Backpacking the province of Ilocos will first require you to either take a 45-minute flight to Laoag or a 10-hour roadtrip. While booking a flight may give you a hassle-free trip, the long hours on the road can give you pleasures of viewing the scenic roads of the sctex and tplex. Just make sure to download Waze; she can be quite useful.
Anyway, just like NZ, Ilocos has its own North Island and South Island: Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur.
It is evident from the start that Ilocos Norte possesses a lot of tourist destinations, including the Patapat Viaduct, Bangui windmills, Malacañang of the north, Cape Bojeador, La Paz Sand Dunes, Paoay Sand Dunes, Paoay Church, Bantay-Abot Cave and the like. The places are just few minutes away from each other, too, so you can find yourself in front of a river one moment and find yourself at the ocean at the next.
Now, the amazing thing about Ilocos Norte is that somewhere beneath Pagudpud lies the Kapurpurawan Rock Formations which are somewhat comparable to the Shire in New Zealand. Well, except that there aren’t any Hobbit holes.
(I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but this photograph really reminds me of the Shire. The place creates such imagination that maybe somewhere beneath, there lives a Hobbit. I can even imagine Bilbo roaming around. )
(Maybe it’s just me, but the surreal beauty of the place makes me think like it is one scene ripped out of a movie. )
One of the few things that make Ilocos a unique place in the country is because of its trademarks: the famous Bangui windmills. Some say your trip won’t be complete until you see one of them.
(Off the beaten path: Since the Bangui windmills has built quite a reputation, there seems to be too many tourists around now, so I climbed a hill instead. Turned out this gave me an even better view with a river connected to the sea. )
Now, while New Zealand is dubbed as the adventure capital of the world, Ilocos Norte can be the adventure capital of the North. Try riding an ATV at La Paz Sand Dunes or take the 1km zipline above the sea at Hannah’s Resort, so you’ll know what I mean.
Ilocos Norte has so much to offer that a day wouldn’t be enough to explore all of the beauty it posses.
Even the joys of finding your own little nook while watching the vast ocean makes it easy to forget what the world is like back in the bustling cities of the Metro. We haven’t even gotten to the amazing Ilocos Sur yet.
Read on for more!
