Biyahero

• Guerilla Saddle, along Km. 26 (Km. 272), Halselma Highway, was a battleground of the 66th Infantry Battalion and guerillas who fought and defeated the Japanese Army during World War II.
• Abiang Burial Cave, in Brgy. Pasdong, has a coffin decorated with the figure of a carabao head with luminous green eyes.  The cave is a 2-hr. hike from a trail at Km. 48.
• The Highest Point Marker (Philippine Pali), along Km. 53 (Km. 303), Halsema Highway, Brgy. Cattubo near Bayangan is where the road crosses 2,450-m. high Mt. Paoay.  The highest point of all Philippine highways (7,400 ft. or 2,225 m. above sea level), it has good views of Mt. Pulag, Mt. Timbac, Kabayan, Atok and the deep Agno Valley to the south.  This place, cloudy during the rainy season, is a 3-hr. drive from Baguio City.   From its highest point (the softly-rounded peak of 8,100-ft. high Mt. Paoay), you have a wonderful view down to the Agno River, the vast vegetable gardens of Natubleng to the north and towards the valleys and the sprawling Naguey Rice Terraces to the west.  To get there, turn left at at the turn-off at Brgy. Paoay (2 kms. before the Highest Point Marker) and go down 2 kms. to Sitio Buslang.
• Near the Highest Point Marker are the 70-hectare vegetable gardens of Haight’s Place, named after Guy Haight, an American soldier employed by the Kennon Road construction firm.  He married a Mankayan native and started the first celery and strawberry farm in the region in 1913, the forerunner of truck farms for which the area is famous.  One of the coldest areas in the province, it is common for the temperature here to drop below zero  during the days of late December to early February. Temperature at lower areas goes up to 25° at Naguey and Pasdong proper.
• The man-made Busleng Grotto, at Brgy. Paoay, is located underneath a pile of big rocks with a vegetable and cut flower garden. It has an image of the Virgin Mary.  
• The 33-hectare Naguey Rice Terraces, along the banks of the Naburgo River (which joins the Amburayan River below Kibungan) in Brgy. Naguey, are planted with both rice and vegetables.  These stonewalled terraces can be viewed along Km. 40, a short stretch of the Halsema Highway approaching Mt. Toyangan.  
• The Amburayan River runs for about 30 kms. from Brgys. Pasdong to Naguey.
• The 50-m. long, man-made Half Tunnel, along the Halsema Highway at Km. 57, Bonglo, Brgy. Paoay, was constructed in the early 1960’s, by a joint team of DPWH and Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company.
• Adevonan Falls (Banayakeo)
• Osokan Cave
• Pasdong Rice Terraces (Brgy. Pasdong)

• The multi-faceted Mt. Kabunian is an ancient and sacred burial ground with old mummy coffins said to be on a level shoulder of the mountain.  This sheer cliff, rising abruptly southwest of the town, is believed to be the dwelling place of gods and goddesses.  The mountain offers excellent 1-day hikes, lovely scenery, a commanding view of distant mountain ridges, several hot springs plus six waterfalls. The flat but fairly wide summit has little vegetation.  The mountain is a 4-hr. bus ride from Baguio City.      
• The interesting Ducligan Rock Formation, in Mt. Kabunian, shows the outline of a human body whose genitals spring clear mountain water. 
• The 2,156-m. high Mt. Lobo, beside Mt. Kabunian, is located to the east of the town proper and is a relatively easy, 1-day hike through wooded terrain.  It is said to be the home of the telay, a human without an anus for excreta.  He is also said to depend on the aroma of the food for its subsistence.
• Mt. Tinglawan (or Tenglaoan), located northwest of the town proper, is accessible from Sitio Luponan, Brgy. Sinacbat.  It can be climbed in one day without a guide as the trail to the summit can be seen from the end of the road.  The mountain, said to be the home of Insaking, the king of evil spirits, has a skyward-pointing, carrot-shaped monolith (worth climbing) jutting out of a cliff, a few meters off the ridge.  Its summit, a short narrow ridge running north to south, has a breathtaking view of the Ilocos coastal lowlands, the Amburayan River flowing to the sea at Tagudin, the ridges of Abatan, Sinipsip and Mt. Data, parts of the Halsema Highway reemerging all the way to La Trinidad, and down below, the fairly flat, pastoral village of Bagu with some terraces in the distance.
• Bakun Rice Terraces
• Bakun Burial Caves

