After about half and hour of walking through some wonderful scenery, we arrived at a small two storey house with the words Sagada Cave Man proudly written on it. My guide, Ian, went in to get some some stuff while I prepare myself for what is going to happen next. Just across the Sagada Cave Man’s house is the entrance to the Big Cave or Sumaguing Cave.
The only reason why I knew that the cave was here was that there was a big stone tablet with rules on exploring the cave. Come to think of it, there doesn’t seem to be too many signs here in Sagada. Although the place is small enough to explore, there are no directions for the uninitiated. There is, however, a small hand drawn map to assist some travelers, but it is mostly useless.
I believe this is all to help the guide industry. If visitors do not know where the places are, then they will probably need a guide. Which is good since going caving is not for the faint hearted, in fact there have been cases where foreign tourists have died while caving here in Sagada, which probably the reason why they strictly enforce the guide rule.
As Ian finally got out of the Sagada Cave Man house, he gave me a brief introduction in caving being the beginner that I am. No littering and always go with a guide where the most important ones. From now on, he will be my lifeline. The entrance to the cave is still a long flight of stairs away and it seemed it was taking forever to get to the mouth of the cave itself. The cave goes down to the earth and it was an amazing sight to see the entrance of the cave with the stalactites hanging like a giant monster’s teeth. My cave adventure is on!
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