PASIL, Kalinga -- As
potential eco-tourism destination of Kalinga, the Department of Tourism
with officials from the provincial and local government, recently
explored the 43 km trail in this remote town that once served as a safe
passage for General Emilio Aguinaldo and his men during the Filipino-American
war in the 1900s.
Dubbed as the “Freedom
Trail” tour, the eco-tour along the historical patch takes at least eight hours
of walking, sightseeing, picnic, village visits and refreshing dips in the cool
and hot springs dotted along the way.
Depending on where the
visitors are coming from, jump-off area could be from Tabuk City to
Balenciagao or Cagaluan Gate to Balenciagao
From Balenciagao where
the eight-hour adventure hiking starts, trekkers on Among the first sites
to appreciate are the Kabunian Bridge, Ginaang Village, Kabunian spring,
and the camp site of Aguinaldo.
According to history,
Gen. Aguinaldo, the first president of the Philippines from
1899-1901, once established his office in Lubuagan, an adjacent
municipality, that served as the seat of the Philippine National
Government from March 6 to May 17 in 1900.
In BatongBuhay,
trekkers won’t miss the unusual sulphur canyons as a clear spring water breezes
through brightly colored mountainside of rustic browns, patches of white and
yellow. Along the way is the Clitoris Falls named for its shape, and the
Cadamayan mysterious fall.
Pass through the
upland rice fields like the Bummag Rice Terraces, producers of the unoy
rice, a popular heirloom
organic rice now being exported to the USA.
Part of Batong Buhay’s
charm is its hot springs being the nest of a potential thermal energy.Take time
to also explore the historical BatongBuhay Mines Ruins.In Colayo, admire the
Binasalan Falls, Calwitan Rice Terraces, Mt. Mosimos, andPalikyo
Eco-tourism Park.
The Butilao Blue Falls
is one of awesome sites as reflections of the semi-precious stone malachite and
copper creates a breathtaking bluish hue of the fall and the clear spring
below.
The Binanug Echo Cave
during the ancient times was known to be a hideaway of unknown spirits because
of the echoes it created. It was later found out that due to the structure of
the cave, a sound created near the opening bounces back, but in some mysterious
reasons would take some time before the echo is heard, thus making an eerie
sound.
After a few hours of
walking, the Colayo Hot Spring could be a soothing place to rest and take a
dip. And before the journey ends trekkers will get to see the old American camp
and the majestic Tumuyoc Falls.
The day’s journey will
wind up with an overnight camping at the Sokyo Camp Site.
Pasil is a 5th class municipality in the south western part of the
Kalinga. It is bounded on the north by the municipality of Balbalan, on
the south by the municipality of Tinglayan, on the east by Tabuk City , and
on the west by the province of Abra and south-western part of the municipality
of Sadanga, Mountain Province.
Folklore
has it that during the olden times, Kabunian, the greatest of
the gods of the Kalingas, left in one of his travels a drop of water upon an
ancient tree. This drop trickled down and like a metal of great magnetic force,
attracted brooks and rivulets to form a river called the Pasil River.
As the years
passed, patches of villages were established along the banks of the river.
Settlers in these villages were called as “I-Pasil”, meaning “people
along the Pasil River.”
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