Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Walking the Chico River at Sadangan, Philippines


Last week we visited the area of Sagada, which hosts some of the Philippines best caves. Actually I did not visit the caves, as I was quite sure they would not be as spectacular as Jenolan Caves, west of Sydney. Anyway, Sagada is a few hundred kilometres north of Manila, but it takes 6 hours to drive the 80km section from Baguio-Sagada because although the road is mostly sealed, its VERY windy. Fortunately there were no tricycles in this section.
I actually thought the most promising aspect of this trip was the lovely Chico River Valley from two perspectives - kayaking and walking. I did not do it on this trip, but I would like to return to the area to walk a long the Chico River. There was a pathway that links the highway to the river and town of Sadangan. The pathway passes along the river through rice terraces. I would estimate that the walk about take 2 hours, as its about 10km long. Ask people where you might expect to get a tricycle. Signal to them if they pass you, otherwise its jeepneys or buses. The end points are Sabangan town or Panorama Parkview Viewing Deck.
Increasingly I see that the Dept of Tourism in the Philippines is starting to spend money on worthwhile project as these to boost tourism, and to give visitors something to do. The other activity which interested me was kayaking the Chico River.
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Andrew Sheldon www.sheldonthinks.com