DESCRIPTION:
Sagada (Ilocano: Ili ti Sagada) is a fifth class municipality in the province of Mountain Province, Philippines. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 11,244 people.
Sagada is famous for its hanging coffins. This is a traditional way of burying people that is still utilized. Not everyone is qualified to be buried this way; among other things, one had to have been married and had grandchildren.
Popular activities include trekking, exploring both caves and waterfalls, spelunking, bonfires, picnics, rappelling, visiting historical sites, nature hikes, and participating in tribal celebrations. Guides can be found upon registration at the tourist-office in Sagada Proper (the main town) for a small fee. Most of the guides are natives, also known as Igorots.
SAGADA
Members of the Igorot tribe of Mountain Province in northern Philippines have long practised the tradition of burying their dead in hanging coffins, nailed to the sides of cliff faces high above the ground. Comfortably predating the arrival of the Spanish, the procedure can probably be traced back more than two millennia. To this day, the age-old tradition continues to be performed, albeit on a much smaller scale than before.
The Grand Cordillera Range is the most imposing of the mountain systems in Luzon. It covers the provinces of Benguet, Ifugao, Bontoc, and Kalinga. It is home to ethnic communities whose ancestors have been responsible in hand-building the world-famous rice terraces. It is in the northern sky land where there are still a number of tribal communities whose mountain lifestyle and traditions remain authentic and preserved.
Bomod-ok Falls is also called the Big Falls because, well, it is definitely bigger than Bokong Falls, another popular waterfall in Sagada. Hidden deep in a valley, it takes an hour to two to get here by foot from the main road Bomod-ok’s cold, cold water cascades from the top of a beautiful naturally contoured cliff to a pool below, forming a 200-ft column of water and wonder.
Members of the Igorot tribe of Mountain Province in northern Philippines have long practised the tradition of burying their dead in hanging coffins, nailed to the sides of cliff faces high above the ground. Comfortably predating the arrival of the Spanish, the procedure can probably be traced back more than two millennia. To this day, the age-old tradition continues to be performed, albeit on a much smaller scale than before.