"The sun was scorching hot, and the sky was clear that time. There was no time for rain drama; but even if it was summer, it was cold at Bessang Pass."

🏍️ We are not bad people, but we had to tell lies to pursue this adventure. 🏍️ If you're at a higher altitude, the road below may look like the Great Wall of China!

[Cervantes, Ilocos Sur Province, Ilocos Region, Philippines]

▼ COVER PHOTO

[CERVANTES] ► I ASKED MY BROTHER TO TAKE A PHOTO OF ME, WHILE I LAID MY BACK ON ONE OF THE ROAD SHOULDER BLOCKS. AT THE BACKGROUND WAS THE BEAUTIFUL PINE VEGETATION OF THE CERVANTES HIGHLANDS.

Oh yes... I'm from Ilocos Sur, and I have heard about the town of Cervantes several times. I always had the urge to go, but there's been no chance; besides, it's too far from the city where I live.

I have always heard that the road going to Cervantes isn't good. It's between life and death! Roads were too narrow with falling rocks from the mountain. Roads were unpaved; and a few steps away, it's KABOOOOOOOOOOM! You're falling into that cliff! If it rains, the town is literally isolated!

/ 1 / [CERVANTES] ► MY BROTHER ALSO LAID HIS BACK ON THE CONCRETE BLOCK, EMULATING WHAT I PREVIOUSLY DID. USING A CHEAP DIGICAM I BORROWED FROM MY LATE AUNT, WE WERE ABLE TO DOCUMENT OUR FIRST TIME EXPERIENCES IN CERVANTES.

...that was before, but traveling through this road now is as smooth as silk. It is a beautiful winding road. If you're at a higher altitude, the road below may look like the Great Wall of China (as what I have seen in photos at least). You may say, "I'm at the Great Wall of Ilocos!"

The highway was not busy. Most of the time, it was only me and my brother who were traveling along this highway. This scenario may change though, who knows? Cervantes might boom later, and the road will become busy. Lucky me, I have witnessed it this way.

/ 2 / [CERVANTES] ► I LOVE TAKING PHOTOS OF MYSELF. SOMETIMES, MY SELF PHOTOS BECOME MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE VIEWS. I TOOK ALL THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE MY PHOTOS TAKEN FROM EACH STOP WE MADE.

/ 3 / [CERVANTES] ► THE FIRST TIME I SAW THIS MARKER OF CERVANTES, WHICH WAS IDENTICAL TO THE REST OF MARKERS IN ALL THE TOWNS IN ILOCOS SUR THAT YEAR (A PROJECT OF THEN GOV DV SAVELLANO), I WENT ON THE HAVE MY PHOTO TAKEN.

/ 5 / [CERVANTES] ► IT WAS MY FIRST TIME TO SEE A MOUNTAIN OF PINE TREES INSIDE MY PROVINCE.

Although

🇵🇭 BAGUIO • Azalea Residences Hotel Review: My Experiences in Details

Mar 19 2016 Edmar del Castillo Guquib

🇵🇭 BAGUIO • Tree Top Adventure: What to Expect? + Things You Must Know

Dec 04 2015 Edmar del Castillo Guquib

🇵🇭 BAGUIO • Trekking Camp John Hay: Seeing the City's Old, True Face

Dec 04 2015 Edmar del Castillo Guquib

🇵🇭 BAGUIO • Superman Zipline Ride Over the Pine Trees

Dec 01 2015 Edmar del Castillo Guquib

🇵🇭 BAGUIO • Tam-awan Village: Old-School Igorot Living of Today

Nov 28 2015 Edmar del Castillo Guquib

has given me this kind of sights, it felt different to see pine-clad mountains for the first time in my own province. It was something I did not expect. This was in 2010, when I was still new to this kind of traveling.

► Unexpected Journey

Going to Cervantes that day was an accident. I just asked my brother to join me in a joyride. We reached Cervantes unexpectedly. We never thought we could.

