Kalinga‘s terrain is marked by vast agricultural plains framed by mountain ranges of igneous and sedimentary rock. On these ranges, extensive rice terraces have been carved out by human hands, a Filipino Cordilleran legacy admired the world over.
The inner part of the province, meanwhile, is carved by the force of Nature itself. The Chico River, meandering across Kalinga, sliced through the mountain sides for millions of years, gradually forming a picturesque river valley.
Today, tucked within this river valley is the tribal municipality of Tinglayan. Lower in elevation compared to Kalinga’s other municipalities, a visitor can expect warm, humid days here. Expect, as well, days full of memorable adventures amidst strikingly beautiful gray-and-green panoramas. Team KT proudly brings you the particulars. Read the rest of this entry »
A story goes that once, among the highlands of the Philippines’ Gran Cordilleras, a people of great might and grim ferocity gradually became known to their neighbors as the KALINGA.
The name was not in any way cordial. KALINGA, to the different tongues of this region, had meant “headhunter,” or “enemy.”
Through the years, the Kalinga have come to accept this badge with uncompromising pride; the name is a reminder of their days of legend, when justice for every vanquished kin was delivered by the blow of an axe, or the flight of the spear of brothers out to redeem their family’s honor. Read the rest of this entry »
(In this post’s Part 2, the merged cycle touring teams of KT and Lagalag Exploration— together with PHILMOFO members and a group of Ifugaomountain bikers— spent the night at Tinoc, the highest town in the province. With the Mofos heading back to Manila the morning after, KT and the Lagalag boys sweated it out by themselves in the Tinoc-Hungduan frontier. Carla, now the only girl in the team, crumbled down with exhaustion and low morale. This is the last installment of the epic loop.)
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In tears, I scanned the rugged road behind me. It had been an oppressing climb, soaring several meters from the river that cuts the Tinoc-Hungduan valley. Not too steep, I self-confessed, and frankly not quite kilometric. But with the fuming sun broiling my patience to a very thin crisp, I stopped pushing my bike, sought solace under a mere square-foot of tree shadow, and bawled like a baby.
The disruptive attack of my sobs and snorts into the brooding silence of Ifugao… just, startled me back to sanity. It was then that I saw my man, Lester— now ten meters ahead— dutifully pushing his MTB up to the gravel path’s height, where it curves to the left, disappearing behind the mountain wall. Read the rest of this entry »
photography | G-third Atanque, Carla Ocampo and Lester Valle
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(In this post’s Part 1, the merged cycle touring teams of The Kayumanggi Trails and Lagalag Exploration— together with local bikers from Ifugao and members of the MTB forum PHILMOFO— reached Tinoc via the Lagawe-Kiangan off-road, but not without harsh difficulties and setbacks. Eight of them were rescued by a dump truck. Here, now, is the second installment of this epic ride.)
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In fog-shrouded darkness, with the truck heaving its lonely climb to Tinoc, all of us fell silent. Never had the off-roads seemed so dangerous, until now: a wall of mud and rock gaping over us at left… and at right, an abysmal ravine— a fatal drop— from which our truck was less than a couple of feet away.
After what could be the steepest five-kilometer assault in the closing stretch of the ride, the frontier transitioned at last… and we were greeted by houses with galvanized iron walls, dimly lit by fluorescent bulbs.
“…the place, the way people lived was beautiful. The terrain here is hard. These terraces the people made, that is because of their industry and the need to grow rice in order to live. In all of that there is something to be admired.“
In the heyday of Masferre— the late, great visual documentarist who was half-Spanish and half-Kankana-ey— these were his words, as he was humbled by the people and the terrain… the soul, the character of Northern Philippines‘ Gran Cordilleras.
More than half a century later, we are equally humbled by the very same things, as KT‘s Lester Valle and yours truly— together with Lagalag Exploration‘s Levi Nayahangan and G-Third Atanque— pedaled through rocky soil, mud pools, steep uphills, elbow curves and perilous downhills… Philippine cycle touring at its finest… and arguably, one of the hardest.
All these via the Lagawe-Lagawe Loop, a zig-zagging stretch of 85% off-road glory, hissing a challenge to all self-proclaimed hardcore MTB enthusiasts. Winding around some of the best places of the province of Ifugao (through the towns of Lagawe, Kiangan, Asipulo, Tinoc, Hungduan, Banaue, Hingyon, and back to Lagawe) the loop is around 130 Cordilleran Kilometers— or CKm— in all. Read the rest of this entry »
photography | Wing Larase, Yo Muan, Carla Ocampo, Rap Rios and Lester Valle
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Day 00 | 26 December 2009
2115H – Carla and I arrived at Victory LinerCubao Station. Yo came earlier and secured an area for us to kill time while waiting for the midnight trip to Baguio. We witnessed the heavy influx of people bound to various places in the North. Most notable were fellow hikers. From my reckoning, a good 30% of the crowd are Pulag-bound, judging from the size of their packs and that shiny ol’ thermal earthpad jutting out of their side pockets. Apparently, December is the peak season for scaling the highest landform in Luzon.
