4 Days Exploring the Highlands of Luzon
Blue Horizons Travel & Tours
Embark on a 4-day expedition through the heart of Luzon's highlands, discovering the unique heritage and breathtaking landscapes of Banaue, Sagada, and Baguio. Experience ancient rice terraces, traditional villages, and vibrant local culture in this unforgettable adventure.
Day 1: Manila – Banaue
Departure for Banaue, 360km from Manila. Travel north on the highway with an enroute stop at town of Bacolor, one of the towns that were hit hard by the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991. Visit the St. Guillermo church half-buried in lahar flows. Afterwards, continue passing fertile Luzon’s Central Plains until you start climbing towards Banaue. Arrive in the evening. Check-in at hotel. Overnight.
Meal included:
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Day 2: Banaue – Bontoc - Sagada
Optional: Banga-An Village Tour
Board a local jeepney to explore the breathtaking scenery and fascinating traditional culture of Banaue. By the roadside near the local church, a 10-storey house built on the mountain slopes shows the Ifugaos’ engineering skills and adaptability to its surroundings; also spot a tilapia pond and fighting cocks being bred nearby. Several twists and turns along the main road lead you to many rice terraces with ample stops for picture taking.
Our first glimpse of the magnificent terraces is best seen at Barangay Viewpoint, where a marker stands declaring the Banaue Rice Terraces a UNESCO World Heritage Area and an international historic civil engineering landmark. The terraces, believed to be over 2,000 years old, were built painstakingly and skillfully by ancient tribesmen in an area where level land is almost non-existent. Using primitive tools, shelves were carved from mountain slopes, its walls sealed together with clay. Each terrace is irrigated by a carefully-designed system of water channels that run from upper to lower paddies. When thick mists settle at the summit of these terraces, they conjure images of staircases leading up to heaven, thus the land came to be called as the ‘Stairway to the Sky’.
Afternoon travel to Sagada with ample stops at vantage points along the highway to gaze at the breathtaking scenery of rice terraces. drop by Bontoc Museum where the museum founded by the Belgian nuns contains an interesting collection of artifacts of the mountain tribes in the region. Arrive in Sagada in the evening. Check-in at local inn. Overnight.
Meal included:
Breakfast
Day 3: Sagada - Baguio
Breakfast followed by a visit one of the town’s burial caves, take a short hike on one of its hiking trails to see the famous hanging coffins and drop by a weaving house where the local womenfolk engage in hand-loom weaving. After breakfast travel along Halsema Highway, crossing the Cordillera Mountains and passing by spectacular views of the vegetable terraces until you reach Baguio City, the ‘Summer Capital of the Philippines’ which lies at an elevation of 1540m. Check-in at hotel. Overnight.
Meal included:
Breakfast
Day 4: Baguio - Manila
After breakfast start a rolling tour of the city, highlighting the Session Road, the Burnham Park and the Mansion House, the President’s summer residence before visiting to the public market, one of the most colorful marketplaces in the country. Then travel back to Manila via the national highway crossing the Central Plains of Luzon and arrive in Manila in the evening.
• Extension Visayas: take a flight from Baguio to Cebu (private tour only)
Meal included:
Breakfast
Inclusions
• One (1) night of accommodation in Banaue
• One (1) night of accommodation in Sagada
• One (1) night of accommodation in Baguio
• Meals as per program
• Private air-conditioned vehicle
• Tours and transfers as per itinerary
• Services of a professional guide
Exclusion
• Meals not specified in the itinerary
• Optional tours
• Personal travel insurance
• Personal expenditure, such as tips to local guide, drinks, souvenirs, laundry, camera fees, communications, postage, gratuities and those personal in nature.
Lufthansa City Center