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Sigay is a municipality in Ilocos Sur. Situated within the Cordillera mountains, it is home to the tallest waterfall in the Ilocos Region.
Understand
[edit | edit source]Sigay is a landlocked municipality established along a tributary of the Amburayan River. It is a highland town in the Cordillera mountains and has significant Igorot communities. Formerly a part of the Amburayan subdistrict of Mountain Province, it was annexed by Ilocos Sur in 1920. The area saw heavy fighting in World War II during the Battle of Bessang Pass in 1945, when Allied forces struggled to break through Japanese defenses in Bessang Ridge on their way to liberate Baguio and the Luzon Cordilleras.
Sigay is the least populated municipality of Ilocos Sur, with a population of only 2,577 people as of 2024. The main economic activities are coffee and rice terrace farming, and nature-based tourism, through poor road infrastructure tends to keep most visitors at bay.
Get in
[edit | edit source]Sigay is one of the more isolated towns of Ilocos Sur, being completely bypassed by its major highways. Instead, it is connected to a secondary road leading south towards Urzadan Bridge in the neighboring municipality of Suyo, which is along Tagudin-Cervantes-Sabangan Road running between Mountain Province and Manila North Road in the coastal town of Tagudin. To the northwest, another secondary road leads to the neighboring municipality of Salcedo and onwards to Candon, the most populated city in Ilocos Sur. Both roads feature scenic mountain drives and frightening hairpin curves.
Get around
[edit | edit source]Tricycles are the main form of transportation in town, but due to the uneven terrain, a 4WD is recommended. Most tourist attractions are only accessible through extended hikes.
See
[edit | edit source]
- 1 Aw-asen Falls, Santo Rosario, ☏ +63 951 308 6685, ferdinandbagni@gmail.com. The main tourist draw in Sigay, it is the tallest waterfall in Ilocos Region, with a height of 110 metres (360 ft) gushing through a vertical rock face. Access to the site is restricted to pre-organized tour groups for safety reasons.
- 2 Mount Tuwato, San Elias. A 1,802 metres (5,912 ft) peak along the Bessang Ridge shared with the municipality of Cervantes.
- 3 Mount Monserrat, San Elias. A 1,763 metres (5,784 ft) high peak along the Bessang Ridge.
- 4 Mount Longon, San Elias. Another mountain in the Bessang Ridge, often climbed as part of the Tuwato-Monserrat circuit.
- 5 Namempengan Falls, Mabileg. An overlooked but similarly picturesque terraced waterfall system gushing along a shredded-looking and gently sloped rock face on the other side of town.
- 6 Sigay Viewdeck, Santo Rosario. A panoramic viewdeck on the boundary with Suyo with vistas over Sigay's valleys.
Do
[edit | edit source]Buy
[edit | edit source]There is no market to speak of, only a few mom-and-pop sari-sari stores. There are also no banks or ATMs, so bring plenty of cash.
Eat
[edit | edit source]Drink
[edit | edit source]Sleep
[edit | edit source]There are a few homestays in town.
Stay safe
[edit | edit source]Landslides are common during the monsoon season from June to October. During this time, authorities suspend tourism activities.
Medical clearance is required to climb the area's mountains due to their extreme terrain.
Connect
[edit | edit source]The town's postal code is 2719.