• Ambuklao Dam, in Brgy. Ambuklao, is one of Southeast Asia's earth and rock-filled dams.  It impounds the waters of the turbulent Agno River.  The adjunct irrigation system on the delta of the Agno River was the first in the Philippines to be served from a reservoir dam and it dams the river with 6,504,000 cu. m. of rocks, gravel and cement together with 1,000,000 cu. m. of clay earth at its core.  Its picturesque, manmade lake has a small picnic area along the shore (no restaurants though) and boats can sometimes be hired for pleasure rowing.  It is also teems with freshwater fish.  Once ranked among the world’s tallest dams, it is 131 m. high, 426 m. long at the crest and has a base width of 565 m..  The elevation of its crest is 758 m. and the roadway that runs through the top of the dam has an elevation of 756 m.. It is the highest power dam in Asia and the second highest of its kind in the world.  Taking ten years to build at a cost of PhP132 million, it once generated 75,000 KW of electricity (now reduced due to siltation and lesser water from the Agno) in three 25,000-KW generating units placed in an underground 17-m. high, 30-m. long and 9-m. wide power house cut from the solid rock.  There are 8 Tainter radial gates at the dam's spillway. Each spillway measures 12.5 m. by 12.5 m. and is 127 m. in length. The gross storage capacity of the dam's reservoir is 327,170,000 cu. m. and it has a usable storage capacity of 258,000,000 cu. m.. The drainage area is 686 sq. kms. and is 11 kms. long with a maximum width of 1 km.. To build this engineering feat, a diversion channel was first cut to allow the Agno River to flow naturally awy from ongoing work.  Then the gorge was narrowed through a series of blasts inside a mountain, thus trapping the water and forming a manmade lake.  Its water turbines, loaded on huge flatbed trucks (operating in tandem), was brought up the coast via the Naguilian Rd. and brought down via the specifically-built Ambuklao Rd. from Pacdal (Baguio City).  Located 45 kms. northeast of Baguio City, the dam is accessible from the inter-provincial road going cross-country to Cagayan Valley through a scenic 36-km. mountain highway stretching across the crest of the dam to Kabayan.  For group tours, you must apply one week in advance at the National Power Corporation office along Bonifacio St. in Baguio City or the Manila office.  Started in July 1950, it took 6 years and 5 months to complete and the operation of this hydroelectric facility finally started on December 23, 1956 Its civil works contractor was the Guy F. Atkinson Company and the engineering consultant was Harza Engineering Company of Chicago.
• Badekbek Sulfur Springs, in Brgy. Daclan, has boiling sulfur geysers and mud craters.   It consists of an earth and rock filled dam, 131 m. high, 426 m. long at the crest and 565 m. wide at the base, with manmade lakes.  A 2-km. turn-off road from the provincial road, 1 km. before reaching Brgy. Ambangeg from Bokod, leads to Brgy. Daclan.
• The charming, natural Lebbeng Lake is located east of the poblacion.  A fork on the provincial road goes to Brgy. Carao and from there make a trek to the lake.  The lake was the headquarters of the American First Aid forces during World War II.  
• Adwagan River
• Bila Mountain Saddle
• Bobbok Second Growth Pine Forests
• Mossy Forest of Naswak (Brgy. Ekip)
• Mt. Kamaltakan
• Palansa Panoramic View
• Palpalan Waterfalls
• Pigingan Rice Terraces (Brgy. Karao)
• Pigingan Falls
• Upper Binga River

