By Danilo P. Padua, PhD
There is what we call Nayong Pilipino. It was formerly located adjacent to NAIA but it has since been moved to Clark, Pampanga. The Nayong Pilipino, a park for all purposes, features different points of interests from various parts of the Philippines. It is much like, among others, the Madurodam in Netherlands, or Windows to the World in Taiwan.
Nayong Pilipino has a regular cultural program at a certain time of the day, showcasing our rich cultural practices from around the country. It is, in itself, a tourist attraction where people can see the Philippines in miniature. It is employing a number of people and providing some business as well inside the park.
Benguet is now trying to duplicate the Nayong Pilipino concept. They have started the so-called Benguet Village in Wangal, La Trinidad. The structures there at present were mostly what were used during the last Adivay festival in November, 2016. Maybe the place should be called NAYONG BENGUET or its equivalent in Kankana-ey or Ibaloi.
Considering the physiography of the province, its present infrastructure and enormous travel time from place to place, the idea of Nayong Benguet is an excellent one. It deserves to be given the opportunity to flourish, to improve, to be supported by all concerned, and ultimately a vital jump off point for increased agro-eco-tourism activities in the province.
A visit to the present Benguet Village, is very interesting and at the same time, a surprising one. What you see there is an expanded version of the one we saw during Adivay, 2016. Indeed, one will be amazed by the abundance of eco-tourism sites in the various municipalities of Benguet, the so-called rose of the Northern Mountains.
We are strongly encouraging everyone to go visit it. I asked some people from Benguet how many places listed in the various “booths” they have visited, most of them just sheepishly smiled indicating that they have missed so much opportunities already to appreciate the stunning beauty of their own places. It’s a shame. How can you promote your own if you don’t even know it, or haven’t seen it!
Yes, there is a lot to see in Benguet. Just to give a few ideas as indicated in the towns’ promotional tarps or pictorials: In Atok, you can shout to the world that you are in the highest point of the highway system in the Philippines passing through the famous guerilla saddle, then wondering how the Halsema half tunnel came about as you drive by it. After seeing the frost-prone vegetable areas, one can also be enthused by the emerging Sakura (cherry blossoms) park in Paoay, then go and walk through the Osocan Spanish trail.
In Bakun, you can try wading through the Nagasa Lake after climbing Mt. Kabunian or the Carrot Peak while in Buguias, one can sigh or knowingly nod at the vegetable panorama of the North. Ambuklao dam, the highest dam in Asia when it was built in the 1950s can be sighted in Bokod. (My late father happened to be one of the foremen of the Americans when it was being constructed. I am particularly thrilled seeing his pictures during the construction). For those bird watchers, they can have a real fill of bird watching or bird photography by the presence of multi-colored-plumed birds, some of which may not be found elsewhere. Bokod is also home to the possibly widest expanse of contiguous pine forest stands in the country.
Itogon is a veritable paradise of beauty from exhilarating mountain peaks to refreshing water falls, to healing hot springs, to the glittering gold. It is unique in that, the town has its own municipal tree, the tibig, and municipal bird, the talal.
One can go to the mystical and “ancient” Kabayan where centuries-old mummies can be seen and really be mystified. It has caves, calm lakes (Tabeyo and Incolos) and clean rivers. It is there where the traditional Gipah tea products were first processed. Together with Bokod, Kabayan is a gateway to the famous Mount Pulag. Kapangan has rice terraces, mountains such as Mt. Kalukasog and hosts the Amburayan river, one of the major river systems in CAR. The adjacent town of Kibungan is a “Rockwall of Beauties” and offers among others, rice terraces, vegetable terraces, water falls and other mountains.
La Trinidad is La Trinidad, the valley of colors, the rose capital, the cutflower capital and the strawberry capital of the Philippines, and the organic agriculture capital of CAR (more about this capital town of Benguet in another column).
Sablan on the other hand is fast becoming the fruit capital of CAR, and is home to some beautiful waterfalls as it also hosts some unique birds in its mountains. Tuba is a woodcarvers’ paradise, home to Bencab museum, offers waterfalls, hot spring resorts and the Sipitan and Yonged rock tunnels. The best known caves in Benguet can be found in Tublay. It’s a town also known for organic and safe agriculture practices as well as Arabica coffee.
The municipality of Mankayan is the only one without a representative house in the village. Like Itogon and Tuba, it is known as a mining town.
Benguet has really a lot to offer to the tourism sector. It is high time that more investments be poured into this so the countless possible tourism sites will be developed
Aside from the possible tourism sites bandied about in each town (they are not even a complete enumeration), one can also buy products originating mostly from each town.
An unsolicited advice: A bigger area for the Nayong Benguet should be located, preferably in either La Trinidad or Itogon, so it could better simulate what Nayong Pilipino is presently offering.
Last Saturday, there were demos for making kiniing or kinuday or itag, rice pounding, and gold purification and “catching” in the Village. These were generally good ideas. However, these were done mainly because one of the undersecretaries of tourism was visiting. The demos should be a regular fare for all to see and not only to please some dignitaries.**
