Mountain Province: Mount Kupapey in Bontoc and the majestic Sagada

Its almost four in the morning when I woke up. Feeling cold, conveniently lying in my bed, too lazy to get up but I had to since we are scheduled to climb the famous Mount Kupapey (Mt Kofafey) at five. I got off my bed 4:30. My friends starting to get things ready for the hike. A very good friend Jesly and Melvin are not new to this hiking thingy. Melvin, for example will have Mount Kupapey as his 46th or 48th climb for 2016 alone. Then, Jesly, a long time friend and travel buddy have gone to almost every single mountains in Rizal, Laguna, Benguet, Romblon and other notable mountains known to us, Filipinos. Ate Rowena, who co owns the homestay graciously offered us coffee while waiting for the other six French nationals to wake up from the other rooms and join us for the hike. They've probably traveled to so many provinces in the Philippines. They are all kind and friendly. Surprisingly, they woke up five before five and are all prepped up and got things ready. Naghimalos at toothbrush lang, good to go na. 

The guide, lead us to the mountain and her 13 year old son acted as the "sweeper". Guide's rate is 500 pesos for every 4 pax.

Mount Kupapey is considered a beginners mountain according to online sources. Difficulty: 3/9 and is 1,647 MASL. 

I was not really that excited to go up the mountains. Considering my weight (and laziness), reaching Mount Kupapey summit was a tough challenge for me. In fact, I was the last person in the group to reach the summit. I was 20 minutes behind them. The sun hasn't shown up yet at the time i hit the summit. I told Melvin that I could no longer proceed and was willing to stay in the middle of the mountain and asked to just wait for them but through Melvin's encouragement, I was able to make it. He asked the kid "sweeper" to stay with me until I hit the summit. Getting in to the top was an achievement for me. I was gasping for air, my heart was beating too fast. Too tired, sweating all over and my knees trembling. Cardio climb as what they call it. 

Seeing the sea of clouds and the majestic Maligcong rice terraces from where I was standing are worth the pain. I was like "Oh my goodness gracious". The tiredness suddenly faded. I sat for a while and enjoyed the view then have myself taken a couple of selfies and groupies. This got me thinking of my health issue. This could have been an easy climb if not because of my weight. I weigh 210 pounds and is not really into hiking. Should I give myself time to spend more in the gym than in my bed? Should i consider eating healthy foods and watch my diet over stress eating? These are the things that were occupying my head going back to the homestay. 

The Maligcong Rice Terraces

sing! Sa.... bukid walang papel, uy! ikiskis mo sa pilapil, uy!

Where is Mount Kupapey?

Mount Kupapey is located in Barangay Maligcong, Bontoc, Mountain Province, the home of another famous Maligcong rice terraces. 

Maligcong rice terraces 101

History books and internet source has it that the very famous Maligcong rice terraces is one of the oldest rice terraces ever built in the Mountain Province. Its beauty is best viewed between planting season and harvest season. December is not planting season because it gets too cold and the plants may not survive this very cold weather. 

How to get to Bontoc?

Florida Bus in Sampaloc MNL and in QC has nightly trips to Banaue. Travel time is 8 hours and last trip is 10pm. We took the last trip and reached Banaue at almost six in the morning. We had breakfast at People's Lodge and Restaurant. From Banaue, we hailed a van to Bontoc. travel time is about 2 hours. Fare is 200, the driver allowed us to stop at one of the Banaue rice terraces' viewpoints to take pictures (of course, selfies)

en route Banaue

The world famous Banaue Rice Terraces

with Jen, a new found friend

Banaue Rice Terraces and the famous Igorot Man

From Bontoc proper, jeepneys going to Maligcong is located near the police station. Please take note that trips to Maligcong are scheduled. You don't just show up in there and expect a jeep to be available, ok? Last trip going to Maligcong is 5pm. We took the 11am trip, the next trip follows at 2pm. The jeep can leave earlier than its usual schedule once it gets full. Fare is 20 pesos one way. 