We are not bad people, but we had to tell lies to pursue this adventure. We told our parents we're just going to a resort nearby, because we know they wouldn't let us traverse the highway. They said it was risky. One thing more, we're the only good looking boys-nextdoor in our village. The whole village was afraid its boys will face an accident (this is my secret, keep it between you and me, lol, enough for day dreaming).

/ 6 / [CERVANTES] ► ME AND MY BROTHER STOPPED AT NAKAYANG VIEWDECK, WHERE WE SAW THE BEAUTIFUL VALLEY OF CERVANTES.

/ 7 / [CERVANTES] ► MY BROTHER WAS ENJOYING THE VIEW OF BEAUTIFUL CERVANTES VALLEY FROM NAKAYANG VIEWDECK.

It was a hot day in Vigan where we came from. We just decided to go to

🇵🇭 CANDON • First Ilocandia Content Creator Conference: a Success

Oct 01 2024 Edmar del Castillo Guquib

City, only to find ourselves already reaching the remote town of Cervantes with our scooter. That day was hot, and the sky was clear. There was no time for rain drama. But even if it was summer, it is cold in Bessang Pass.

See the images below. The ambiance was really cold. It was so romantic for lovers to hug each other while driving (Huh? That sounds crazy). This time, it was my younger brother with me whom I love; but hugging him while riding on a scooter was a suicide! BRAGGGG!

/ 8 / [CERVANTES] ► LOOKING AT THIS PHOTO, IT REMINDS ME HOW CHILLY THIS SPOT WAS.

/ 9 / [CERVANTES] ► WE WENT FURTHER, UNTIL WE ALREADY STARTED TO DESCEND. THE ROAD WENT ZIGZAGGING DOWN TO THE VALLEY. THE COLD BREEZE WAS REPLACED WITH HOT AIR.

/ 10 / [CERVANTES] ► MY HONDA BEAT JUST MADE IT!

We weren't able to see the must-sees of Cervantes, because we had no tour guide. We didn't know where to go. In fact, Cervantes is so historical. It was where a battle during World War II happened.

The town has the Yamashita Cave, McArthur Tunnel, Bessang Park National Park, Gambang falls, etc which are all part of the history of the Philippines! For us however, the scene we saw along the Cervantes highway was already a must-see, and the romantic freezing breeze and ambiance of the town was a travel bonus! Into my surprise, there were pine trees! It was an awesome view. It felt like I was in Baguio minus the crowd and commerce.

/ 11 / [CERVANTES] ► WE SPOTTED THIS RICE FIELD IN THE VALLEY.

While on our way, there was a bike race [going up] to Bessang Pass. Bessang Pass is the highest point traversed by any highway system in Ilocos as of now. It is foggy and cold.

Cervantes is the crossing for the four provinces of Ilocos Sur,

🇵🇭 ABRA • Mt Poswey (~1546 MASL) and Surviving at Least 9 Mountains More

Nov 30 2016 Edmar del Castillo Guquib

🇵🇭 TUBO • (Abra) List of 18 Tourist Spots & Attractions to See in This Town

Sep 27 2016 Edmar del Castillo Guquib

🇵🇭 TINEG • List of 11 Tourist Spots and Attractions to See in This Town

Sep 19 2016 Edmar del Castillo Guquib

🇵🇭 TINEG • Kaparkan Falls: Nature-Engineered Spring Terraces of Abra

Sep 08 2016 Edmar del Castillo Guquib

🇵🇭 BANGUED • Bamboo Float Parade and the Cool Mountain Tribes

Jun 06 2015 Edmar del Castillo Guquib

🇵🇭 BENGUET • Former OFW Uplifts Cordillera Farmers Into Exporters

Sep 19 2017 Edmar del Castillo Guquib

🇵🇭 BAGUIO • Azalea Residences Hotel Review: My Experiences in Details

Mar 19 2016 Edmar del Castillo Guquib

🇵🇭 BAGUIO • Tree Top Adventure: What to Expect? + Things You Must Know

Dec 04 2015 Edmar del Castillo Guquib

🇵🇭 BAGUIO • Trekking Camp John Hay: Seeing the City's Old, True Face

Dec 04 2015 Edmar del Castillo Guquib

🇵🇭 BAGUIO • Superman Zipline Ride Over the Pine Trees

Dec 01 2015 Edmar del Castillo Guquib

, and

🇵🇭 CORDILLERA • Bontoc-Tabuk Road: Mt. Province-Kalinga Boundary Crossing

Oct 07 2013 Edmar del Castillo Guquib

🇵🇭 SADANGA • (Mt Province) Passing Through the Rice Terraces, a Cultural Heritage

