This post is part of my North Luzon Roadtrip Series

I have a new favourite destination. Pagudpud is the land of white beaches, dense forest, tumultuous coastline and a clean fresh environment. It really is, as amazing as it sounds.

Our plan for our first day up here was simple, visit a waterfall, eat lunch at the German Restaurant BergBlick, and check out other stuff around the area, day two we were really packing in the sites. So, let’s get started.

There are a lot of sections in this post, if you would like to skip straight to one, click the link, otherwise grab a cuppa, we may be here a while: 

Bantay Abot Cave

The Pataput Viaduct

Kabigan Falls

Saud White Beach

Bangui Windmills

Kapurpurawan Rock Formations

Cape Bojeador Lighthouse

Pasuquin

Bantay Abot Cave 

This is a giant rock covered in lush shrubbery with a hole through the middle of it. It is quite huge and the crowds of people walking through it looked like ants in the distance. Here is an interesting tidbit. Bantay Abot Cave is not actually a cave. It is a hill that was formed out of an earthquake several hundred years ago. The locals say it looks like a whale resting on shore. It costs 20p per person for entry if you want to walk into it.

The Patapat Viaduct 

We took a drive along the coast, on the Patapat Viaduct, which is basically a bridge. This highway is built into the mountainside and runs along Pasaleng Bay. The views of distant cloud-tipped mountains, and the contrast of crashing waves over the coastline is a lovely sight. You will know the best place for photographs, it is where the road is blocked with cars, buses and people are hanging by their toenails off the edge for the perfect selfie. I can see how this is such an attraction in a country like this. It made me realise how very much for granted I took my hometown, where a drive like this could be done many times a day getting from the city to the beach.

We then turned back around and headed to the falls we had been planning a visit to.

Kabigan Falls 

The Kabigan Falls are an easy trekking choice to make, great if you have small kids. A large sign off the main highway is easy to find and there is a big carpark there. From here you pay your entrance fee and fee for a guide and head off. The walk is around 1.8km and will take anywhere from 15-30 minutes, depending on how often you stop to stare at the stunning countryside and take photographs. You start the walkthrough some cottages and along a beautiful trickling riverbed, then carry on through rice fields with distant cloud-tipped mountains encasing you. Finally, you enter the mountains and your surrounds become lush rainforest. Trickling water and distant bird calls make this a complete experience really, and then you get to the falls. Just stunning. She stands tall and even though her waters are fierce, there is a majesty to her. You can swim in her icy waters if you wish to.

After our exploring was done we stopped at Bergblick, a German/Filipino restaurant for lunch. A friend recommended it and I thought it was such an odd restaurant to find in the middle of outback Philippines, so felt it was worth a try. I do recommend it. The afternoon was spent back at our resort relaxing, watching kite surfers and hanging on the beach. The restaurant here is open air, and at dinner time each night I enjoyed sitting back with my Long Island Ice Tea, enjoying the warm balmy air and watching the children as they played the table games in the restaurant.

Day five, and the final day of our road trip. It was Sunday and we started our morning by laying in bed with the door open to watch the crazy surf wishing we did not have to leave. The children were playing Snakes and Ladders and arguing over goodness knows what as I tried to use my parenting superpowers to drown out their noise, choosing to focus on the meditative sound of crashing surf. That was a lot harder than expected. It had rained overnight so everything was damp, but the weather had cleared and the skies were blue, promising a hot dry day.

Saud White Beach 

After breakfast we went to hang out at Saud White Beach, one of the most stunning beaches here in the Philippines. White powdery sands, crystal blue waters, clean and spacious. This beach is very much like our beaches back home, except here, I could float in the cool lapping waters, staring at elegant white windmills on the horizon, watching them spin effortlessly. BB boogie boarded on small waves, FB built sandcastles and SB snorkelled. It was a lovely way to end our busy road trip.

Many people go to the Blue Lagoon, but for us, we prefer the less touristy places and had heard that the Lagoon was polluted and built up, taking away from the natural beauty of the place. Rather, we came here, where cabanas sit off the beach, unobtrusive. My tip, if there are other people on the beach, walk up a bit further where you will find it less inhabited, and absolutely perfect.

