Continued from Philippines travel report (i):
Sagada
While there are lots of “activities” offered by the tourist bureau at Sagada, few are worthwhile.
It is worthwhile to walk up to see the hanging coffins (15min), but there’s no value in the “Eco Tour”. The Cave Connection tour is interesting but crazily dangerous in my opinion - I wonder how long it will be until someone suffers a serious injury and they have to shut it down? While the Bomod-Ok falls are somewhat impressive, the water flow is too strong to allow much bathing at the bottom of the falls. Neither the sunrise nor sunset points are particularly spectacular (vis-a-vis the sunsets on any Philippines’ island).
In my opinion, Sagada is worth maybe a day of your time.
I stayed at the Sagada Homestay. This place has been built incredibly flimsily. The consequence is that you can hear any noise that your neighbors in adjoining rooms or people in the corridor make. This is incredibly disruptive to your sleep when people begin queueing for showers at 3am for the 4.30am sunrise tour. Not recommended!
Maligcong
The rice terraces at Maligcong (a short jeepney ride from Bontoc) are impressive. They can be explored in half a day at a fast pace or a more leisurely day. You will need a guide to take you to the best viewpoints. Guides can be found at the place where the jeepney terminates at Maligcong or ask at Suzette’s Homestay (just shy of the termination point).
Banaue
The Banaue rice terraces are OK, but not as good as those at Maligcong or Batad.
Banaue is also a reasonable place to buy souvenirs.
There has been an agreement on a crazy set of official guide prices in Banaue. Recognising this, guides will, in hushed tones, offer you a discount to the “official” price. The people in the tourist office in Banaue are not interested in providing any honest information, but just want to get you to take a guide at one of the official prices (they receive a commission from the guides?)
Batad
Batad has probably the most impressive rice terraces ... and the locals know it. The prices charged in/around Batad are extortionate. 1 litre of water in Batad commonly sells for 70 Pesos (make sure that you stock up in Banaue)! The jeepney trip to Batad from Banaue costs 150 Pesos (but the locals only pay 50 Pesos - this is the only place in the Philippines that I am aware of where locals and tourists [including Filipino tourists] pay different prices!). Food is expensive, guides are expensive (at the “official” rate, at least). Accommodation is inexpensive in Batad (250 Pesos/night), but the standard is reasonably low.
The view from the Awa viewpoint is amazing and worth the climb. Continuing along the walking path to Patpat and Guitte is worthwhile.
The trail from the end of the road down to Batad is appalling. It is surprising that it has not been concreted - as the majority of trails have been in the area.
Around Batad
One should not miss the terraces at Bangaan - just west of the Batad turnoff.
Mayoyao
There is only one bus to Mayoyao each day. It originates in Solano and passes through Banaue at an indeterminate time - sometime between 11am and 3pm. The road to Mayoyao remains under construction. Typhoon Lando also left its mark on the road and repairs are required.
The Mayoyao terraces are more “suburban” than others - that is, there are more people living amongst the terraces (whereas, in other areas, villagers are clustered in one spot). You will need a day to explore the Mayoyao terraces. A recommended guide is Alejandro (he and his wife Ellen run a shop selling souvenirs on the 3rd floor of the market). There is accommodation available at the Milcah Lodge (on the right just before you reach the centre of town).
There are numerous travel options from Mayoyao to Santiago (the first leaves Mayoyao at 5.30am) from whence you can catch a bus to Manila or a van to Baguio (for example, there is a van to Baguio at 10.30am via the Ambuklao Road [5.5hours]).
