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To Filipino lowlanders, brought up on a diet of sunshine and beaches, the mountainous north is still seen as a mysterious Shangri-La full of enigmatic tribes and their unfamiliar gods. Baguio , the traditional mountain retreat for Manilenos during the fierce heat of Easter week, is about as far north as many southerners get. But it's not until you get beyond Baguio that the adventure really starts. The provinces of Benguet, Ifugao and Mountain Province are the tribal heartlands of the northern Philippines, settled first by indigenous Negritos and then during the Spanish regime by hunter-gatherers from neighbouring areas who were on the move looking for food and water. Life for many of these tribal people has changed little in hundreds of years, with traditional ways and values still very much in evidence. If anything is likely to erode these traditions and chip away at the insulation it is the coming of the tourist. Already an increasing number of tribal folk are making more from the sale of handicrafts than they do from the production of rice. One of the challenges faced by the government is to make the highlands accessible to travellers, without causing the breakup of a social and economic structure that is unique to the region. A swing through the north should include visits to the mountain village of Sagada , with its caves and hanging coffins, to the riverside town of Bontoc , capital of Mountain Province, and the huge rice terraces at Banaue . The bucolic Batanes Islands off the northern tip of the Philippines are a challenge to reach, but rewarding if you can make the effort. And it isn't all cordilleras and tribes. To the west of Baguio, on the western seaboard, are the provinces of Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte , with miles of beautiful coastline and old Spanish colonial outposts such as Vigan . The far northeast is marked by the spectacular Sierra Madre range, where few foreigners venture, and the rural provinces of Isabela and  © 2003 by Rough Guides Ltd. as trustee for its Authors. Published by Rough Guides. All rights reserved. Rough Guides name is a trademark of Rough Guides Ltd. Buy the book here!
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Cagayan . You can fly from Manila to a number of points in the north, including Baguio, Laoag, Cauayan (for Banaue), Ilagan and Tuguegarao in the far northeastern province of Cagayan. Otherwise it's the bus . Victory Liner and Philippine Rabbit are two of the most popular services, going to most towns in the north from their terminals in Manila. The journey to Baguio takes around seven hours. You can change buses in Baguio to continue north towards Sagada and Bontoc.
Your Tips For Cordilleras and the Far North
MONTANOSABryle,Buluan, Conner,Apayao says "Montanyosa in igorot means cordillera.Cordillera Administrative Region has 6 provincesand 1 city. The provinces(W/ their capitals) are ABRA-Bangued, BENGUET-Latrinidad, IFUGAO-Banae, APAYAO-Kabuugao, KALILNGA-Tabuk, MT. PROVINCE-Bontoc. And the only city of this region is THE SUMMER CAPITAL of the Philippines, BAGUIO. IGOROT is the people of CAR, so their are still tribes under igorot such as kankanaey, iisneg, kiangan, ibaloi, and many more."
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