Things to do in Sagada
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Sagada
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Coolest and most reliable walking, best sea of clouds chances, with a Christmas and New Year peak.
Warm and dry, terraces greenest in local accounts, with a Holy Week domestic peak.
Wet season, heavy rain, fog, slippery paths, cave closures possible and landslide and road disruption risk.
A wet shoulder, rains still heavy, thin crowds and improving paths late in the month.
What's on
- Panag-apoy 1 November
Lighting of pine twigs at cemetery graves at dusk for All Saints Day. A solemn family practice, not a tourism festival.
- Lang-ay Festival April
Mountain Province festival centred in Bontoc, a secondary date for travellers already in the province.
Best things to do in Sagada
Hanging Coffins of Sagada
Coffins suspended on a limestone cliff in Echo Valley, Sagada's most famous and most sacred sight.
Echo Valley
The green limestone valley below the cemetery that frames the hanging coffins walk.
Episcopal Church of Saint Mary the Virgin
The stone mission church beside the cemetery, where Christian and older burial traditions sit side by side.
Ganduyan Museum
A dense family collection of Kankanaey weaving, baskets, jewellery and sculpture in town.
Sagada Weaving
Working weavers and a shop for bags, blankets and garments made in Sagada since the late 1960s.
Sagada Pottery
A working stoneware pottery where you watch a pot thrown and try the wheel yourself.
Lumiang Cave
A burial cave entrance stacked with old wooden coffins, seen from outside with a guide.
Where to stay in Sagada
Poblacion and South Road
first trip, walking to food and tours
Central inns, restaurants, the tourism office, the church and the bus stop are all on foot.
Pines outside centre
quiet and views
Pine lodges and a heritage village outside the tight centre, with a short ride to South Road.
Batalao
orchard quiet outside town
Rock Inn's farm and orange orchard, reached by vehicle, for travellers with transport arranged.
Best restaurants in Sagada
Log Cabin Sagada
Sagada's best known dinner, a chef led wooden restaurant where you order in advance.
Sagada Cellar Door
A pine forest evening venue for craft beer brewed with local ingredients, sausages and booked dinners.
Yoghurt House
Homemade yoghurt, hiker's breakfasts and red rice vegetable dishes on South Road.
Gaia Cafe and Crafts
A vegetarian focused organic cafe and crafts shop with a library corner and a view.
Masferre Country Inn and Restaurant
The central inn dining room, solid Filipino and international food for groups and arrivals.
Sagada Brew
A large log cabin style restaurant and cafe with space for groups and a wide menu.
Sagada Lemon Pie House
The cheap South Road institution for lemon pie by the slice with coffee, on the way to the caves.
Salt and Pepper Diner
A budget diner for large Filipino rice meals and local specialities before a trek day.
Outdoor things to do in Sagada
Sumaguing Cave
The standard Sagada spelunking trip, large chambers, wet scrambles and flowstone formations with a guide.
Cave Connection
The serious three to four hour traverse from Lumiang Cave through to Sumaguing Cave.
Bomod-ok Falls
Sagada's Big Falls, reached by a steep guided walk through rice terraces to a cold pool.
Bokong Falls
The small falls near town with a deep cold pool, often reached at the end of the Paytokan Walk.
Pongas Falls
A quieter multi tiered waterfall reached by a guided trek of about an hour each way.
Kiltepan Peak
The classic Sagada sunrise lookout over terraces, famous for a sea of clouds on the right morning.
Marlboro Hills
A broad grassy ridge reached by a pre dawn guided hike for sunrise and sea of clouds views.
Blue Soil Hills
Blue grey copper coloured soil among pines, best reached on the traverse on from Marlboro Hills.
Best hotels in Sagada
Masferre Country Inn and Restaurant
The most central and complete inn in town, with a restaurant and Eduardo Masferre photographs.
Rock Inn
A farm inn in an orange orchard outside town, quiet and spacious with orchard walks.
Kanip-aw Pines View Lodge
A mid range lodge among pines with view rooms, quieter than the South Road inns.
Sagada Heritage Village
Traditional inspired cottages and rooms in a village layout, with space and parking.
Isabelo's Inn and Cafe
A well reviewed small town inn and cafe, clean and personal with an easy breakfast.
George Guest House
A long running South Road guest house with a wide room spread in the middle of town.
Shamrock Tavern
A basic central tavern and inn chosen for price and location by walkers out all day.
Is Sagada expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | ₱2,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | ₱3,800 a person |
| Splurge | ₱7,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Sagada Pottery: a few days ahead
- Sumaguing Cave: a few days ahead
- Cave Connection: a few days ahead
- Bomod-ok Falls: a few days ahead
- Pongas Falls: a few days ahead
- Kiltepan Peak: a few days ahead
- Marlboro Hills: a few days ahead
- Blue Soil Hills: a few days ahead
- Book the Manila bus, town beds and Log Cabin and Cellar Door dinners ahead for Christmas, New Year and Holy Week.
- Arrange guides, sunrise transport and the Cave Connection the day before at the tourism office.
- Order whole lemon pies ahead if you want one to take away.
Is Sagada safe?
- Main local risks are landslides in heavy rain, wet cave floors, rising cave water, steep steps and cold falls pools.
Sagada travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Do not promise a sea of clouds. It depends on rain the night before, temperature and wind, and fogged mornings happen.
- Do not wander to the coffins, caves or falls without a registered guide and your environmental fee receipt.
- Do not treat Panag-apoy on 1 November as a festival or show. It is a solemn family practice at graves.
Getting around Sagada: public transport and more
- Direct Coda Lines overnight bus from Cubao, Manila, takes roughly 11 to 12 hours to Sagada town.
- Via Baguio is five to six hours onward on the Halsema Highway, and via Banaue is about three hours through Bontoc.
- In town you walk. Excursions use hired vehicles arranged with your guide for Kiltepan, Marlboro, Bomod-ok and Lake Danum.
Who Sagada suits
| Solo travellers | Great |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Sagada your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App Store