Sumaguing Cave in the Philippines.

© Christopher Nichols/Shutterstock

Sumaging Cave

Sagada

LoginSave

The exhilarating Sumaging Cave, or Big Cave, is the most popular of Sagada's caves. Its immense chambers are home to other-0worldly rock formations with fanciful names such as 'King's Curtain' and the more literal 'Cauliflower'. You’ll need a guide (P500) to tour the cave (roughly two hours); the guide will provide a gas lantern.

It’s quite slippery in parts and you’ll get wet; wear river sandals or other shoes with nonslip soles. It's a 45-minute walk south of Sagada. The Cave Connection adventure ends here.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Timbac Caves

    Timbac Caves

    29.66 MILES

    These are the most well-preserved and interesting Ibaloi mummies that you can see in the area but unfortunately the caves have been closed since 2016…

  • Echo Valley Hanging Coffins

    Echo Valley Hanging Coffins

    0.83 MILES

    Sagada's most popular attractions are the hanging coffins of Echo Valley: some are centuries old, while others are only a few years old. Most are high up…

  • Bontoc Museum

    Bontoc Museum

    5.06 MILES

    At this wonderful museum, powerful black-and-white photos are interspersed with indigenous art, representing each of the region’s main tribes. You may…

  • Museum of Cordillera Sculpture

    Museum of Cordillera Sculpture

    15.2 MILES

    This museum showcases a collection of Ifugao woodcarvings, and what a collection it is. Ritual objects and antique bulol line the vast hall, among…

  • More than 100 wooden coffins stacked at the lichen-lined entrance hall of Lumiang Burial Cave.

    Lumiang Burial Cave

    0.35 MILES

    Lumiang Burial Cave is a 10- to 15-minute walk south of the main village, towards Ambasing, well signposted along the left-hand fork in the road. Steep…

  • Demang

    Demang

    0.71 MILES

    South of the centre, the small village of Demang is now a barangay of Sagada but was the area’s original settlement and remains Sagada’s cultural and…

  • Tappia Waterfall

    Tappia Waterfall

    17.81 MILES

    It’s a 40-minute gruelling but worthwhile hike across the terraces and a steep descent to the 21m-high Tappia Waterfall, where you can sunbathe on the…

  • Bangao Mummy Caves

    Bangao Mummy Caves

    27.84 MILES

    The forests around Kabayan hide dozens of mummy caves that only Ibaloi elders can locate; the nearest site where you can see some (not terribly well…

View more attractions

Nearby Sagada attractions

1. Lumiang Burial Cave

0.35 MILES

Lumiang Burial Cave is a 10- to 15-minute walk south of the main village, towards Ambasing, well signposted along the left-hand fork in the road. Steep…

2. Demang

0.71 MILES

South of the centre, the small village of Demang is now a barangay of Sagada but was the area’s original settlement and remains Sagada’s cultural and…

3. Echo Valley Hanging Coffins

0.83 MILES

Sagada's most popular attractions are the hanging coffins of Echo Valley: some are centuries old, while others are only a few years old. Most are high up…

4. Echo Valley Lookout

1.01 MILES

You'll pass the Echo Valley lookout on the way to the Echo Valley Hanging Coffins. You'll probably hear people shouting into the valley before you get…

5. Ganduyan Museum

1.2 MILES

This small museum is packed with an anthropologist’s dream of sculptures, jewellery and other Kankanay artefacts. Be sure to chat to the owner, the son of…

6. Besao

2.83 MILES

Hikes from nearby Besao are less busy than those around Sagada, but they don't feature any coffins and you'll need determination to tackle them. Jeepneys…

7. Bontoc Museum

5.06 MILES

At this wonderful museum, powerful black-and-white photos are interspersed with indigenous art, representing each of the region’s main tribes. You may…

8. Banaue Museum

14.95 MILES

The Banaue View Inn runs this museum, which contains books written decades ago by anthropologist Otley Beyer and Igorot artefacts collected by his son…