#What to eat in Tugeugarao

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Holy Week 2017: Things To Do in Cagayan Valley

The bus station's packed with people streaming in and out, all of them dressed in their most comfortable clothes, bags and packages in hand, each one seemingly excited to go to their respective destinations. It was the Wednesday where most work is finally at halt to give way to the celebration of Holy Week which happens to be last April 12. 

My family decided to have a quick vacation in my mom's hometown Cagayan Valley, specifically in Solana. The whole bus ride took almost 12 hours that when I woke up it's already 10 in the morning, passing by tall fields of rice and corn, and trees growing on terraced hills. An occasional bridges and ponds and river winding through a flat stretch of land. 

Located in Northeastern side of mainland Luzon, not many people think of Cagayan Valley as a vacation spot but it is a home to many old Spanish churches, caves, and the longest river bridge in the Philippines. Beating the scorching heat, here are some things you can do while you're in Cagayan: 

Visit Basilica Minore of Our Lady of Piat. 

It has become one of our traditions when we go to Cagayan Valley — to visit this church. A significant pilgrimage site of the North, it is one of the 12 minor basilicas in the Philippines and a home to the venerated Black Virgin Mary. The church structure is mainly made of red bricks and stained glass windows located on top of a hill to avoid floods. Surrounding the basilica stood the Piat Basilica Museum, Blessing sites for religious items, Parish Convent, and life-sized representation of the Stations of the Cross. 

Cross Buntun Bridge.

Tagged as the longest river bridge in the country, it stretches from Tuguegarao to Solana and spans over Cagayan River, the largest river basin in the Philippines. Since we live in Solana area, we always cross this 1.098 km long bridge— that long enough to carry more than 18 tons of vehicles. I haven't tried going to the bottom of the bridge though. 

Explore Callao Cave.

Known for the chapel built inside the cave, Callao Cave, nestled in Peñablanca, consists of seven chambers which illuminates light filters in from a natural crevice above. It was an uphill battle to get to the cave entrance as it takes 184 steps going up so have your water bottles and handkerchiefs ready. For only 20 pesos, you can wander around the beauty of a limestone cave where stalactites and stalagmites have formed inside. There's this stillness and tranquility that you can feel inside the cave especially with the presence of the chapel. After which, we tried the wooden boat ride in Pinacanauan River passing through a small rainforest, a bat, scenic rocky cliffs and picturesque river bank with clear water. 

Ride Kalesa.

We always make sure that we try riding kalesa every time we visit our province to have a tour around town. As one of their means of transportation, riding kalesa is very cheap and very convenient as you can frequently see a lot around the town. Made of a wooden cart with a roof and a pair of rubber wheels, it can seat as many as eight persons. It feels nostalgic riding the kalesa as somehow it takes you back to the Spanish era. 

Eat Ilokano’s local delicacies.

Ilokanos have rich delicacies and some of them are the Pancit Batil Patong, Papaitan, and Special Halo-halo. Pancit Batil Patong, also known as Pancit Tuguegarao, is a noodle dish made up of miki and an overload of toppings and is one thing you should try if you ever get to visit the town. Another dish popularized by Ilokanos is the Papaitan. It is a bitter and spicy stew consisting of beef or goat innards as liver, heart, tripe and the bitter bile (apdo). On our way home, we bought halo-halo and to my surprise, the halo-halo consists of malagkit rice plus the other usual ingredients. Also, they put yema on top instead of leche flan or ube which also tastes good.

► Holy Week x Probinsya Life

Watch the video of our Holy Week trip to Cagayan Valley!