Sagada, Mountain municipality in Mountain Province, Philippines
Sagada is a mountain municipality in the Cordillera region that sits at an elevation of about 1,500 meters across multiple valleys. Limestone cliffs and thick forests surround the settlements, giving the area a rugged, forested character.
Anglican missionaries arrived in 1904 and constructed the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin as a center for their work. They also established a school that would educate local youth for many decades.
The Kankanaey people practice hanging wooden coffins on cliff faces as a burial tradition that shapes how the landscape looks and feels. This custom reveals how deeply local residents connect their daily lives and surroundings to honoring those who came before them.
Reach this place by public bus from Manila through Baguio City, a journey of about nine hours on winding mountain roads. Weather conditions and road situations can change, so building flexibility into your schedule is important.
Beneath the town lies the Sumaguing Cave system with extensive chambers filled with limestone formations and underground streams. Visitors navigate through narrow passages to explore an underground world unlike anything else in the surrounding region.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
