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Move Over Sagada and Banaue. Here Comes Balbalasang!

September 8th, 2006 | Kalinga, Tourism

As most of us know, Sagada and Banaue/Batad are the Cordillera Region’s top tourist attractions. Well, Baguio is actually the prime destination but it is overrated and it is a messy mess. Tourists going to Baguio would be better off going to Sagada or Banaue or other Cordillera towns such as, say, Balbalasang in Kalinga.

Well, I’ve not been there yet but this article by Art Fuentes from the Haribon website has awakened the travel bug in me. I’m tempted to shove my clothes in my backpack and to head over to Balbalasang. But maybe I’ll wait first for an invitation from our kailians in Balbalasang who would be kind enough to invite me, ha ha. I’m shamelessly fishing for an invitation eh? Well, Art Fuentes says Balbalasang reminded him of the Lord of the Rings and I’m a big Lord of the Rings fan. I’m not sure I can ever go to New Zealand where the movie was shot so I’ll visit any place that looks like it.




Anyway, here’s Art Fuentes’ take on Balbalasang:

Despite the long and difficult drive though, no one was complaining. We had passed through some of the most beautiful mountain roads anywhere in the country. The light rain and the mist shrouding the mountains which occasionally obscured the road, and the fading light all conspired to make driving a bit more difficult, but they also added to the magical quality of the trip.

The rains made the area extra special. Driving from Balbalan to Balbalasang we counted eight waterfalls of varying sizes, some of them seemingly painted by some artist who rendered Rivendell in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings. One was especially worth noting—its top was obscured by clouds making it seem as if the cascade was coming from heaven itself.

……

Biodiversity: Mt. Balbalasang-Balbalan is one of the most interesting and important sites for biodiversity conservation. Its hardwood, pine and mossy forests have survived the rash of mining and logging-driven development that has scarred much of the Cordillera.

A survey conducted by the Chicago Field Museum and Haribon in 1999 found that the area to be very rich in biological diversity.

Another survey conducted by Haribon in 2001 found that there are at least 83 species of birds living in Mt. Balbalasang-Balbalan. 34 of these birds are endemic to the Philippines, while 2 of them—the Isabela oriole (Oriolus isabellae), and the Flame-breasted fruit dove (Ptilinopus marchei) can be found only in Luzon. The forests also support a diverse population of warty pigs, deer, civets, macaques, bats and rodents. Two of these mammal species are listed as endangered, namely the Luzon pygmy fruit bat (Otopteropus cartilagodonus), and the Luzon bushy-tailed cloud rat (Crateromys schadenbergi).

So I won’t be fully accused (okay lang kung partially accused) of stealing Art Fuentes’ article, you should go to the Haribon website to read the whole write-up. If the article intrigued you enough to visit Balbalasang, make sure you don’t destroy the town’s biodiversity when you get there.

Photos courtesy of Art Fuentes and the Chicago Field Museum of Natural History.
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Related posts:

  1. Our Town: Balbalan, Kalinga
  2. Those Hanging Sagada Coffins
  3. Our Town: Sagada, Mt. Province
  4. State of Our Roads Report
  5. Holy Week in Sagada
  6. The Sagada 11
  7. Banaue Coca Cola

12 comments ↓

#1 judelight on 11.16.06 at 9:07 am

Hi there! You’re always welcome to visit our place! It’s better to take the Abra-kalinga road. It’s much nearer and cheaper compared via Tabuk. Visit us there during Christmas Vacation until the month of February since the weather during these times is pretty much cool! People there are very hospitable, so there is no problem with accomodation. We also have the PArish Inn there, where you can stay at the cheapest price.. If you’re looking forward to mountaineering, Balbalasang is the best place to visit…

Judelight Dannang
edata Services Inc
RCBC PLAZA, MAKATI

#2 Anonymous on 12.08.06 at 1:50 pm

Hello! I’m much delightted to see some pictures of our dearest place!I wish there were stil more so that everyone can see through the beauty of this small community. Anyway, just come visit our very place and see it yourself. You’ll truly enjoy its real pulchritude and serenity as well.
Watch out for the big event this January. “The Fiesta”. You could visit anytime and everyone is welcome to “Balbalasang”.
Help us protect the Place!!!

On Trac Global Services
Baguio City

#3 BILL BILIG on 01.02.07 at 8:45 pm

Hi Judelight and anonymous,
Thanks for the tips about the best times to visit Balbalasang and the best way of getting there. I didnt realize that it is better to take the Abra-Kalinga Road. I hope to make it there in the very near future.

#4 Anonymous on 06.26.07 at 11:29 am

hi there,

To the folks from Balbalasang, could you email me please? marcsman.ph@gmail.com. My friends and I are planning to mountain bike through there, perhaps start at Balabalan all the way to Bangued. Would be great if can connect with anyone who can give more info on the place (distance, road condition, lodging, etc).

Our target is to do it sometime after the rainy season, maybe late Oct/early Nov (but I hope we can still have some slight drizzle to so we can experience misty mountains!).

Marco

#5 Bill Bilig on 06.26.07 at 11:37 pm

Hi Marco,
Hopefully the earlier commenters from Balbalasang will read your post and get in touch with you. Good luck and it looks like you will visit the place way before I do :-)

#6 Anonymous on 06.27.07 at 8:30 am

Hi Bill,

Thanks. Yeah hope this plan pushes through. What’s really tough is getting enough vacation time to do this. It’s not really something you want to rush into. Everytime I go up to Sagada for some mt. biking has always been special. Mt Biking through them mountains is really one great way to experience the place. Sometimes I wish I don’t have to go back!

Anyway, goodluck to you too. Hope you can visit the place sometime also. So much to see in the Philippines and not enough time!!

Marco
check us out http://www.pinoymtbiker.proboards7.com

#7 upmountaineers on 08.10.07 at 2:39 am

Balbalasang is a nice place, been there a couple of times with fellow members of our org during the late 90s(UP Mountaineers). Although aside from the beautiful place I will never forget the PEOPLE.

The people there represent the best in the Filipino. We instantly fell in love with the place (kahit na the road from Tabuk to Balbalan was straight out of LOTR hehe)

I do hope to visit that place again in the future.

Cheers!

N91
http://www.upmountaineers.org.ph

PS : will never forget our trek from Lobo to Tinglayan. Nice but the trail…well walang trail hehe

#8 Bill Bilig on 08.11.07 at 1:01 am

Hi upmountaineers,
Hi, thanks for dropping by. Buti ka pa nakapunta na doon. Hope to make it there someday, I guess you are the third one to refer to the place as very LOTR like :-)

#9 maatop on 01.24.08 at 1:26 am

Sagada and Banaue, actually, are big names that can’t be matched by any other places in the Cordilleras in terms of tourist attractions. What Balbalasang and nearby villages offer are described in the Haribon website.

#10 Djin a.k.a FBI on 01.24.08 at 11:49 am

mangikoyog ka sir BB no apan ka wen?hehe..kakaawis nga apan ya.

upmountaineers:wala talagang trail sa lobo.kaya di ako pumunta dun natakot ako sa kwento nila;-)

#11 yajude on 02.02.08 at 1:00 am

Hi Marcsman.. I hope matuloy na yung mountainbiking nyo sa amin, which is slated on the Holy Week of this year..Good luck guys!

#12 kristine on 10.07.08 at 9:01 am

hehe.. uo, marami nga daw magaganda dun, hanggang tabuk lang ako eh. hehe. pero marami silang kwento tungkol sa mga tao dun, not to be rude or something.. kwento lang nila. hehe.

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