AGUID RICE TERRACES & BOMOD-OK FALLS

When your guide in Sagada tells you a vehicle is very handy in reaching a certain spot? Get a vehicle! But remember you are not in Sagada if there is no walking involve so even with ready transport be prepared to sweat it out to reach the must see places and top tourist destinations.

The available map of Sagada doesnt show distance between spots in kms. You have to trust that when there is a dotted line it means effort is required. I found this the hard way hahaha 

So anyway for the first two days our guide brought with him van to transfer us around fom one Sagada spot to the next destination. Surprisingly on the third day he brought with him a jeepney. And i was ecstatic! I can ride on top of the jeepney! Toploading galore!

Toploading on a Sagada Jeepney

The good thing about having a good guide -that’s Jake – is that he can anticipate when the tourists -that’s me and Titus-   yearn to take pictures of a certain spot, he stops the jeep right on target even with us not telling him. Of course we cant tell him even if want to for we are on top of a moving jeepney even shouting wont do hehe So thanks Jake! You may contact him thru his email bacalgan@yahoo.com.

Anyway one of the must see tourist attraction that Sagada offers is Bomod-ok falls, which locals also calls the “Big Falls”. That’s what Titus was really interested in. To reach the waterfalls you have to travel 6 kms to get to Barangay Aguid, hence the very handy vehicle. Though most foreign nationals and backpackers prefer to walk it.

When we reached the covered court of the barangay, I was pleasantly  surprised with the view, it is the Aguid Rice Terraces at my feet!

Aguid Rice Terraces waits for you in Sagada

Jake said we have to go down and navigate the rice paddies to reach the falls. Ok! One goal down, I had always wanted to have a picture in a real  rice paddy. That may stem from me having grown up in Mactan Island no mountains, no rice paddies etc.

Then Jake dropped the bomb. Titus and I looked on to the two barangays downhill in the distance that we must passed in order to get to the valley below to reach the falls. How many kilometers you say?  1.5 kms of downhill trekking one way. With raised eyebrows and twinkling eyes we said Carry on! Our ibuprofens are ready hehe. We conquered Mt Ampacao to Lake Danum yesterday, didn’t we? Hehehe yabang! 

Sagada weather is cool and at times windy so you won’t feel the sun rays more reason to slather on sunscreen.

It is  really beautiful, the rice terraces, and it makes you proud. Our forebears are great engineers, they were not given vast plains for them to plant rice, our staple food. They have mountains, and out of the seemingly impossible task they were able to create from the mountains the engineering marvel of their time with just stones as tools, the rice terraces.  Collectively we know that the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras is the 8th wonder of the world, a UNESCO Heritage Site, and more importantly may be the only wonder of the world created by free men and not slaves.

Traditional Rice Plating in Sagada

So anyway we started trekking to Bomod-ok Falls, the pathways are safe. Some of them paved and cemented, others made of stones but still safe. The difficulty lies in the fact that you have to go down stairs strategically located in rice paddies. Some needs just 5 steps, others hehehe more than 20. Imagine the climb back up. *widewidesmile*

You can ask your guide to rest once in awhile,  we did still under in the guise of picture taking hehe . Heyyy we want lots of pictures from Sagada! 

Walking through the rice paddies in Sagada!

Finally we reaced Barangay Fidlesan! We were halfway already. We rested in a dap-ay, its a traditional structure where the council elders meet and decides on the important matters of the barangay and still being use today.

By the way there is a 20 per person pay this is to fund the building and maintenance of the paved pathways. Your Sagada guide pass for free.

After resting we took to the trail again. We saw a rice paddy snake lazing in the sun. When the snake realize humans want to make use of the stair, it obliges and went away.

Along the way, there is what Titus and I termed the mineral water refilling station, nature’s gift to tired and thirsty travellers.  Hurray!

After rounding off the corner we saw Bomod-ok Falls! The famous Big Falls of Sagada.

Bomod-ok The Big Falls

And we were  rewarded for Bomod-ok Falls water was so refreshingly chilly ^_^.  When we swam in the fall’s pool our muscle cramps became bearable.

We stayed for 30 mins, I was in the water for just 5 mins haha brrrrr.. I just took a quick swim, it was really cold  swimming in a pool filled with seemingly ice water.

We can’t stay all day and have to bid farewell to Bomod-ok and braved the stairs, terraces and climb back up. More Sagada top tourist sites to see, foods to discover and adventures to conquer! *grins*

Bye Bye cold waters I’ll long for you come summer hehe

If you made it to Sagada, and Bomod-ok Falls, don’t leave without taking a dip. It will make for great memory.