As my friends have often said, there is more to Benguet than Baguio City. Some of them have gone up to La Trinidad and Sagada to enjoy the “dislocation” from urban life. And while Baguio will always hold a special place in my heart, I believed it was time to make new memories as well. So when the invitation to see Tublay came, I jumped at the chance; even if it’s only for a day.
My latest senior citizens talk was for the Federation of Senior Citizens Associations of the Philippines (FSCAP) representatives of the Cordillera region. Our venue was to be the Winaca Eco-Cultural Village, a new tourist attraction that is still in its development stage. Arriving at the site on the very night of the “Super Moon”, the rough roads and seeming isolated destination made for a perfect horror movie scene. It wasn’t until the next morning that we experienced its grandeur.
Our lodgings was a quaint, log cabin-style structure. Intended to house numerous guests, the three rooms were for sharing of three to four people with built-in double-deck beds. There were two baths and three toilets, and a living area. There was a functional fireplace and the wooden furniture were the classic, low seats of the region. I appreciated this little taste of Cordillera culture.
Waking up to a chilly dawn, I joined the seniors in their early morning trek. I marvelled, of course, at the view. Here the mountains are not as bare or heavily populated as in Baguio. Pine trees still abound and the village itself was purposely planted with ornamentals like anthuriums and orchids. As an eco-village, vegetables like tomatoes, lettuce, cabbage and carrots are also grown here, albeit organically. They also promote waste segregation and refuse is strictly identified as bio-degradable and non-biodegradable.
The mealtime fares were satisfying enough, but I heard Winaca is known for its signature Carrot Cakes. So besides the sweet, native strawberries from La Trinidad which I feasted on during this summer’s Strawberry Festival, I gorged on carrot cake as well.
There is a provision for an outdoor campfire for guests. Besides the hiking trail, other amenities to be enjoyed include wall-climbing facilities, a mudslide, a mini-obstacle course for teambuilding activities, fishing and horseback riding.
As a cultural attraction, life-size examples of native houses in the Cordillera are displayed. There’s the elevated huts-on-stilts of the Ifugaos, the slightly lower Bakun-Benguet huts, and the roof-dominated stonehouse of Sagada-Bontoc tribes.
While I have always been partial to nature-tripping, visiting new places always gave me the opportunity to experience nature in a different way. Up North, besides the cool weather it is known for, there is a rich indigenous peoples’ heritage that must be appreciated and preserved for all its historical and cultural value.
I found myself promising to return to this simple, yet almost “sacred” place.
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