Embark on an Unforgettable Spelunking Journey in Sagada's Sumaguing Cave

Looking at myself in the mirror, dripping wet, half-soiled, reeking like I'd bathed in bat guano, I couldn't stop smiling. That disheveled mess was proof that I did it.

Early this afternoon, MM (my niece) and I, alongside our group and an expert guide, ventured into Sumaguing Cave in Sagada on our second day in town. I never expected a cave could be so awe-inspiring, nor that descending slippery rocks in complete darkness would feel so life-affirming. It was a test, and we passed.

There are three caves in Sagada, and you can explore them all in a day. It depends on one’s experience and guts, which cave to explore. You can do either of the two cave connections (Crystal -  Sumaguing – Lumiang, or Lumiang-Sumaguing) or Sumaguing alone. The most explored connection is the Lumiang - Sumaguing, which lasts up to 5 hours, usually starting from Lumiang Cave (the burial cave) and exiting Sumaguing Cave.

Our group started spelunking from Sumaguing; intending to do the reverse order, but ended up just doing the Sumaguing.

We started down a slippery, narrow entry. Rocks glistened with bat droppings and urine. My Spartan slippers clung desperately to rock edges while I navigated in near-darkness, relying on our guide’s kerosene lamp and fellow spelunkers’ headlamps.

After using all my muscles and engaging myself in so many acrobatic-like stunts, thankfully, we finally reached the area where numerous rock formations and ice-cold, crystal-clear water are. In here, our guide told us to leave our footwear.

Sumaguing Cave

The floor changes to a sandpaper-like surface. No one will ever slip here because of its coarseness. I washed off the grime and felt reborn.

Sumaguing Cave

I thought that was it, but then we started walking further again. This time we had to climb up and down the coarse rocks to explore more of the inside of the cave. Busy keeping up with the group and ensuring my safety and my niece’s, I forgot that my camera was in our guide’s bag and depended on my group mates to have our pictures taken on their cameras.

Sumaguing Cave

A lot of rock formations will make you say “Ah” and “Oh”. There’s this one that looks like a performance stage with a stage curtain. A crocodile. Teeth. Cake. Anaconda. The most intriguing one is the one called “The Queen”. It’s the shape of a vajayjay. I didn’t know at first what it was, but our guide called me and MM and instructed us to sit in front of the formation apart from each other, not covering a certain part. Only when we walked away from it did I realize what it was.

One steep drop required our guide to span his legs between rocks like a human ladder. We climbed across his thighs and jumped to the ledge below. 

We also had to use a rope to go up one rock formation, and while pulling ourselves up, a small trickle of water came flowing from the top of the rock, cooling our feet.

When we reached the underground river, which connects Sumaguing Cave and Lumiang Cave, our guide asked us if we still would like to continue our spelunking. Seeing the river down from where we were and learning that the water sometimes rises up to 10 feet, I automatically backed out. Although I really wanted to explore the other cave, it’s not in my capacity to cross the river because I cannot swim. Thankfully, all my group mates echoed my decision.

Going back to where we came from, I had to stretch every muscle of my body again. There was an instance where I hurt my back and had to stop for a bit; I bruised my knees, had cuts on my palms, crawled my way up, and lifted my body while avoiding hitting my head on some protruding rocks at the same time.

I should have listened to our guide when he told us to climb up walking instead of using a rope. It was halfway to the entrance/exit of the cave, but I was exhausted from climbing the slippery floor and was really trying all my might not to slip on those scary drops - a fall I think I’ll not survive - so I thought going up using the rope would make the climb easier for me. So I tried the rope.

Climbing through the rope knots was easy, but at the end of the rope, I had to lift my body up to get to the surface. I tried more than 2 times. One hand on the rope, one leg stretched up, and one hand being pulled by someone on the surface. Not only that, one guy in my group was below me pushing me up. On my last try, I was just dangling there and I felt like all my energy had evaporated; I shouted for help, and our guide shouted back annoyed saying, “I told you not to use the rope!” If it wasn’t dark there, everyone would see how red my face was in embarrassment (LOL).

So there, I went down from the rope and started my way up. One of my lady group mates and MM, who were up waiting for me, guided me. Pointing out which direction I should go, where to step, and where not. I couldn’t entrust my life to my imperfect vision, so just to make sure that I don’t slip, I used both my legs and arms to walk (LOL).

By the time I made it to the mouth of the cave, I was so exhausted and sweating. My group was all gone, waiting for me at the main road. With aching back and legs, I tried all I could to trek to where my group mates were.

Spelunking in Sumaguing Cave will be very taxing for newbies like me, but the feeling you’ll get once you’ve made it to the end is something indescribable.

I would go back to Sagada if given the chance, and I will definitely do the cave connection, but before that, I’ll try to learn to swim, invest in footwear with good grip, hit the gym, and get fit.