Travel to the World of Hanging Coffins

In the midst of the Cordillera Mountains in Mountain Province of the Philippines, there lays a small enchanting town called Sagada, a place known for its rice terraces, hanging coffins and a milieu of other breathtaking sceneries. Sagada is an ideal haven to its inhabitants and offers a taste of "Shangri-la" to intrepid enough visitors. In addition, Sagada offers a more temperate climate with lots of fresher and greener pine sceneries than Baguio City, the summer capital of the Philippines. With caves, waterfalls, hanging coffins and rice terraces, Sagada has been an ideal haven for foreign spelunking-loving tourists and is now offering the less active but nonetheless nature-seeking local tourists an escape from the pollution, noise, and heat of the metropolis.

The road to Sagada follows numerous twists and turns and offers stunning views of its rice terraces. In this remarkably serene mountain town you can explore the caves, go bird-watching, and view the hanging coffins. The town sits in a limestone valley riddled with over 60 discovered caves. The Sagada caves feature shimmering underground streams with golden or silvery stalactite and stalagmite formations. Because of the number of caves available to visitors, a guide is a must. Secondly, there are no signs to guide you to the caves. Therefore, a guide will make it easier for you to get there and easily leave each cave in one piece.

Through pine trees, paths of pine needles and then uneven rock steps you will reach the view. You will know that you are there when you see coffins stacked wall-to-wall in these high steep rock formations held precariously by rope with a chair that hangs like a piñata Approach with reverence because these are sacred grounds. Some coffins lie on beams projecting out from the sides of the mountains, others are placed in caves. Another kind sits on projections in the rock. With the aid of powerful binoculars you can read the inscriptions on the coffins.

These coffins, according to locals, were carved by the elderly before they died. When a person dies, the family binds the body to a death chair and is placed on the porch of the house during the wake. An empty coffin is then taken to the burial site in the cave or on the precarious rock ledges. After the wake, the body is carried to the coffin by the young members of the community. Then the body is push into the tight space of the coffin, breaking and cracking the bones to complete the process. Afterwards, the relatives lift the coffin high in the cliffs where it joins the coffins of family ancestors. The people of Sagada have been doing this for over 2000 years. This burial custom came about because Sagadans do not like the idea of being buried without wind or sunshine. William Henry Scott's body, a well-known historian, is said to be in one of the hanging coffins in Sagada.

Getting There and Getting Out

The most common route to reach Sagada is through Manila and Banaue. The following is a guide on the best and safest trip you can plan.

* Reserve a ticket at the Autobus terminal in Manila. AUTOBUS @ 1455 Loyola St. corner F. Cayco St., Sampaloc, Manila with contact nos.: 4934111 / 0921-2685526. A ticket costs about P600 during the peak seasons (summer and holidays). The bus leaves at exactly 10pm.

* From Manila, it will be a 9 hour trip to Banaue. There are about 4 rest-stops along the way. Because the trip is at night, you can just spend the whole evening sleeping.

* You will arrive in Banaue the next morning. Immediately hire a transportation, usually a jeepney, to take you to Sagada. You can have your breakfast in one of the restaurants in Banaue and afterwards, if you're not in a hurry, you can view the world-famous Banaue Rice Terraces.

* It is a 3 hour trip to Sagada through unpaved zig-zag roads around the mountains. The view along the route is beautiful.

* You will arrive in Sagada at noon. Find yourself a room at the many inns there and then take your lunch and shower. It is now up to you how to plan your stay.

Getting out of SAGADA is just as easy. There are buses that leave SAGADA for Baguio City as early as six in the morning. As soon as you get to Baguio City, proceed to take one of the trips for Manila, unless you want to tour the city, which is another travel story.