Wending our way through early morning traffic, we make a side trip to a flower market in Dimasalang, where blooms and foliage of every colour and shape line the stalls and main thoroughfare of Dos Castillas. The burst of colours, so fresh and diverse, is a pleasing sight to see in the early morning rush hour. Skip on to nearby La Loma, and see rows of carinderias or lechon food stalls dominating the roadside along Calavite Street. Lechons are suckling pigs that are roasted to perfection and served during fiestas and special household gatherings. Here in La Loma, lechons of every imaginable size can be seen roasting in charcoal pits any time of the day, fiesta or no fiesta. A lot more can be seen resting on wooden poles alongside the stalls, creating a mouth-watering spectacle for the hearty gourmand.
Continue north on the expressway, past the flat and fertile landscape of the Central Plains of Luzon.

Depending on which month of the year it is, there are farmers harvesting or planting the rice fields. Water buffalos immersed in mud pools, herons foraging for food, and fields of green and gold that stretch far and wide are pastoral scenes that are most prevalent here. Enterprising townsfolk who engage in small backyard industry sell their wares along the roadside – such can be seen on the side streets of Nueva Ecija, where woven bamboo and nipa palms being used for interior walls and roof shingles of native huts are on
display. Farther on in Nueva Vizcaya where the climate is cooler and more pleasant, varieties of orchid grow in profusion, implying a budding cut flower industry.

Cross the southern gateway of Cagayan Valley by zigzagging across the Caraballo Range through Dalton Pass, a 920-meter high precipice which was named after the American General James Dalton who led the siege against the Japanese forces during World War II. An expansive view of the Sierra Madre and Caraballo mountain ranges is visible from a look-out located atop a hill. We begin our climb to Banaue as we reach the junction of Bagabag where the road from Banaue meets the main valley highway and runs northwest to Isabela. Halfway through is Lagawe, the capital town of Ifugao and home of the ‘People from the High Mountains’. Woodcarving, a craft which the Ifugaos are known for, can be observed here. We reach Banaue late in the afternoon.

Drive inland on the mountain trail of Mt. Polis, snaking through a narrow highway bordered with thick undergrowth of moss-laden forest trees and shrubs, until we reach Bay-yo, our first Bontoc village. As we
move closer to the village, a picture-perfect mosaic of vegetable and rice terraces built close to the crystalline waters Chico River comes into view. The rice terraces here are lower in height, its walls strengthened with stones taken from the river. In between rice cycles, the fields are planted with sweet potatoes and vegetables. Small thatched-roof huts called allang, where extra harvest and other farm
supplies are kept, mark the mountain slopes near the fields.

A short visit to the Bontoc Museum will provide us with an insight into the lifestyle of the Igorots, the native settlers of Bontoc and the fiercest headhunters of all mountain tribes. The museum contains an interesting collection of pictures, old maps and artefacts of the mountain tribes in the region, including a replica of anili, or village, constructed in its backyard.

Moving farther on, an hour’s drive away is the limestone valley of Sagada. Sagada is best known for its unique burial practices; the dead are placed in coffins made from pine wood and buried in caves or lodged between ridges and hollows of limestone cliffs, thus the name, ‘hanging coffins’. One such burial cave which will be visited is Lumiang Cave, a sacred burial ground where ancient pine wood coffins can be seen. Time permitting, follow a footpath that leads to a vantage point fronting a limestone cliff, where some coffins placed between the gaps and crevices of the cliff can also be seen.

Before leaving the village, drop by the Sagada Weaving House where hand-woven products are made by the local womenfolk who engage in hand-loom weaving