Where to stay in Maligcong

We are lucky to have met Ate Rowena who co owns the homestay just stone's throw away from Suzette's homestay. We're supposed to stay at Ate Suzette's but since all her rooms are occupied, she referred us to Ate Rowena. I'd like to take this time to thank Ate Rowena for her generosity and hospitality. We found a home away from home. She wholeheartedly assisted us, cooked our food for the next 2 days and was very accommodating. Her homestay has 4 rooms and can accommodate between 15 and 20 persons, rooms are all clean and fresh. There is no television, which gave us more time to enjoy each others company, the view of the mountain and the cold weather. She cooked veggies freshly picked from her garden at the back of her house. If you are a picky-little-spoiled-brat person (in short, saksakan ng arte) when it comes to food, I humbly ask that you bring yourself your own food to eat before going to Maligcong. We enjoyed every single food that was served to us. For someone who grew up in the province, I really did not mind eating veggies all day, basta ba may isdang kasama, kahit tuyo man yan, I'm good to go. 

 

meet Ate Rowena

Ate Rowena's contact info and signage

Rate: 350/person/night. May go up during peak season.
Food: She can cook whatever is available in her garden and in the fridge, in the kitchen. We paid 100 pesos per meal.
Coffee: unlimited for guests only. Walk ins have to pay 20 pesos (or less, i think).
Note: There is a store nearby (I didn't get to see it though) but I suggest that you buy your food and everything you need (toiletries, etc) before stepping inside the jeep going to Maligcong.
Quiet time: 10pm. The cold weather invited us quickly to our bed just before 9pm. Maligcong is obviously not a place to party. So if you wish to set the volume of your portable speakers all the way up at night, better not to. Konting hiya naman bes.
Telecommunication: Signal is good enough to surf the net, make/receive calls, send/receive sms.
Transportation: Please refer to the table above for jeepney schedule

receiving area

dining area

Room #1 beside the receiving area

We had an opportunity to meet Ate Suzette, the owner of Suzette's Maligcong Homestay and her very famous dog Kunig. She's extremely kind and accommodating, she even sat down with us while we were having our snack at her humble abode. Her aura reminds me of my idol, Alanis Morissette. She talked to us about how she started her homestay, where she came from, where she graduated from college (clue: famous school in Baguio City) baking cookies, tea leaves (shown in the table below), her dogs, the happy people of Maligcong, life in Bontoc and everything nice about Mount Kupapey. It has been our pleasure to meet with this sweet lady from Maligcong.

meet Ate Suzette

her freshly baked cookies, yum!

her contact info

meet Kunig, the guide dog.

Kunig, together with his furry friends Tiny (left) and Misty (middle)

selfie with Misty at the summit

The following are the dishes that was served to us during our stay in Ate Rowena's home stay. My apologies for not taking pictures of other foods that was served to us because we were too hungry and forgot to take pictures of them. We had tinolang manok (not in the picture) and nilagang baboy (not in the picture) for lunch and dinner.

breakfast on our 2nd day

Pako and water crest. yummy!

dinner, 2nd night

pinakbet

pechay, bulaklak ng kalabasa, patola

home made tocino

The night before the climb, her son set up a bonfire in front of their house, then we bought a bottle of gin from them. Yes you read it right. Ginebra San Miguel. Quatro cantos, the one that the "sunog baga" boys in my hometown usually order. What made the said liquor so special was the lime that Ate Rowena got from her front yard. Its like we're drinking a very expensive vodka.

After the hike, we got served a typical Filipino breakfast. She never cease to amaze us with her hospitality and utmost kindness. Just before lunch, two other friends from MNL arrived, Lawrence and Gilby. Melvin has to go back to MNL on Sunday afternoon because he has work on Monday. Lawrence and Gilby will also climb the mountain the following morning. I was supposed to join them but since my back was aching, my friend Jesly accompanied them together with the guide. 

