Tuguegarao to Sta.
Ana
Historic Road to Paradise
Tuguegrao, Cagayan Series 3
On our second day in Tuguegarao,
we had
a prebooked overnight stay in Sun City’s
Cagayan Holiday
Leisure and Resort in
Sta. Ana, Cagayan,
a town located about
two to three hours away from the city.
We had an early breakfast in the room,
We packed a overnight bag, and left our
huge luggage in Pulsar
since we did not
check out anymore to avoid inconvenience,
as we would be back the
next day anyway.
A rented van fetched us from the hotel
and off we went to one of the most
exhilarating road trips of our lifetime.
Our trip took us to several
historic towns of Cagayan, ...
each had
it’s own remarkable
past that played an important role to what
we are now as Filipinos, and as a nation.
Closest to the city is the town of Igiug,
…famous for the Iguig,
Calvary Hills,
... a popular Holy Week destination as it
had larger than life statues that depicts
the different
stations of the cross,
… that led to the crucifixion
and death of Jesus Christ.
But beyond the Calvary
Hills, the town
of Iguig had much more to offer like the
ancient
St James the Apostle Church
that few people know had an altar that contains
a relic of the cross where Jesus was crucified,
…and other ancient structures,
... which would be a subject of a separate feature,
for this on going Tuguegrao blog series.
We then passed the town of Amulung,
…that led us to Alcala,
that had the very beautiful
St.
Philomene Church,
…with a really breathtaking courtyard
that would make you feel like you are
transported to a quaint European piazza
We enjoyed the scenic countryside
on our way to Gattaran,
and
we found out the this highway actually
follows the route of the mighty Cagayan River
follows the route of the mighty Cagayan River
on its way out to the Aparri Delta.
The Cagayan Valley
topography reminded us
a lot of our trip two years ago to the valley
resort village
of Carlovy Vary from Prague.
...that also follows the trail
of Vtalva river.
While the rolling hills had fertile canola plantations and
cattle farms in the Czech Republic
countryside,
...there were acres and acres of fertile
corn, rice and watermelon plantations
in the scenic Cagayan countryside.
The road from Gattaran
to Lallo gave
us a pleasant surprise when the kids caught
the sight of a castle
on the road side.
This turned out to be the Castle in the Sky
hotel and restaurant and a must stop for
every tourists traveling to Cagayan for
wonderful photo- ops with the family.
Beside the Castle in
the Sky is the
Cagayan Breeze
Food Harbor,
an ideal stop for meals and toilet break,
…and tight in front are Tinupig
Stalls,
...where my family was able to get our
first taste of these tasty roasted rice cakes.
Also near the Castle
in the Sky is a
suspension bridge
that looked like a
miniature version of San
Francisco’s
Golden Gate
Bridge, that apparently
links
the highway that leads to the Ilocos Region.
We passed by the Lallo’s
St. Dominic Church
which was the former seat of the Nueva Segovia,
one of the five original Archdioceses created by Spain,
…and this beautiful and historic church would
also be featured separately in this ongoing series.
We did not pass by the Lallo
town center,
....as we took the Lallo diversion road,
... where we caught a glimpse
of
the Lallo International Airport
that was undergoing construction.
The diversion road then led
us to the town of Gonzaga,
…where after passing the town center,
we requested the driver to slow down
as we wanted to enjoy the view.
The Gonzaga
countryside was very
scenic and we particularly enjoyed
the sight of what
seemed to be hundred
of verdant mounds dotting
the horizon,
…that looked like a greener version of
Bohol’s very popular Chocolate
Hills.
We also wanted to appreciate the view of the
Sierra
Madre Mountains as we came to realize
that this longest mountain
range in the country actually
begins somewhere in this part of Cagayan Valley.
Gonzaga is the
penultimate
town to Sta. Ana,
….our final destination, and a part of the
Cagayan Special
Economic Zone.
When we caught the sight of Sun City’s
Cagayan Holiday
Leisure Resort,
-we realized, we have arrived in paradise.
Watch out for my other
Five Star Amenities, Awful Guest Services.
Tuguegarao, Cagayan Series 4
Cagayan’s Magnificent Historic Churches
An Astounding Trip Back in Time
Tuguegarao, Cagayan Series 5
Tuguegarao, Cagayan Series 4
Cagayan’s Magnificent Historic Churches
An Astounding Trip Back in Time
Tuguegarao, Cagayan Series 5
amazing Doki, never even been to those parts its as if I was taking the ride with you, thanks a Mil!!!
ReplyDeleteSalamat Pat for reading my blog regularly.
DeleteI would be glad to tke you to more road trips thru SSP&F with my family.
Thanks for visiting our province and appreciating what it offers. I'm from Iguig where you have seen calvary hills. I believe that your stay in cagayan is not enough to see and experience the whole province. I'm expecting that you will come back with your family and friends and will stay longer than your visit.
ReplyDeleteHi Iguig 79,
DeleteCagayan was a revelation for my family. A lot of people were discouraging us to travel on a summertime a week prior to the Holy Week to Tuguegarao as the place had the reputation as the hottest place in the country.
They were right.
Tuguegarao is one hot tourist destination with lots of red hot attractions.
A week is not enough to enjoy the province.
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ReplyDelete