• The Loo Valley, in Brgy. Loo, is the premier potato-growing region of the Philippines and is the fertile home of the Kalanguyas. For its high altitude location, it is fairly broad, well-drained and is gently inclined like a segment of a giant funnel whose spout is the narrowing Agno River Valley downstream.  A 3-hr. drive from Baguio City, upon reaching the Mankayan Junction (Km. 335) from Baguio City, turn right to get to the valley. Nabalicong (meaning “tucked among the mountainsides”) and Sinipsip are sitios of Brgy. Amgaleyguey which faces Buguias Central across the Agno River. There is a road which nearly connects the two except for the crossing at Agno, which is but a footbridge. Nabalicong, down the eastern flanks of Sinipsip, can also be accessed via Brgy. Natubleng, 7 kms. down the road to Baguio City from Sinipsip along the Halsema Highway. There is a bumpy road from Natubleng down to Nabalicong all the way to Kabayan.  The vast Natubleng Vegetable Terraces, along Km. 63, Brgy. Natubleng, has neat rows and upright trellises planted with temperate-zone climate greens such as Baguio beans, cabbage, carrots and other vegetables and root crops.  Here, the ridge broadens a bit and the crests toward the west have softly-rounded contours that allow for greater cultivation. Before the garden areas of Loo Valley and Mt. Data opened up, Natubleng had been supplying temperate-zone vegetables to Baguio and the lowlands as early as the first decades of the 1900s. A road on the right goes down, 4 kms. away to Nabalicong and the Apo Anno Cave.
• The Apo Anno Cave, the burial site of the famed 12th century mighty hunter who was mummified, is about an hour’s hike from Brgy. Natubleng.  To get there, follow the turnoff road which begins at the Sinipsip National High School up to a cluster of houses where, beyond it, there is a steep downward trail  which you can negotiate. Right across a small stream (which can be crossed by hopping on large boulders) is the cave, a huge boulder with an inclined cleft along the rocky banks. The caretaker, living in one of the cluster of houses closest to this place, has the key to the iron gate of the enclosing fence.
• Mt. Mongaoto, southeast of Natubleng, has a magnificent, unobstructed view of the Agno Valley, between Kabayan and Buguias, all the way to the Loo Valley. The way to the top starts at a waiting shed along the Halsema Highway where there is a sign “Mongaoto Vegetable Growers’ Association.” It is not difficult to climb.
• The 2,600-m. (8,524-ft.) high Mt. Osdung is located northwest of Natubleng.  At its northwest slope is the village of Madaymen (Kibungan), the highest inhabited village of the Philippines. From Natubleng you can visit Madaymen, which is a barangayof Kibungan, a town along the western Benguet. Ground frost easily forms at night at Sinipsip and Natubleng during the months of December to February as it often does. From Brgy. Abatan (the new township seat), via the most scenic and well-paved portion of the Halsema Highway, lies Sinipsip, 12 kms. on the way to Baguio City. Located along a ridge, it is a favorite stopping point for wayfarers along the Halsema. Below here are scenic views of the Agno Valley. You can mark out the villages which dot the road down there, including Buguias Central. In the northwest, you can see the Abra River winding down a very picturesque narrow valley.
• The 2,842-m. high Mt. Tabayoc, more wooded than Mt. Pulag and 400 ft. lower, is another tempting climb.  Its northern slopes form the saddle of the Polis Range and its summit has a magnificent view, on the east, of the Magat River collecting its waters from the slopes of the Polis Range down to the Cagayan Valley, as well as the Upper Agno River, the Loo Valley and the ridge where the Halsema Highway threads.  Jump-off point is the southern tip of Buguias poblacion where a trail leads to the east towards Tinoc (Ifugao).      
• Buguias is honeycombed with a variety of hot springs (freshwater, saline or sulfurous) with modest baths set up for locals and visitors.   Waters drawn from the western mountains are fresh water while those drawn from mountains to the east are either saline or sulfurous.   Springs here include Asin-an Sulfur Springs and Buguias Hot Spring.
• Bayoyo Vegetable Terraces
• Loo Valley View (Brgy. Loo)
• Maiden Tears Falls

• Balatoc Gold Mines, in Balatoc, just after the Philippine Military Academy, is located 2,000 ft. above sea level.  It is one of the oldest in the country and has the most extensive tunnel system in this country.    It is located 17 kms. (a 40-min. drive via Loakan Rd.) from Baguio City.   Its 25-mile tramline, the longest in the Far East and the second longest in the world, tunnels under the mountain and extends all the way to Loakan, Itogon up to the stream seen at Mines View Park.    The mine site itself had 32 levels, with the lowest level at 3,000 ft. below the surface.

