Shepherd Convent
A short walk from the park is the Good Shepherd Convent, where sales of the convent's famous ubi (purple yam) jam and other preserves go toward advocacy programmes for single mothers. While you're up here take in the impressive view from Mines View Park's lookout. You'll be hard pressed to spot any mines, but a few small rice terraces are visible on the steep slopes across the valley. To get here take a Plaza-Mines View jeepney from Otek St.
reviewed
-
Syquia Mansion
The Syquia Mansion on Quirino Blvd was recently turned into a museum filled with old furniture and exhibits dedicated to the life of Vigan native Elpidio Quirino, the Philippines’ sixth president. Quirino was born in the nearby provincial jail, where his mother worked. He rose to political prominence after marrying into the fabulously wealthy Syquia family.
reviewed
-
Log Cabin
One of Sagada’s many wonderful surprises is this aptly named eatery. The Western-style food is hearty and elegantly presented, and on Saturday evening there’s a buffet (prepaid reservations only) prepared by a French chef, who also bakes fresh bread for the restaurant. To top it all off there’s good wine and a fireplace. You must drop by in the morning to place your order.
reviewed
-
Mines View Park
Has rows of souvenir stands where you can find jam, peanut brittle, various other edibles and knick-knacks. While you’re up here, take in the impressive view from the park’s lookout. You’ll be hard-pressed to spot any mines, but a few small rice terraces are visible on the steep slopes across the valley. To get here take a Plaza–Mines View jeepney from Otek St.
reviewed
-
Easter Weaving Room
Has genuine Igorot weavings and garments. Also carries a broad selection of high-quality, locally made items. Easter Weaving Room sells everything from hand-woven bookmarks to tapis (woven wraparound skirts). It’s well organised and prices are clearly marked. In the basement factory you can watch women hard at work on their looms.
reviewed
-
Museum of Cordillera Sculpture
The Museum of Cordillera Sculpture, located next to Spring Village Inn, has a fabulous collection of bulol and other Ifugao woodcarvings, including some rare originals. There are also some fascinating old books that you can read, including a 1912 National Geographic on Ifugao head-hunters.
reviewed
-
Baguio Mountain Provinces Museum
The collection of Cordillera artefacts at the Baguio Mountain Provinces Museum isn’t quite as impressive, but the museum also has a compelling exhibition on the history of Baguio, with some superb old photos and placards chronicling the city’s role in WWII. There’s also one Kabayan mummy on display.
reviewed
-
Julia Campbell Agroforest Memorial Park
In barangay Pula in the town of Asipulo, a 48-hectare organic coffee forest has been turned into the Julia Campbell Agroforest Memorial Park. Julia Campbell was a US Peace Corps volunteer whose murder at the hands of a local man on the main trail to Batad in April 2007 shocked the country.
reviewed
-
RG Jar
You can visit a couple of pottery factories on Liberation Blvd, near the corner of Gomez St. The 50m-long kiln at RG Jar, which was made in 1823 and can hold nearly 1000 jars, is a wonder to behold. A resident carabao is employed as a mixer at RG Jar and periodically walks on the clay.
reviewed
-
Enca Farm
Fulfil your farming fantasies as a volunteer on the Cosalan family’s organic Enca Farm in Acop, Benguet, an hour north of La Trinidad on the Halsema Hwy. In 2005 the farm became the first in the Philippines to be certified by Willing Workers on Organic Farms.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
D
Kusima ni Ima Restaurant
This downhome place whips up exotic Kapangpangan specialties like sweet-and-sour kalabaw, frogs stuffed with chicken and pork, frog adobo (frogs marinated with vinegar and garlic, and stewed until tender) and camaru (crickets adobo deep-fried with garlic).
reviewed
-
St Paul Cathedral
The St Paul Cathedral was built in 'earthquake baroque' style (ie thick-walled and massive) after an earlier incarnation was damaged by two quakes in 1619 and 1627. The construction of the original wooden, thatched church is believed to have been supervised by Salcedo himself in 1574.
reviewed
-
E
St Louis University Museum
The excellent St Louis University Museum, in the basement of the campus library, is run by Ike Picpican, one of the country’s foremost authorities on the history and culture of the Cordillera people. Free tours end with participatory native-instrument jam sessions.
reviewed
-
Tam-Awan Village
Eight traditional Ifugao homes and two rare octagonal Kalinga huts were taken apart and reassembled at this artists’ village on the northwest edge of the city. On a clear day you can see the South China Sea, hence the name Tam-awan, which means ‘vantage point’.
reviewed
-
St Paul Cathedral
This church was built in ‘earthquake baroque’ style (ie thick-walled and massive) after an earlier incarnation was damaged by two quakes in 1619 and 1627. The construction of the original wooden, thatched church is believed to have been supervised by Salcedo himself in 1574.
reviewed
