Welcome to Cordillera: walk the trails but leave the trees

By: Mervalyn G. Oplas

Home of natural beauty, the 18,342.7-kilometer square wide Cordillera land is situated in the Northern part of Luzon. The provinces of Benguet, Mountain Province, Apayao, Kalinga, Ifugao and Abra anchor rivers, lakes, mountains, hills, valleys, caves and forests where the wildlife finds refuge. Baguio City, the lone city of the Cordillera, is the very “center” of the region where Cordillerans from the six provinces meet.

Implied by its name, the Cordillera is composed mostly of parallel mountain ranges. The other bodies of land and water are secondary to the mountains.

A visit to the Cordillera region not only entails witnessing nature at its best. It also means meeting the hospitable Cordillera people and understanding the diversity of culture of the different tribes of the region.

Trees and other forms of life are often associated to Cordillerans. To the historical Igorot, back to the times when nature is intact, this is true.

Orally transferred stories say that the typical Igorot lives in a warm inatep (nipa hut) which is built with pal-ot (cogon grass) and tabla (wood). He goes hunting and will never fail to bring home a wild boar, a wild deer or even a wild chicken. It is an everyday experience for him to just pass the now expensive orchids hanging on trees.

My recent travel around my province Benguet made me realize how rich the Cordillera is. I saw mountains full of trees and other wild plants; clean rivers, though I bet are not as clean as they are during the old times; caves anchoring beautiful stalactites and stalagmites; waterfalls which strong current dug a shallow “lake”; hot springs that serve as therapy to old people afflicted by rheumatism.

Hiking for four hours to a place unreached by roads is thrilling. However, it made me realize how difficult life is the past centuries or decades. Horses are still their means of transportation. When they have to go to the market to buy goods, they let the horses carry their heavy loads while they hike behind or in front of these horses.

In Ifugao, one can see the vast forests untouched by the clumsy hands of people. A ride in the newly constructed roads in the far flung places of Ifugao gives a spine chilling experience from the rustles of wild plant’s leaves blown by the chilly wind. The view of the kallas (a kind of tree that grows in a very elevated place) seems unending that it seems like a sea of wild plants.

The Chico river of Mountain province, the towering trees, huge rocks, rivers and caves which are believed to be home for the unseen beings can take a viewer’s breath away.

Abra, Kalinga and Apayao which are the warmer parts of the region offer huge rivers and mountains.

Behind this beauty, however, is my fear, when I saw the other side. I saw that the intactness of nature is rapidly deteriorating. How fast? It is as fast as people’s procreation. I experienced hiking a mountain where one can hardly find a tree to rest his head from the searing heat of the sun. It is ironic that there is a scorching mountain in the Cordillera.

I wanted to see wild animals, even just birds, but sadly, the hikes are not enough for me to see them. I even saw remnants of cut trees along the way and a bunch of woods soon to be carried down. I experienced walking along roads of sand where plants are scarce. I saw other rivers that look like rivers of assorted-colored mud because of the unstoppable mining.

This made me hope deep inside that the places I visited are not the epitome of all places in the Cordillera when it comes to the rapid extinction of wild life. I hope the Cordillerans will realize that preserving their place’s natural resources means preserving their tribes.

The Cordillera, with its uniqueness, is being visited by different people from different parts of the world. Eco-tourism and cultural tourism are being pushed. I just hope these visitors will just walk the trails (do not make them), look around and appreciate Cordillera’s beauty, but leave the wild life in the place untouched.