The Banaue Rice Terraces in the Philippines are practically a national symbol, synonymous with the Chocolate Hills and ube ice cream. But apart from the rice terraces there is little to see and do at Banaue.
Enter Sagada, a quiet town deep in the Mountain Province. The rice terraces at Sagada may be smaller than those of Banaue but is still photogenic and, better yet, there's plenty to do around town to keep you occupied for a day or two. Sagada's hanging coffins (coffins with mummified bodies hanging in a cave) leave quite an impression, while adrenalin junkies won't want to pass up the opportunity to hike at the Bomod-Ok falls or venture into the town's eerily beautiful caves.
Enter Sagada, a quiet town deep in the Mountain Province. The rice terraces at Sagada may be smaller than those of Banaue but is still photogenic and, better yet, there's plenty to do around town to keep you occupied for a day or two. Sagada's hanging coffins (coffins with mummified bodies hanging in a cave) leave quite an impression, while adrenalin junkies won't want to pass up the opportunity to hike at the Bomod-Ok falls or venture into the town's eerily beautiful caves.
On the way to Ambasing, one of Sagada's 19 barangays, limestone karts cliffs dotted with pine trees dominate the landscape as seen in the this photograph. On these cliffs, perched precariously on a wedge, four or five coffins are arranged in a pile. The oldest one is more than a century old; the latest addition was put into place decades ago. It belonged to a lady from Demang (another Sagada barangay) In similar places around Sagada including the Echo Valley, one may find these "hanging" coffins. They are usually in groups, some neatly piled, others randomly stacked. All found in places seemingly impossible to reach. Places that can be touched only by mother nature.
These hanging coffins will be there for as long as the elements would allow them. They're precious tokens from a fabled past... adding mystic to an already mystifying place.
SAGADA HANGING COFFINS PICTURES:
SAGADA HANGING COFFINS PICTURES:
Hanging Coffins at Sagada's Echo Valley
Underneath Sagada is a network of limestone caves and subterranean streams. These caves were created by water eroding whole limestone mountains over a period spanning thousands of years. Some caves are dry, as if the underground rivers that have created them disappeared. However, these caves are dry simply because the water has found another channel by seeping through the mountain and emptying through numerous small watery caves
