Hanging Coffins of Sagada

Hanging Coffins of Sagada

Sagada is in the heart of Cordillera Autonomous Region, in the highest level of Mountain Province the weather here are cold all year-long this area are even colder than Baguio the summer capital of the country.

English: Map of Mountain Province showing the location of Sagada (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The joke of the hotel or pension houses here is that if a guest or tourists can sleep without a blanket they are free of their hotel fees.

Hanging Coffins in Sagada, the Philippines (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

About 6 hours by bus (longer during the wet season) from Banaue, which is  8 hours travel north of Manila, the people of Sagada have devised an unusual burial tradition which involve the placement of dead relatives into a hollowed out log then hang them in the cliffs thus deriving the name Hanging Coffins.

Hanging Coffins from Cliff; Sagada, Mountain Province, Philippines (Photo credit: Lon&Queta)

These coffins are crafted by the elderly before they die; if they are too weak or ill their children or other close relative will make it for them. This method involves pushing the bodies into the tight spaces of the coffins, and often bones are broken or cracked during the process.

Hanging Coffins (Sagada, Mt. Province) (Photo credit: ~MVI~ (running away from parties))

After the deceased is finally fitted inside these coffins, they will then be brought to caves high in the cliffs where they will meet the coffins of other ancestors. The people of Sagada preferred to be buried in the cliffs rather than to be buried in the ground, and this tradition has been the practice for more than 2 centuries.

A view over the municipality of Sagada (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sagada could not be more mystifying without mentioning the mummies and hanging coffins. When visitors or tourists visit Sagada caves in the Philippines, there are lots of hanging coffins that can be found on the cliffs which is made of limestone.

In some caves, hundreds of coffins are traditionally hanged up, and, unfortunately, tourists are unregulated in this section,    some visitors even take some of the bones as souvenirs on their way home. If tourists do visit these caves, they will need the services of a guide to explore all the caves as some of it is hard to find, and the roads can be difficult to navigate.

Native House, Sagada (Photo credit: Montañosa mon Amour)

The people in Sagada are remarkably peaceful and accommodating, and there are also lot of tourist available all year long if ever visitors will try to visit this site they must remember to bring with them their supply of jackets as the weather here are cold all year long, this area could also qualify as the summer capital of the Philippines.

Sagada is an ideal place to have a retreat a quiet and peaceful area where time stand still as visitors explore the mystery of this place.