My sister and I went to the municipality of Atok, Benguet on the second day of our escapade. Atok, Benguet is two hours away from Baguio City. We rode a PUV to get there.
Kilala ang bayan ng Atok dahil dito makikita ang sikat ngayon na flower farm, ang Northern Blossom Flower Farm. Unfortunately, hindi namin napuntahan yon noong nandoon kami dahil sarado sila pag Monday (that was Monday, and actually I'm aware that they are not open every Monday lol) dahil nag i-spray sila ng gamot sa mga halaman. But, there are rumors from the locals there na nag o-open sila 2PM ng Monday para mapagbigyan yung ibang tourists na ma-explore ito. But we cannot wait until 2PM due to time constraint.
Another "But..." XD There is still a lot to explore here in Atok, Benguet, and that's what I'm going to share here in this blog. ;)
Backstory: Haight's Place lang dapat ang pupuntahan namin ng kapatid ko sa Atok, but we cannot find any transportation going there pagbaba namin ng PUV, as in kahit jeep, even tricycles are "not willing" (I guess) to take us there (dahil baka lugi sila sa ganoon). Ibang way pa daw kase yon. The only way we can get there is mag-avail ng tour sa Barangay, in which not fair since we're only 2. Imagine, 2 persons for P1,200 (Circuit 1: Highest Point, Bosleng Grotto, and Haight's Place). We have no choice, mahaba pa kase ang araw and we do not want to waste time (di bale na yung pera, basta may marating lol). So we grabbed the deal. But luckily, there was a group of 3 came with same fate, and they are willing to join us, so 5 na kaming naghati-hati sa P1,200. Yey! Nakamura na, may new friends pa. They are from Manila. SKL.
Highest Point of Halsema Highway
Ayon sa aming tour guide, ito ang unang pinakamataas na highway sa buong Pilipinas. Pero ngayon, pumapangalawa na lang ito. Nasa Ifugao na ang pinakamataas na highway sa ating bansa. Pero dahil malayo iyon, hindi daw siya ganoon nag-trend. Kaya yung isang signage ng highest point binalik dito. Naging paboritong side trip ito ng mga tao especially ng mga tourists na pupunta ng Sagada.
Magandang view ang makikita mo sa overlook ng Highest Point of Halsema. Nakakalungkot lang na hindi sea of clouds ang makikita niyo sa picture below, kundi bush fire.
Bosleng Lourdes Grotto
It is a potential man-made attraction located here in Atok. May chapel sa loob na ginagamit ng locals dito para mag simba at mag alay ng dasal. You can climb the rock formation here to see the mountainous beauty of Benguet. Just be careful in descending the rock.
Ayon ulit sa aming tour guide, this place was managed by a priest (I forgot his nationality), and he promised to build a church here pagbalik niya galing ng bansa nila. Pero hindi na siya nakabalik ng Pilipinas at hindi na ito natupad because he passed away due to heart attack.
Sa taas ng rock formation, makikita mo ang napakalawak na taniman ng iba't ibang gulay.
Haight's Place
Haight's Place is another attraction in Atok, Benguet which showcases a variety of flowers. They also have rooms here if you want to stay for a night or more. You can also camp. You can bring your own tent, or you can rent one here. For the rates, you can visit their Facebook page. :)
Another reason to visit Haight's Place is their Sakura Park. Yakiwari and Sandaya Sakura trees were planted here year 2016. Although Atok has a perfect weather to plant Sakura trees, these trees are still young, and it will take years for them to bloom.
There is a resto cafe available here in Haight's Place. It was almost lunch time and we didn't have our breakfast yet, so we decided to dine first before leaving. We tried Atok coffee, potato donut, and Kini-ing for the first time. Kini-ing is a salted pork preserved for 2 weeks, and smoked using pine woods. Curious about it? You can watch it in my vlog, just click here. :)
We ordered Kini-ing, potato donut, chopsuey, longanisa and egg, and red rice. The potato donut tastes like french fries :D But it's just a bread and potato. No sugar glaze.
And Atok coffee. Perfect for the cold weather of Atok, Benguet.
We finished the circuit 1 in a half day. All is worth it. Our tour guide gave us a bouquet of everlasting flowers before we part ways. :)
Team Lakay Gym
We had a side trip in Team Lakay Gym in La Trinidad, Benguet before going back to Baguio City. As a fan of mixed martial arts, hindi ko talaga pinalampas itong opportunity na maka-visit dito and to buy souvenirs as well. Dito nagte-training ang ilang sikat na MMA fighters from Team Lakay like Joshua Pacio and Eduard Folayang. Unfortunately, hindi ko sila nakita doon para mag fangirling sana (hehe), kase ang sabi ng bantay dito nung araw na yon, may bago daw silang gym sa La Trinidad din, at dun sila nagte-training ngayon, but they still visit this branch occasionally.
After we visited Team Lakay Gym, we went to SM Baguio to buy our dinner, and then we headed back to the hostel to rest.
More thoughts about Atok, Benguet:
- Napaka mura ng prutas at gulay sa Atok. Yung isang store na nadaanan namin sa may Highest Point of Halsema sells packs of potatoes and tomatoes (na tig kakalahating kilo siguro yon) for P100.00, for 3 packs. Yes, 3 for P100.00 moraytang morayta mga besh! (jaw drop) I also bought 4 packs of strawberries for P60.00 each only. And this korean radish in the picture below, P10.00 lang sa Haight's Place. Ten pesos only this is crazy!
- Napaka mura din ng plants don. Like for their succulent and cactus, you can buy 3 for P100.00. Some have weird names though. XD
- Na-share din sa amin ng aming tour guide, na ang mga locals doon, pag doon namatay, doon din daw sila nililibing sa lupain nila. Hmm... Interesting.
Aaand... That's all for our Atok, Benguet escapade! :)
My sister and I made vlogs/blogs about our entire travel (La Union - Baguio City - Benguet.) Watch/Read them all by clicking the links below:
Thank you guys for reading! Take care always and God bless! (^_^)v
