March 29, 2024

Tourists may now visit all the tourist sites in Sagada, Mountain Province.

The local government unit announced effective Sept. 15, all of Sagada’s tourist sites are accessible to tourists.

The local government unit has restricted tourists from the town’s caves following the July 27 magnitude 7.0 earthquake and its aftershocks that jolted many parts of Northern Luzon.

In a post on the town’s Facebook account, Sagada said all the tourist sites in the municipality are open to tourists.

“Let it be known that starting Sept. 15, all Sagada tourist sites are open. Invite your friends, mark your calendars, choose your package, and explore Sagada,” the announcement read.

Like other destinations in the country, Sagada’s tourism industry was heavily affected by the lockdowns imposed as a protocol against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mayor Felicito Dula last month extended his invitation to tourists to visit Sagada again, as he admitted the town’s tourism industry is yet to recover from the pandemic.

The town has been registering less than 100 tourists daily since the pandemic hit two years ago. The average pre-pandemic daily arrival was 165 tourists, according to Dula.

Aside from easing the restrictions, Dula said the town has suspended the collection of other fees, such as the management fee, in a bid to lure more tourists to visit the town. A management fee of P150 per tourist destination was collected from tourists.

Dula said the suspension of the management fees collection was hoped to encourage tourists to include Sagada in the list of places to explore, as tourism returns to normal.

The collection of P100 environmental fee per tourist, however remains. The guide fee for those who intend to visit the caves is P800 for one to five people. Aside from Sumaguing and Balangagan Caves, Sagada is famed for the falls located in the town’s southern and northern barangays, the Marlboro Tours in the eastern villages, and the Echo Valley-Hanging Coffins at the central barangays. – Jane B. Cadalig