Pinsao Proper
Baguio City, Benguet
+63 (074) 4462949
28 February 2009
After the parade, I met up with my shutterbug friend Ferj to eat lunch at Zola Restaurant. While there, I texted another shutterbug friend Mike, and since he was also in Baguio City to watch the Panagbenga Festival grand street parade, we asked him if he could meet us up. When he got to the restaurant, there were chit-chats, of course, then Mike asked where we will go next. Ferj and I didn’t have anything planned, so Mike suggested we go to Tam-Awan Village. Ferj and I still haven’t seen the place, so we took his suggestion. There was a blooper while Mike was giving us directions how to get to the village, but in the end, we did find our way. Mike didn’t come with us anymore because he was with his parents and they were already waiting for him.
Taken from the website GoBaguio.Com,
Tam-awan in the local idiom means “vantage point,” an apt name for a colony of Cordillera Huts that sit on a hillside that affords visitors a magnificent view of the South China Sea on a clear day.Other pictures I took:
The Chanum Foundation, Inc., started reconstructing Ifugao houses in Baguio with the intention of recreating a native village accessible to those who have not had the opportunity to explore the different parts of the vast Cordillera region in the Philippines, laying the houses out just like a traditional Cordillera village.
A natural haven for the creative natives, Tam-awan Village became well-known as the headquarters of the famous Filipino national Artist Ben Cabrera, who is always referred to as BenCab, and become the home-base of popular local artists such as Jordan Mangosan, John Frank Sabado and Ged Alangui.
Tam-awan Village is also a venue for art exhibits, workshops and other activities that showcase the rich cultural heritage of the Cordillera people.
The locals treat the visitors with some entertainment, and the tourists can actually go and dance with them if they want to.
The traditional Ifugao house.
The Ugnayan Bridge. "Ugnay" means "to unite" or "to connect".
A wood carving at the end of a small stairwell and some tourist taking pictures of the locals as they dance on the background.
Entrance fee for the village is priced at: 50 pesos (a little over 1USD) for adults, 30 pesos for Senior Citizens and students, and 20 pesos for kids (12 years below). The village is open from 8:00AM to 6:00PM. Aside from these attractions, people can also visit the galleries, and eat at a cafe. There are artists who can draw your picture right there and then, which is a great keepsake to take home.
My batteries died on me while in the village, so when Ferj was done with his pictures, we decided to go back to the city proper and just relax at Burnham Park. Because his camera has this very great lens, he was able to take great pictures of people at the park. At around 5PM, I decided to bid goodbye. I took the bus going to La Union, and I met my aunt Julie and cousin Nanette at the Viron Transit sub-station where I got my luggage.
The fluvial parade for the Panagbenga Festival was held the day after (01 March), but I decided not to watch it anymore and just stay in La Union.
*** Jenn ***
ps - Typhoon Pepeng, which hit the northern part of the country at the last quarter of 2009 destroyed the Tam-Awan Village. When I got back to Baguio City February of 2010, I was hoping to check on the village to see if the new look, but I wasn't able to. For sure, if you went to the village this year, it would look a little different than the pictures I had here.