1. The 16-hectare, wooded Crosby Park, in Brgy. Virac, is part of the Balatoc Mines Tour.  It has public camping grounds, playgrounds, comfort rooms and washing facilities and picnic sites. To get there, take a jeepney bound for Apunan and drop off at the first gate of the Benguet Corporation property area. 
2. The man-made Balatoc Lake is ideal for boating, fishing and picnicking.  
3. Balatoc Mines Museum displays company memorabilia, facsimiles of gold bars, an old furnace (where recovered gold from the filter presses are roasted and poured into molds), antique mining equipment and rock samples showing gold in its native form (some of high grade with beads of gold shining on the white limestone rock).   Benguet Corporation offers a 4-hr. guided tour of the museum and an underground tram ride in miner's gear along the tunnel takes you through all the stages of gold vein mining, showcasing actual underground mining (drilling, ground blasting, mucking, timbering and ore transport) and milling process of gold ore.  Try your luck at gold panning.  Entry to the lower level, through a mineshaft, should be made early in the morning.  Baguio City booking office: Tel: 447-2610-12 & 442-2016.  Fax: 447-2624.  Also call the Baguio City DOT Office.  Benguet Corporation (Manila): Tel:  631-8701-40.  Fax: (632) 631-6461.  Free shuttle service from Baguio City is available at the Benguet Corporation Laboratory at 141 Abanao St. Ext.  

• The 2,086-m. high, forested Mt. Ugo (from the Iwak word ugoan meaning “to slit the throat”) is also known as the “plane grabber” since there has already been three planes that crashed into the said mountain. The most tragic was the June 26, 1987 crash of a Philippine Airlines plane from Manila bound for Loakan Airport.  It crashed on the southern portion of the mountain, about 1 km. down from the peak, killing all passengers and crew on board.An easy climb, there are three routes up the mountain; one from Kayapa (Nueva Vizcaya) and the rest from Itogon.  The most difficult route entails taking a jeepney to Brgy. Tinongdan and, from there, making a 5-hr. hike through thick forests, walking up steep inclines and embankments and crossing a hanging bridge along the way.  For the other route, take a jeepney to Brgy. Dalupirip (the last village along the Agno River) and make a 5-hr. but gentler hike east through a less-wooded forest.  Along the way, you can take a dip at the pool of undeveloped Dalupirip Hot Spring (Sitio Asin, Brgy. Dalupirip, 29 kms. from Baguio City).   The best time to climb is from January to May.  The footpaths are muddy and slippery during the rainy months.  Bring waterproof backpacks and warm clothing as mist and fog are a regular feature throughout the year.
• Binga Dam and Hydroelectric Plant, in Brgy. Binga, 34 kms. east of Baguio City (via the Baguio-Ambuklao Rd.) and 19 kms. downstream from Ambuklao Dam, was once a major source of hydroelectric power.  It was built by Filipinos (Philippine Engineers Syndicate, Inc. taking charge of the civil works) from August 1956 to March 31, 1960 (3 years and 7 months) at a cost of Php104 million and had a 100-MW capacity.  Full operation began on March 31, 1960 , 3 years and 3 months after the Ambuklao Hydroelectric Plant was completed. The dam draws water from the Benneng River (flowing down the highlands of Bokod and Kayapa) and streams coming down northern portions of Baguio and Itogon and from Atok, La Trinidad and Tublay.  The dam is 215 m. (705.4 ft.) long and 107.37 m. (352.3 feet) high and has a 94.50-m. (310-ft.) long spillway.  It is made of earth and rock fill and has 6 Tainter gates measuring 12.5 m. by 12 m. (41 ft. by 39.4 ft.) with hoists that are motor driven. The crest of the dam has an elevation of 586 m. (1,972.7 ft.) and on top of the dam is a 8-m. (26.3-ft.) wide roadway. Its reservoir has a drainage area of 936 sq. kms. (361 sq. miles). The length of the reservoir, at its widest portion, is about 2 kms. and the distance of backwater from the dam measures 10 kms..  Now unused, tilapia breeders has now converted the lake (one-fifth the size of Ambuklao Dam’s lake) into fishponds.  It has beautiful views of the pine-clad mountains and the valleys and rivers below.  You can also get there from Pacdal (Baguio City) via the partly paved (and 5 kms. shorter) Itogon-Sangilo Rd.  The route through Itogon is much shorter and has a better maintained roadway.
• The Domolpos Mummies, in Sitio Damolpos, are the mummified remains of the five children (Jaga-e, Matuday, Ong-jao, Ticol and Widi) of Sahmolpos (or Shomolpos), the first settler of this Iwak village, and Colon. They are kept in narra (locally called oriao) coffins and housed in an abunan, a windowless pine and cogon hut with two doors.  The abunan is also referred to as dansa ni ili (“nail of the community”) because ceremonial rituals and vigils are held here.  One of the mummies was stolen in 1985 and the abunan is opened only on special occasions, with the approval of the mambunong.