It was indeed a wonderful experience seeing Bontoc in its simplicity and natural beauty. This laid back kind of lifestyle is something I have been longing for years. No stress, No worries. No complications. Just birds chirping. The people of Bontoc live each day with these panoramic view with the cold weather and fresh air while us from the Metropolis have to travel for hours just to see and feel it. Truth be told, there are things money can't buy. The view is priceless. majestic. panoramic. 

this way to Mount Kupapey and Maligcong Rice Terraces

Downtown Bontoc

jeepney going to Maligcong

Chasing Maligcong Rice fields

going back to our homestay

My thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Bontoc specially those who are severely affected by Typhoon Lawin in October, 2016.

A house near Chico River toppled by Typhoon Lawin

After Lawrence and Gilby climbed the mountain, we got served a hefty breakfast by Ate Rowena. Again, she prepared it with so much love. It was around 2pm when we hailed a jeep back to Bontoc proper (top load, baby!) en route to our next destination that is, Sagada. 

How to get to Sagada

There are a lot of ways on how to get to Sagada, depending on where you are coming from. Ohayami and Florida Bus in Sampaloc MNL has nightly trips to Banaue. From there, there are jeepneys or vans than can take you to Sagada. Going to Sagada entails a total of 12 long and tedious, butt numbing hours of bus ride. These bus companies do not have direct trips to Sagada, so you’ll have to go through either Banaue route or Baguio route.

Coda Lines, however has direct trips to Sagada straight from their terminal Quezon City for 720 pesos one way. This is the easiest way to get to Sagada to date. Buses leave from their terminal nightly. 

To reserve, contact Coda Lines from their QC terminal 0927 5592197 and 0929 5213229. Coda buses going back to QC leaves Sagada at 3 in the afternoon daily. Reservation is a must. I'll definitely take this option next time. Contact number from their Sagada Terminal are 0929 5213247 and 0936 971921.

Since we are coming from Bontoc, we got in to one of the jeepneys in front of Walter Clapp Centrum Hotel in Bontoc going to Sagada. Fare is 40 pesos and travel takes about an hour.

Top loading in Sagada is no longer allowed, lest, a 500-peso penalty for drivers that will be caught.

Back to Sagada

sunrise in Kiltepan Peak

Oh Sagada! The backpacking mecca of the Philippines! I can still remember the first time I visited you. That was 2013. Together with my travel buddies, we invaded almost every single tourist spots in Sagada. But this time around, due to time constraints, we only visited Kiltepan Peak, Lake Danum (first time), Sagada Cemetery, EchoValley and the Hanging coffins. A day is definitely not enough to visit every single magnificent tourist spots in Sagada. We only stayed overnight, but if we had the chance to do it over again, we'd probably allot 2 or 3 more days to explore you, Sagada. A day probably for extreme adventure, a day for food tripping and a day for R&R.

Getting around Sagada

Registration for local or foreign tourists is a must. Each one will have to pay 35 pesos for the environmental fee. Its good to know that we kept our ticket because it actually served as a pass when we visited Echo Valley. Might as well bring the receipt with you whenever you go around Sagada.

sea of clouds, Kiltepan Peak

rejoice! the sun has risen! :)

Lake Danum

Lake Danum

Echo Valley

hanging coffins

St. Mary's Church

inside St. Mary's Church

 

pizza from Salt & Pepper Diner

Fruits in Season Yoghurt, 150 Php

Dear Charo,

What's good about going to Sagada during weekdays is that you won't get to deal with the sea of crowd. Yes, sea of crowd. When we went to Kiltepan Peak Tuesday morning, I would say there's just an estimated 20 local tourists enjoying the view. Then there's just 4 of us in Lake Danum and less than 10 in Hanging coffins. 3 years ago, we had to line up just for us to take pictures in the Hanging coffins. This gave us an idea to have our future trips be done on weekdays. (hopefully)

Sagada still carries its innate beauty and wonder and STILL one of the most beautiful landscapes I have ever seen in my entire life. A number of high rise buildings (about 5 or 6 storeys probably) is starting to alarm me. I dunno. Maybe its just me.

Sagada, I'll be back soon.

Special thanks to my dear friend Jesly, Jen, Melvin, Lawrence and OM Gilby for sharing with me some of their pictures here and for being my photographer/s at the same time. 

Banaue, Ifugao and Bontoc and Sagada Mountain Province.. conquered.