After a few hours we reluctantly went back to our resort to pack up and head off towards home.

Details:

Entry Fee: 100p for parking

Cabana hire: 150p

There is plenty of shade under trees so you don’t have to have a cabana.

We took our time driving back down the coast, stopping in at the various landmarks for a look around.

Bangui Windmills 

There are windmills all over the coast in Pagudpud and you get to admire their elegance as you drive along. There are some incredible places to stop for panoramic picture taking too. If you want to get up close and personal you can visit Bangui Wind Farm.

These windmills are right on the beach, the sand is black, the water is blue and the contrast of these white giants is really a sight. There are twenty of them, and they are 230 feet high, which you really understand when you are beneath them, staring up. Entry is free and there are sari-sari’s selling souvenirs. Be careful, the sand is very soft and easy to get bogged in – yes, speaking from experience. I left the menfolk to figure that one out while I wandered along the beach checking out the windmills and the children watched with amusement, having never seen a bogged vehicle before.

Kapurpurawan Rock Formations 

On the northwestern tip of Ilocos Norte is Burgos, which is where you will find the Kapurpurawan Rock Formations. These natural limestone formations look fluid under the sun. Over years, the weather has sculpted these creamy and white rocks. They have beautiful curves and harsh edges that contrast, yet, at the same time fit together in the most lovely natural way. The name Kapurpurawan translates to ‘white’ in Ilokano, the third largest language spoken in the Philippines after Tagalog and English, primarily here, up in North Luzon.

To get here you pay an entry fee at a booth just off the main road. There is a carpark and from there you walk past sari saris selling souvenirs and snacks, then walk down some steps and follow the path along the edge of the water. The tide is out during the day exposing rocks, and there are low laying shrubs making it swampy and mysterious. In the distance you see the first glimpse of what is to come with a hill of limestone and a strange shaped rock perched on top. Locals say it looks like the head of a sleeping dragon, and it changes shape every year due to the natural erosion of the area.

A very cool sculpture sits snug in the exposed rocks, it is of Lam-Ang fighting a crocodile. Lam-Ang is a legend in Ilocano Philippine Folk lore, he is a Philippine Super-Hero, much like Superman. He was born gifted with strength and power and was sexy and confident. This sculpture is based on a scene from the famous poem ‘Biag ni Lam-Ang’ or, ‘The Life of Lam-Ang’. This poem was created in the 17^th century and is the first local folk tale to be recorded in writing, after centuries of being passed down orally.

It is really hot here, at the Kapurpurawan rocks, boiling hot so on the walk back we got the children a horse ride each which gave them reprieve from walking through the heat.

Details:

Entry fee: Adults 15 peso, children 5 peso

Horse ride: 50 peso each way

Cape Bojeador Lighthouse 

It was stinking hot, with my fair skin that baulks at the talk of the sun already melting off me and burning up from the rocks. The rest of the family were now exhausted as well, but since we were in Burgos I thought it might be worth a look at this old historical lighthouse. It turned out it was just me investigating, the rest of the crew stayed in the air-conditioned car hiding from the heat.

When you turn off the main road at the sign, drive up a short way to where you see sari-saris and a carpark. From here you can walk or take a trike for 20p (one person) to the lighthouse, it is steep and quite a distance so if you have kids, take a trike. At the top there is a steep staircase which takes you to the heritage house. The rooms are a small museum giving you some history, and you can climb up to the lighthouse itself, where you pay a 10p entry fee, and you can then take in the panoramic views of the coast. The house is beautiful. An elegant lady sitting atop a hill surrounded by gardens. She is majestic and royal looking, with traditional high ceilings, large windows and exposed beams. The kitchen and bathroom was in a separate building in a small courtyard, giving tell-tale signs of what life must have once been like here. The lighthouse tower is octagonal in shape, and it was really very beautiful. The view from the deck was impressive and I could imagine watching storms and typhoons blowing across the water from here, being in full view of the strength and power of Mother Nature. Just imagine watching those gorgeous old ships with billowing sails crossing the waters in the distance, rocking up and down with the waves. How glorious.

