Besao

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Hikes from nearby Besao are less busy than those around Sagada, but they don't feature any coffins and you'll need determination to tackle them. Jeepneys travel between Besao and Sagada throughout the day, but the last trip from Besao to Sagada is mid-morning. If you get stuck you can always scrounge up lodging in a local house for P250 a night. Day-trippers can also hire private transport for the return trip (arrange at the Tourist Information Center).

It’s a 10km journey between the two towns over a partially paved road.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Echo Valley Hanging Coffins

    Echo Valley Hanging Coffins

    2.44 MILES

    Sagada's most popular attractions are the hanging coffins of Echo Valley: some are centuries old, while others are only a few years old. Most are high up…

  • Bontoc Museum

    Bontoc Museum

    6.66 MILES

    At this wonderful museum, powerful black-and-white photos are interspersed with indigenous art, representing each of the region’s main tribes. You may…

  • Museum of Cordillera Sculpture

    Museum of Cordillera Sculpture

    18.03 MILES

    This museum showcases a collection of Ifugao woodcarvings, and what a collection it is. Ritual objects and antique bulol line the vast hall, among…

  • More than 100 wooden coffins stacked at the lichen-lined entrance hall of Lumiang Burial Cave.

    Lumiang Burial Cave

    2.53 MILES

    Lumiang Burial Cave is a 10- to 15-minute walk south of the main village, towards Ambasing, well signposted along the left-hand fork in the road. Steep…

  • Sumaguing Cave in the Philippines.

    Sumaging Cave

    2.83 MILES

    The exhilarating Sumaging Cave, or Big Cave, is the most popular of Sagada's caves. Its immense chambers are home to other-0worldly rock formations with…

  • Demang

    Demang

    2.15 MILES

    South of the centre, the small village of Demang is now a barangay of Sagada but was the area’s original settlement and remains Sagada’s cultural and…

  • Tappia Waterfall

    Tappia Waterfall

    20.48 MILES

    It’s a 40-minute gruelling but worthwhile hike across the terraces and a steep descent to the 21m-high Tappia Waterfall, where you can sunbathe on the…

  • Bangao Mummy Caves

    Bangao Mummy Caves

    29.83 MILES

    The forests around Kabayan hide dozens of mummy caves that only Ibaloi elders can locate; the nearest site where you can see some (not terribly well…

View more attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Ganduyan Museum

1.96 MILES

This small museum is packed with an anthropologist’s dream of sculptures, jewellery and other Kankanay artefacts. Be sure to chat to the owner, the son of…

2. Demang

2.15 MILES

South of the centre, the small village of Demang is now a barangay of Sagada but was the area’s original settlement and remains Sagada’s cultural and…

3. Echo Valley Lookout

2.31 MILES

You'll pass the Echo Valley lookout on the way to the Echo Valley Hanging Coffins. You'll probably hear people shouting into the valley before you get…

4. Echo Valley Hanging Coffins

2.44 MILES

Sagada's most popular attractions are the hanging coffins of Echo Valley: some are centuries old, while others are only a few years old. Most are high up…

5. Lumiang Burial Cave

2.53 MILES

Lumiang Burial Cave is a 10- to 15-minute walk south of the main village, towards Ambasing, well signposted along the left-hand fork in the road. Steep…

6. Sumaging Cave

2.83 MILES

The exhilarating Sumaging Cave, or Big Cave, is the most popular of Sagada's caves. Its immense chambers are home to other-0worldly rock formations with…

7. Bontoc Museum

6.66 MILES

At this wonderful museum, powerful black-and-white photos are interspersed with indigenous art, representing each of the region’s main tribes. You may…

8. Banaue Museum

17.77 MILES

The Banaue View Inn runs this museum, which contains books written decades ago by anthropologist Otley Beyer and Igorot artefacts collected by his son…