MARLBORO HILLS: Travel Guide To The Heavenly Hills Of Sagada

Sagada for the longest time was only known to a few travelers who are fond of exploring offbeat destinations and it didn’t gain popularity among the growing travel community until a few years ago when the movie “That Thing Called Tadhana” went as a box office hit. In an instant Sagada was on the spotlight and everyone seems to be eyeing Kiltepan Peak, the place where the most iconic scene in the movie was shot. Fast forward 2018, Sagada is now known as the “Land Of Hugots” to many with a flourishing tourism in its name as the number of tourists continues to grow. In fact, it keeps on growing that what seemed to be a quaint little town several years back is now in danger of succumbing to the negative impacts of capitalism but I hope not. This place has so much promise that I can’t blame people for falling in love with its irresistible charm.

This is my second in Sagada and knowing that Kiltepan Peak would be too crowded denying us of an unobstructed view of the marvelous sunrise over the dreamy sea of clouds, we opted for Marlboro Hills instead. And I gotta say, we were surely not disappointed.

OUR MARLBORO HILLS STORY

We only had the weekend to see as much of what Sagada has to offer. I’m no Sagada newbie but I had with me three of my friends whom were first timers. As much as I wanna skip the basics such as the Echo Valley Tour in favor of the more adventurous Bomod Ok Falls and Sumaguing Cave, I just can’t. It is a must for any newbie to familiarize him/herself first to the rich culture of the Kankanaeys before exploring the treasures lying beneath the thick pine forest of their land.

We were not too lucky to reserve us a seat to Sagada via Coda Lines that we were left with no other choice but to take the longer route via Baguio. Coming from work on a Friday afternoon, we immediately went to Victory Liner Terminal in Cubao. At exactly 7PM, our journey started. It was a Friday and the heavy traffic was something we had always expected. We later arrived in Baguio past midnight and spent an hour in Jollibee. We were much in a hurry that afternoon that we forgot we haven’t had dinner yet.

At exactly 2AM of Saturday, we hailed a cab to take us to Lizardo Lines. We knew full well that their earliest trip to Sagada is 5AM but we wanna still take our chances and I was just glad we did. We caught us a 3AM bus to Sagada. The tickets were almost sold that we were given the aisle seats. Cramped and uncomfortable, we decided to sleep all the way to our destination. At 8AM, we arrived to a busy little town with too many vendors crowding the streets. We decided not to take part of the ruckus no matter how much the shopaholic in me was screaming to take a peek at the goodies since breakfast was already calling.

We headed straight to Yoghurt House but it was quite busy for our taste that we just ordered ourselves yoghurts then went to Salt & Pepper instead. I wouldn’t delve into the details of how satisfying that breakfast was. Sagada has always lived up to its name and it keeps on getting better throughout the years. After breakfast, next was finding us a place to leave our bags. Getting an accommodation was not part of the plan since we intend to spend the night in Marlboro Hills but we wouldn’t wanna go on roaming around with our heavy packs in tow.

We found us a nice attic in Villa Familia Inn for a reasonable price. There we left our bags while we went to tour around. Since we have already paid the registration fee at the Tourism Office, we didn’t bother to get us a guide as we were very familiar with the Echo Valley even the way beyond the Hanging Coffins leading to the Underground River all the way to Bokong Falls. That’s why it caught us by surprise when on the way to the Public Cemetery, we were mandated to get a guide and pay an access fee of P10 each. While the fees were only minimal (Guide P300/10Pax), I couldn’t help but be upset about the new regulation. Getting a guide to tour Echo Valley is just so absurd given how easy it is to get to but maybe there’s a reason behind it that encompasses accessibility.

We finished the Echo Valley Tour at around 1PM and spent another hour outside St. Mary The Virgin Church sharing our thoughts of how greatly Sagada has changed over the years. Talking probably used all our energy that shortly after, our tummies called for another meal. We went to check out Sagada Brew this time. We felt like the coming drizzle will be well spent with some hot chocolate and lava cakes. While we cupped a cup of hot choco, we marveled at the misty rain as it engulfed the entire village while “Mundo” of IV of Spades played in repeat.

As soon as the drizzle stopped, we hurriedly ran back to Villa Familia Inn to get our stuff and prep for the hike to Marlboro Hills. While we looked forward for a sea of clouds at sunrise, a stunning sunset atop Sagada’s highest peak was something we didn’t wanna miss. However the heavens seemed to have other plans for as soon as we got things done and we’re ready to go, the rain poured down relentlessly that it didn’t stop until it was passed 6PM giving us no other choice but to leave the quest to Marlboro Hills for the next morning.

