Besao is beautiful

A TOUCH ON TOURISM
Ramon Pacyaya Doyayag

The golden sun sitting atop historical Tirad Pass is the well known and beautiful Besao Sunset. In this Pass a young Filipino General and most of his men were murderously killed by American soldiers decades ago. Behind the mountain peak is the China Sea where the sun daily takes a bath soothing itself of its twelve hours day time travel. Truly that wonderful sunset is a must to watch and catch while in Besao.

Besao is the western most municipality of Mountain Province. It is eight kilometers west of the tourists’ haven Sagada, the birthplace of my uncle Alfredo Pacyaya, who bequeathed his journalism knowhow to my nephew, the publisher/editor of this newspaper.

The politically hot provinces of Ilocos Sur and Abra bound Besao on the east. In the North is a vast forested area where the hunters of Kalinga and Montanosa meet during the hunting season months. And in the south is Tadian town of Gawis ay Mountain Province.
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Let’s walk to Barangay Gueday where the published stone calendar of Besao is located. In the yard of dap-ay Dayocan here, you may sit or stand on a piece of stone then look at the eastern horizon. There in Mount Pilao are two rocks facing each other. Exactly in between those rocks the morning sun rises every September 30. This announces the first day of sowing rice seeds by the farmers of Northern Besao namely barangays Lacmaan, Agawa, Gueday, and Ambagiw (LAGA).

On this day too, almost all the households in LAGA cook linapet (their version of siopao), it is customary that when in iLAGA brings linapet to relatives/friends elsewhere in Besao he/she is given something edible in return. It can be dried fish, canned goods, bread, smoked pork (etag), etc.

Many visitors go around LAGA on this special occasion purposely for the linapet. Mark the date and come for the feast. It’s no joke, it’s “eat all you can” of the linapet for all visitors. Viewing the glow of the rising sun which is part of the stone calendar helps in reading the Besao stone calendar.

There are numerous windowless dap-ays in Besao Proper which include Besao East and Besao West barangays. Visitors may smoke themselves at night in these dap-ays completely free of financial obligations. By the way, dap-ays are for males only.

Thus, female visitors may take advantage of the spacious and clean rooms of Mamoli Hotel in Barangay Kin-iway, locally known as Besao Improper because it’s here where the district hospital, municipal hall and the different government offices are situated instead of Besao Proper. “Wanna guide?” Contact Rapadom Catengan, Besao.