The Burgos Lighthouse, as it is known, was built during the Spanish rule in the 1800s. The light signifies the Northwestern most point in Luzon and as far as I know, it is still used today. The lighthouse is on the Vigia de Nagpartian Hill, overlooking Cape Bojeador, which is the route cargo ships used to take.

After the lighthouse we continued our journey down the coast. Our next planned stop was in Pasuquin. The reason I wanted to stop here was to learn about salt making.

Pasuquin 

Pasuquin is a farming and fishing area. It is well known for its garlic, lots and lots of garlic…and they grow rice. You would never be short on garlic rice here, or garlic soup…I digress…The actual reason I was interested in this place, is because they also make salt.

When you drive through Pasuquin, sari-saris line the streets, one after the other selling large bags of salt and strings and bundles of garlic. Occasionally a store will sell vinegar too, but mostly it was the salt and garlic. We were not sure where to go to learn about the salt making as I had only read about it, and not found any details so we skulked down the street asking shop owners every so often who we learn about salt making from. Eventually we found a hand-painted sign sitting neatly on the ground at the driveway entrance, which was easy to overlook. ‘Dhevie Kate Salt Refinery’ it said. We pulled in and found our way into the long narrow shed.

The smell of the smoke and salt was overwhelming. As soon as you walked in the doorway you were engulfed in this stink that made your eyes water and your head dizzy. It was a struggle to breathe and talking was extremely difficult to do. My gag reflect was working hard to stay in control and every cell in my body screamed at me to get out of this pit of hell.

The room was dark, the wall on the opposite side to the entrance was open space, so as to let the smoke and fumes out. Bamboo frames and overhanging nipa provided shelter from the elements and the sunshine streamed in through the smoke, creating a glow that added to this other-worldly setting. There was a large pile of sacks, filled to bursting and then a long row of large shallow baths lay in front of the open wall. Filled with water that was bubbling gently, smoke streamed off them, making the sunlight glisten through smoke curls, and it looked beautiful. Rice husk was piled high in front of each bath, almost hiding the fire pits below and a young man was walking up and down pushing a little more husk down into the fire pits, bit by bit using a long stick with a small rake on the end.

Each bed had two baskets, they were for collecting the salt when it was ready. Against the opposite wall were large concrete storage holes where piles upon piles of this white treasure sat piled up. It looked like snow. Slightly damp, it glistened in the dim light and looked so pretty. 

The young man did not speak English and so our driver translated for me. I was so excited and intrigued to hear about making salt from seawater, so you can imagine my confusion and then disappointment when I found out this was just a process plant to turn Australian Rock Salt into an edible form – using sea water. In a nutshell the process is this. About twelve sacks of raw Australian Rock Salt goes into a bath with around twenty litres of seawater. The water is heated up and simmered until it evaporates. The salt is then collected. This process softens the salt and turns it into a product we can use. Somewhere in this process a small amount of iodine is added to the salt and some say, this is the best salt in the Philippines and far better quality than traditionally made salt, using the sun evaporation method.

It seemed that once, not too long ago, salt making was a family business in Pasuquin, and many families had huts with beds in them. They had pipes that stretched from the nearby beach into the huts to draw up sea water. Now it appears, this refinery has taken over the salt making and locals are left selling it.

My question is, where does the salt go from here? I found it somewhat odd that Australia would send these sacks of raw rock salt to Pasuquin for processing. Who buys this salt? How is it distributed? I am still searching for answers here.

After our salt making adventure we made it to Laoag after another hour or so on the road, had a late lunch and went to the airport. Our driver continued on the road back down, staying in Vigan overnight before returning home on Monday.

We had the most wonderful time exploring North Luzon, and have been talking about it ever since and if you are wondering where you can go next on your travels around the Philippines, then take a look at this part of the country, it is just so beautiful. You can easily fly to Laoag and hire cars, and cars with drivers. Or you can do what we did and bring your driver along. All hotels have accommodation for drivers so we never had an issue finding room for him.

Be sure to read my other North Luzon Road Trip posts: