Ifugao is a landlocked province of the Philippines, which is a part of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) situated north of Luzon.
With eleven municipalities tucked under its belt, it carries with it loads of tourism potential especially for outdoor adventurists, which has yet to be discovered, since, as most tourists could attest, only the world-famous Banaue Rice Terraces, the so-called "Eighth Wonder of the World", is the only place-to-be in this underrated province.
We now set our sights at one of Ifugao's hidden spectacles, located on the northern part of the province, the municipality of Mayoyao, which we explored way back June 9-11, 2018.
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| Location of Mayoyao in the province of Ifugao |
DAY 0: June 8, 2018 (Friday)
Our Sagada-bound CODA Lines tourist bus departed in the evening. The terminal of CODA Lines is located at HM Transport Inc. Monte de Piedad, Corner Maryland, Cubao, Quezon City, Metro Manila. Yes, HM Transport and CODA Lines share the same bus terminal. In addition, all trips going to Sagada passes through the Ifugao province, which explains why our bus' signage indicates SAGADA. Advanced ticket reservation purchase is highly recommended since Sagada is a very popular tourist destination.
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| CODA Lines at HM Transport bus terminal |
Actually, there is another bus company, which goes straight to Sagada too, the Ohayami Trans, which is situated at Cor. Fajardo St., Lacson Ave, Sampaloc, Manila.
DAY 1: June 9, 2018 (Saturday)
After travelling for around eight hours, we alighted our bus at the Municipal Tourism Center in Banaue, Ifugao.
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| Municipal Tourism Center |
Before proceeding for Mayoyao at 41 kms away, we booked first a rented vehicle before taking our breakfast at the People's Lodge & Restaurant located at the Banaue Poblacion Terminal, Banaue-Mayoyao-Potia-Isabela Road, a few walks from the Tourism Center.
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| People's Lodge & Restaurant |
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| Breakfast time |
Along the way before Mayoyao, we stopped by just to view the Bangaan Village and Rice Terraces in Banaue. Incidentally, the Bangaan Rice Terraces is one of the 5 rice terraces included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995.
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| Bangaan Village and Rice Terraces |
Before entering Mayoyao, you will be passing by the Habbang Bridge, which connects Banaue to Mayoyao.
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| Habbang Bridge |
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| Welcome structure of Mayoyao |
Inside the town, we visited first the Mayoyao Tourist Information & Assistance Center to further provide us with more information regarding the municipality.
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| Mayoyao Tourist Information & Assistance Center |
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| Mayoyao Tourist Map |
We then proceeded to our accommodation venue, which was Helen's Guest Hauz, located at Onagol, Poblacion in order to check-in and freshen up before we proceed towards our target destinations.
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| Helen's Guest Hauz |
Our first site visit was trekking the Mount Nagchajan Historical Site in Barangay Chaya, which was the location of the last stand of the Japanese soldiers during World War II.
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| World War II Historical Markers |
The Historical Markers would serve as the jump-off point towards the summit of Mount Nagchajan, which is the SMART communication tower.
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| Great view along the trail towards the summit |
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| Summit of Mount Nagchajan |
After the morning hike, we ate lunch at a carinderia in the Mayoyao Public Market, then proceeded to refresh ourselves at our next stop, the Manhencha Falls in Chumang. Local folklore says that a beautiful woman named Manhencha had to jump about 13-15 meters into the water to retrieve her necklace, which fell while taking a bath.
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| Lunchtime at a Carinderia |
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| Manhencha Falls Jump-off Point |
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| Manhencha Falls |
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