2210H – Wing came in, followed by Rosa, Nadja and Renan. We patiently waited for the 2300H bus ride to Baguio City. Nadja, who is in charge of the reservation, handed the tickets. Fare is Php 435.00. Rap went a day ahead to Baguio. He will meet us there at the rendezvous.
On the last few days of December 2009, The Kayumanggi Trails Team scaled Mount Pulag in the name of Living Asia Channel (LAC), to finally capture some footage of the famed Pulag Sunrise.
It was aired in the show Gone For The Weekend, LAC’s most popular feature to date. In its first segment, a man fondly called “Mang Roger” makes a short, smiling appearance at the fifth minute.
In the past weeks, The Kayumanggi Trails blog has been flooded with search tags about Roger Guzman, the most-recommended transport service agent shuttling hikers across Cordilleran kilometers to the jump-off points of Mount Pulag.
All for a very unnerving reason. Truth be told, the shock still lingers.
Screen grab of Mang Roger, as he appeared on "Gone For The Weekend - Mount Pulag" which aired on the Living Asia Channel
He was murdered. On the darkest of hours, 25th of July, 2010. Gunned down just as he was coming home to retire after the day’s drive. He succumbed, without seeing the dawn.*
No one saw the crime.
Or at least none with the balls to speak up. Or the heart to confess.
It has been widely believed, from that night— and the nights before, and more so after it— that Mang Roger was the envy of all other transport agents plying the Pulag Route. The man was a favorite among hikers, because of his steady driving style, no-nonsense personality, and reasonable jeepney rental rates. Not to mention, his ability to jive effortlessly with Pulag regulars.
We got the news from Michael Abanes, one of the more avid Pulag climbers constantly bringing along delegates to the peak. Their group was the last to see Mang Roger, still jolly and peaceful, under the broad daylight. Next to the Guzman kinsfolk, this group felt the loss most devastatingly. As their story goes, they even teased Mang Roger about joining them over some bottles of beer back in Baguio. Had the man said yes, would the killer have gone away, uselessly waiting for his victim to arrive?
To this moment, the Pulag community still has no words for the grief. No words, except perhaps, the cry for JUSTICE.
The Kayumanggi Trails offers a requiem for the well-regarded persona, whose able spirit brought us safely through the dark dawn of the Benguet frontier, culminating in the most memorable birthing of the sun we have seen in our young lives.
Higit na sa tayog ng Cordillera ang papanikin mo, Ginoong Roger Guzman. Maraming salamat sa matiwasay na paghatid mo sa libu-libong sumubok sa Bundok Pulag.
Hayaan mong kami naman ang maghatid sa iyo sa Kaluwalhatian, baun-baon ang aming lubos na paggalang. Sumalangit nawa ang iyong kaluluwa…
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*(Mang Roger died in the early hours of July 26, 2010, as relayed by Pulag Park Superintendent, Ma’am Emerita Albas. “I die without seeing the dawn brighten over my native land!” was a line uttered by Elias— in Rizal‘s Noli Me Tangere— as he breathed his last in the Forest of the Ibarras)
Each of the province’s major towns all have their own versions of terracing. Hungduan, Mayoyao, Kiangan, Asipulo, Hingyon… yet the most well-known are the terraces of Banaue. Tourists often drop by a couple of viewpoints in this town to photograph some impressive vistas of the rice terraces.
But then, ‘ever you stop to ask the locals, they would draw you near to tell you, “Banaue has a secret place, the terraces there are spectacular. Amphitheater-like. And they soar high, just below the peak of their most prominent mountain.”
“Where’s that?”
“In Batad. But it’s an hour’s worth of rough road climbing up to the Saddle, your drop-off point. And then you have to hike down a very rocky trail, by foot, for about an hour and a half. There is no other way to it.” Read the rest of this entry »
In tears, I scanned the rugged road behind me. It had been an oppressing climb, soaring several meters from the river that cuts the Tinoc-Hungduan valley. Not too steep, I self-confessed, and frankly not quite kilometric. But with the fuming sun broiling my patience to a very thin crisp, I stopped pushing my 
terrain… the soul, the character of Northern 
Watchasay? :D