Lumiang Cave entry
Twelve hours after our travel from Manila, we arrived in the cool town of Sagada at noon time. We ate a few snacks and rested a little at our cozy inn, St Joseph’s Rest house. We then set off for the tourist information to our first destination, Sumaguing Cave with our guide, Greg. It was about a kilometer walk on mostly an uphill road and for me who was not much into hiking or trekking; it was already quite an ordeal to keep pace. Off the main road via a short downhill trek was Lumiang Cave. Lumiang cave is the entry point connecting to Sumaguing Cave, if you opt to have the 3-4 hour Cave Connection spelunking adventure. But as a newbie, we chose to try first the 2 hour spelunking adventure via the Sumaguing entry point.
Like Lumiang cave, the mouth of Sumaguing is also like a cavernous rabbit hole. We rested a few, while Greg prepared the “gasera” to light our way. Stepping into the dark, steep and slippery steps that seemed endless made me feel quite uneasy at first. “Don’t be a coward, you can do this”, I just kept on thinking. Crossing paths with people emerging from the mouth of the cave who seemed to have enjoyed the experience has all the more kept me in high spirits to continue on. But how will newbie like me get through this spelunking thing? That was how I went about walking on all fives – walking on foot, grabbing dirt rocks for added balance and going down on my butt just to keep myself from falling head first. By then, I found myself rappelling down the cave, appreciating the rock formations and enjoying the naturally cool, clear waters with many helpful tips and guiding hands of our guide. Chocolate cake, elephant, a pregnant woman, man’s shin, heart-shaped water pool are just a few wonders to be found inside the cave “museum”.
The “Elephant”
Sumaguing “The Big Cave”
I was dog tired and panting as we climbed back to end our spelunking adventure. My hands were covered in dirt. Our guide, Greg, asked “Gusto mo ba hugasan kamay mo?”. I nodded. “Balik ka uli sa loob at ulitin mo mga ginawa natin para maghugas”. He grinned and I smiled back.
If you have Sagada experiences and/or photos that you would like to share, check out more from these links.
www.survivingsagada.blogspot.com
www.biyahengpinoy.blogspot.com
