An International Musical Composition and Competition to Promote Banaue Rice Terraces Rehabilitation

The people behind this initiative

The Halsema Highroad Point, the highest point in the Philippine Highway System

On our way back to Manila from a 3-day trip to Banaue, Sagada and Baguio last December of 2013, 

we made a very quick stopover to a long and winding road somewhere in Benguet. It has been almost half a year since we travelled there, but still my memory longs for that heavenly view that took my heart away for about twenty minutes. I wished we could have stayed longer there. 

The view is way, way majestic that I decided this deserves a blog post of its own. What I am talking about is the Halsema Highroad Point, the highest point in the Philippine highway system. This is located in Cattubo, Atok Benguet with an elevation of 7, 400 feet above sea level and a two-hour ride from La Trinidad, the capital town of Benguet.

The Annual Sagada Bonfire or Panag - apoy Festival

Our  Sagada Bonfire Fest 2013 souvenir 

If you want to experience a different kind of nightlife where people gather around the biggest bonfire they probably have ever seen in their whole life, come visit Sagada during last week of December. They have this event called Sagada Bonfire Festival where traditional games and folk dances of Igorots (people of Sagada) are performed as a way of educating the guests of the lives of their ancestors during pre - colonization period. I am very lucky I was able to catch it during my Sagada tour with side trips to Banaue, Benguet and Baguio.

The climate from December to February in Sagada and neighboring mountains are at its coldest so you will get to feel the winter sans snow! I suggest you bring a cap, scarf, jacket, wear long sleeve attires and pants instead. 

You may be wondering of all the things that Sagada can make a festival out of, why bonfires? I think obviously because it represents their resilience to the cold weather. One can just stay in the room the whole day and whole night for that kind of weather then forget to plant crops or learn new skills outside but they proved that was not a problem. Their rice terraces are one of the world's most admired architecture that has baffled a lot of engineers on how these were built without aid from technology hundreds of years ago!