Feb 3-5, 2026 – Buscalan, Kalinga

Buscalan had been on my list for quite some time, so when the opportunity finally came, I really pushed for this trip with my husband. It was originally supposed to be with our friends, but the dates didn’t work out for them, so it ended up being just the two of us.

We finally made it to Buscalan and met Apo Whang-Od, the oldest and most renowned mambabatok in the Philippines. Of course, we couldn’t leave without getting her signature three-dot tattoo.

On Wednesday night, we boarded the 9:00 PM Coda Lines bus bound for Bontoc. I was surprised by the route because, for some reason, I thought it would be similar to our Sagada trip and pass through Benguet. Instead, we travelled through Nueva Vizcaya, which was nice since we got to see a different side of Northern Luzon.

The bus dropped us off in Bontoc, where we took a jeep to the Buscalan jump-off point. From there, we hopped on a tuk-tuk to the Buscalan Tourist Information and Registration Center before making the hike up to the village. We finally reached our homestay at around 9:45 the next morning after more than 12 hours of travelling.

There were two ways to get to the village: hike or take the famous “cable car.” It’s actually an improvised open-air tram that crosses the ravine in about a minute. We chose to hike instead, just to be safe. Haha.

Weeks before the trip, I had already found a contact for our homestay after spending way too much time researching. Along the way, we met Erik/Ric? (or at least I think that was his name, sorry if I’m wrong!), who ended up joining us. It worked out nicely since we were able to split some of the shared fees, which helped us save a bit.

After dropping off our bags at the homestay, we immediately looked for somewhere to eat since we were starving after the long journey. Afterwards, we headed straight to Apo Whang-Od’s house because the queue was already getting long.

We joined the line at around 11:00 AM, but our turn didn’t come until around 1:00 PM since she took a lunch break. Honestly, we were a little anxious while waiting. Right before her break, she seemed upset with one of the groups, and we’d heard stories that there were times she’d stop tattooing for the day if she didn’t feel like continuing.

To be fair, that’s completely understandable. She was just about two weeks away from her 109th birthday when we visited, so we knew she needed to rest whenever she felt tired. We were just quietly hoping she’d still be up for tattooing once she came back.

Asis got his tattoo on the back of his neck, while I got mine on my wrist. It was probably the most painful tattoo I’ve had, so thank goodness it was only three dots.

I was also happy that Apo Whang-Od was smiling in our photos. I even brought my Instax Square to capture the moment, but unfortunately every shot came out super overexposed. I think my camera is already broken. Ugh.

Erik also managed to get his magazine, which had Apo Whang-Od on the cover, signed by her. We were all so happy afterwards… and completely exhausted.

We spent the rest of the afternoon resting and freshening up at our homestay. Most of the time, we just sat on the balcony. It was right at the edge of the village with a cliffside view, and it happened to be next to the makeshift cable car. Every now and then we’d hear it coming and going. The locals also had the radio blasting most of the day, which I honestly didn’t mind. I was perfectly happy sitting there with a cup of tea, my journal, and the mountain view.

Later that afternoon, we wandered around the village. The paths were a little confusing, and we almost got lost more than once. We eventually found our way to the rice terraces. The whole place reminded me so much of a Studio Ghibli film.

On our way back, we spotted Apo Whang-Od again, just sitting outside and chatting with a foreigner. I said hi, and she smiled back. That tiny interaction honestly made me so happy.

The next morning, we left early and finally gave the famous cable car a try on our way back since we were trying to catch the van to Bontoc proper. It was a nice way to end our Buscalan trip.

Little highlights from Buscalan

• Meeting the village’s resident Siberian Husky, Hunter, who was roaming around the village. He followed us back to our homestay and was waiting outside our door the next morning.
• The packed adobo Asis cooked the night before for our trip. As always, adobo tastes even better the next day.
• Looking up at the star-filled night sky.
• The cool mountain weather, especially in the evening.
• Watching the locals go about their day around the village.
• Discovering that rubbing our blankets created static electricity. Asis and I spent way too long playing with the tiny sparks.
• The views of the rice terraces, and the murals we randomly came across around the village.

Until next time, Buscalan. 🤍

---