During the Holy Week break, I decided to bring Jandy to Sagada and Banaue. However, to get to Sagada, we had to go via Baguio City as there is no direct route there, by public transportation, from Manila. That being the case, I decided to stay 2 nights in the city before leaving for Sagada. We took the very early 7 AM Victory Liner bus for Baguio City and arrived there by 1:30 PM. From the bus terminal, we took a taxi to the city proper and booked ourselves at the AJ Pension House. Once settled in, we had a late lunch at a Chowking outlet. As it was already late in the afternoon, I decided to just bring Jandy to the Crystal Caves, located 5 kms. from the city center, off the Palispis-Aspiras Highway. We got there via jeepney.
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| Inside Crystal Cave |
I remembered visiting Crystal Caves with my Dad and brother Frank when I was still young. Back then, I was impressed by the firefly-like, crystalline rock the cave was named for. These interconnected caverns, found on the northern foot of Mt. Sto. Tomas, are believed to be an old Igorot burial site just like the nearby Timbac Caves. At the cave entrance, we were swamped by natives offering their services as guides. I got a couple of guides with some torches and flashlights.
Traversing the cave from end to end wasn’t difficult as it was horizontal all the way. I was quite disappointed with what I saw inside. The cave has now been stripped by robbers of its stalactites, stalagmites and precious crystals which were sold to tourists. The cave survived World War II bombings and the 1990 earthquake but it is slowly dying or irretrievably dead from all this looting. The high cave ceiling, blackened from the soot of torches, only had a couple of resident bats. Worst, there seems to no conservation effort to save what’s left of the cave.
Disappointed at this turn of events, we returned to the city proper, had dinner at Star Cafe and returned to our inn.
Crystal Caves: Crystal Cave Rd., Baguio City, Benguet.
How to Get There: Take a jeepney at the cor. of Otek and Chanum Sts. to Palispis-Aspiras Highway. Visit only during the dry season (May to November).