Sagada

Sagada is a municipality in Mountain Province, in the Cordillera of the Philippines, with a population of 10,702 at the 2024 census. The town lies in a valley at the upper end of the Malitep tributary of the Chico River, about one and a half kilometres above sea level between the main Cordillera ranges and the Ilocos Range, and it has a subtropical highland climate (Cwb) in the Koppen scheme. According to legend, Sagada began as an ili, or village, founded by a man named Biag from Bika in eastern Abra, and a Spanish mission was not founded there until 1882. It is best known for its hanging coffins, a burial custom of the Sagada people, who have practised it for over 2,000 years: the elderly carve their own coffins from hollowed logs and the dead are placed in caves. Because the climate resembles that of Benguet, temperate crops such as cabbage, tomatoes and potatoes are grown. Visitors come for trekking, caves, waterfalls and guided walks led by Kankanaey guides.