Sagada caves

Sagada caves

There is a connecting passageway between Lumiang and Sumaging Caves in Sagada. This is a sweet 3 hour hike if you go slow and enjoy the beauty down there.

If you enter the Sumaging cave and make a detour through some winding passages you will be able to exit the Lumiang cave. We went with a local guide, George, who was recommend to us by other travelers.

Beth and I followed George as he led us through narrow cracks in the cave walls and up and down slippery limestone formations.

We found that it was easiest to go barefoot because it seemed to get very slick on the white quartz type rock and our flip flops were not gripping too well.

Most people use some type of climbing shoe but for some reason or other we were using flip flops.

It is really a trip in that cave and it would be very difficult for a first time caver to set out on their own because some of the passageways are quite difficult to find.

For experienced cave climbers or spelunkers it would not be very challenging but still the beauty would be very rewarding and perhaps quite refreshing if they chose to go swimming in the underground lake.

It was a rush being down there winding up through places like the chimney and other restrictions. I couldn’t help but thinking what an experience it would be to do a cave like this with scuba equipment if it was totally submerged.

I never was that excited about being underground in caves until now.

Once as a younger man I went with a friend to a cave in Arkansas and we got lost in there over night and our batteries went dead. It was like we were under the influence of some kind of drug or something. Maybe someone put something in our orange juice. Who knows?

We finally got out of there around 4am and it seemed like the middle of the day to us because our eyes had adjusted to total darkness. Lucky thing we had some lighters.

Another good idea is to always let someone know that you are going caving so they will know to come looking for you if you don’t show up for dinner.

In Sagada it is quite safe because these guides walk these trails daily and they really know the way blindfolded.

These caves are remarkably clean and well kept considering the tourist pressure these caves get.

There are bats clinging to the ceiling but we only had lanterns rather than high intensity searchlights so we could only make out the outlines of clusters of them hanging up there.

A few would fly around making some kind of squeaking sound.

We found a cricket way back there too. It had super long antenna and didn’t seem to be affected by our light.

A trip to the caves is a great idea if you are in the area. You can take a jeepney from Banaue to Sagada or a bus from Baguio to Sagada. Check the other stories for more information.

Sagada is only about an hour from Bontoc also which is a great jumping off point for going to Tinglayan to climb the mountains over there.

Philippines