The following morning, we woke up at 3:30AM. We quickly prep up and headed straight in front of Tourism Office to meet with our driver. We didn’t start with the 4×4 ride until it was about 4:30AM. At 4:45 the sun was already peeking at the horizon and beyond the tall pine forest, the foamy sea of clouds were visible. It didn’t help that the 4×4 truck we were on was almost stuck in the muddy terrain and was having it rough in getting us to the jumpoff. I just got to thank our driver for being so good at what he does that fifteen minutes before the expected sunrise, we finally arrived to our destination.

As soon as the truck halted, I ran as fast as I can trying to bypass other hikers on the way. I wanted to get a glimpse of that beautiful transition of the night to morning but I was not much of a trail runner that barely five minutes of running along uphills, I was already running out of breath. I continued to walk my way up. Fifteen minutes later, I arrived in Marlboro Hills, just seconds before the sun finally showed up.

The dramatic moment of the sun rising up the horizon with its crimson and orange colors engulfing everything in sight while the clouds spread like a sea of soft and foamy bubbles was so surreal. It was something out of this world. Some scene typical to the movies but not in the real world. It was absolutely enchanting, breathtaking and every beautiful adjective I could think of. It was beyond perfect. One of the two times I got butterflies in my stomach, the other was during my first kiss. It was a wonder worth falling in love a thousand times over and it pained me to see it slowly vanish as the sun rose up the sky but it’s one of those precious but fleeting moments I won’t regret getting hurt for. If only I could freeze time even for a fraction of a second but I could only wish to see it again another time. (Sighs)

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MARLBORO HILLS

• This tour is not for the budget conscious travelers. Transportation alone will cost P1300/4×4 one-way. The more budget friendly option is Kiltepan Peak which costs only P500 for a roundtrip transfer.
• Marlboro Hills is not easy to get to. If you would omit the 4×4 transfer from your tour, Marlboro Hills is a 3-4-hour trek from the town center. If you have P1300 to spare for the transfer however, the peak from the jumpoff point is still a 20-minute uphill trek.
• Note that even on a 4×4 truck, the ride is a struggle and is proven to be difficult especially when it rains so making room for the possibility of getting stuck and getting off the 4×4 truck and walking your way up instead is a must.
• Blue Soil Hills is an optional destination after witnessing the sea of clouds in Marlboro Hills. It is a 2-hour trek from Marlboro Hills along a rugged terrain and this needs you to arrange a transfer back to the town center for another P700/truck.
• The 4×4 truck could fit 10-12 people. Five (5) people inside the truck and the other five (5) or seven (7) at the back.
• Transportation is not the only expensive things about this tour. Guide is MANDATORY. For this tour, guide costs P1800/3 people.
• Considering the cost and hassle of getting to this offbeat destination in Sagada, is it worth it? DEFINITELY.
• Not only that Marlboro Hills promises an unobstructed 360-view of the sunrise over a sea of cloud but it is also a great spot to view the sunset and shoot for a milky way. Hence, camping overnight is strongly advised.
• If you are travelling over the weekend and work awaits you come Monday, make sure to reserve first your return bus tickets before anything else once you arrive in Sagada as they get sold pretty quickly.

HOW TO GO TO SAGADA

• From Manila – Ride a Coda Lines bus in Cubao directly to Sagada. They have limited daily trips and seats sell out quickly so make sure to book in advance. Alternatively, you can ride a bus to Baguio. In Baguio, the earliest bus leaves at 3AM via Lizardo Lines allowing you to arrive in Sagada at 8 or 9AM.
• From Baguio – Ride a bus to Sagada (6Hrs ; P210) via Lizardo Lines or GL Liner. Daily trips available from 3AM – 1PM.
• From Banaue – Ride a bus or a van to Bontoc (2Hrs ; P150). In Bontoc, ride a jeep to Sagada (45Min ; P50).
• From Buscalan – After seeing Apo Whang Od, you can spare a day or two to visit Sagada. In Tinglayan, ride a bus to Bontoc (2Hrs ; P150). In Bontoc, ride a jeep to Sagada (45Min ; P50).

WHERE TO STAY IN SAGADA

Check Rates & Availability

Check Rates & Availability

Check Rates & Availability

BUDGET, ITINERARY & OTHER ESSENTIALS

I’ve been to Sagada more than a year ago and I have written a more comprehensive travel guide which pretty much cover what a newbie could do over a short period of time. For specifics about this tour alone, refer to the table below.

There you have it lovelies. There are a few places in this world which you can consider heaven itself and Marlboro Hills is definitely one of them. If you require further info, just drop them on the comments along with your suggestions and violent reactions. If you find this post interesting or may have helped you out in any way, let me know on the comments. Show me some love and share this post. Until next time. Ciao!

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