Oct 01 2013 Edmar del Castillo Guquib

🇵🇭 BONTOC • Palali Rice Terraces: Of First-time Penetration, Pain & Pleasure

Sep 27 2013 Edmar del Castillo Guquib

🇵🇭 BONTOC • Of Old Age and Traveling: Meeting an 81-year-old Solo Backpacker

Sep 18 2013 Edmar del Castillo Guquib

🇵🇭 BONTOC • The Last Generation of Overt Igorots in the Cordilleras

Aug 26 2013 Edmar del Castillo Guquib

. Rice terraces are present in Cervantes too! | END OF STORY |

► More Photos/Image Gallery

[MAPS SHOWING CERVANTES]

► FOOTNOTES, DISCLAIMERS, ACKNOWLEDGMENT, ETC

🏍️ This post was filed under the category "Motorcycle Diaries." See more posts related to this below.

🏍️ The maps I used on this post are from Wikipedia.

🏍️ All photos are mine.

🏍️ The insights, condition, and name of places or properties I mentioned here are based on the facts and situation on the day of my visit. Take note that you may have a different experience when you try or see the properties or places mentioned here. Names of places and properties may also change by time, so it's not my responsibility to update all the information on this blog because once published, I already consider it as an archive. I don't necessarily update my narratives, because I want them to become my references of what have happened in the past. I'm very particular of the dates, because I want my amazing readers to understand that I am writing stories based on my perspective and insights on the day of my visit. You can see dates almost everywhere on this blog. Exempted from this rule are my travel guide posts that need to be updated.

UPDATE HISTORY FOR THIS BLOG POST
► 19-February-2022: Separator line added in between the two sub-headlines. Paragraph 3 transferred below the image / 1 /.
► 06-February-2022: Page lay-out overhauled. Copyreading applied. Sub-heading lay-out modified. Additional scripts added.
► 24-January-2011: This article was published.

[LATEST STORIES COVERING CERVANTES]

▬ SEE ALL IN A SEPARATE WINDOW

[Cervantes] [Cervantes]

[Cervantes] Edmar del Castillo Guquib

🇵🇭 CERVANTES • It's All Fog at the Historical Bessang Pass

"I came here under the scorching heat of the sun in the extended summer for June but reaching the place seems like it is already December..." If you'...

[Cervantes] Edmar del Castillo Guquib

🇵🇭 CERVANTES • The Summer Capital of Ilocos Sur

"The sun was scorching hot, and the sky was clear that time. There was no time for rain drama; but even if it was summer, it was cold at Bessang Pass....

112 on 2012 Edmar del Castillo Guquib

🇵🇭 CERVANTES • Rice Terraces, Turning to Vegetable Terraces Too

"...no time is wasted, their limited farming fields at the slope of the mountain become productive all year round." Along the road in the mountain to...

[Cervantes] Edmar del Castillo Guquib

🇵🇭 CERVANTES • (Ilocos Sur) Crossing the Deadly Mountain Road

"As I am going near up to the mountains, there's no way to say that the road going to the town is deadly because as I saw the view, my senses became...

[Cervantes] Edmar del Castillo Guquib

🇵🇭 CERVANTES • (Ilocos Sur) Motorcycle Ride to the Great Wall of Ilocos

It was a never ending nervousness with the question of "What will happen to me next?" as I continue traversing more and more mountains with no idea ...

[Cervantes] Edmar del Castillo Guquib

🇵🇭 CERVANTES • It's All Fog at the Historical Bessang Pass

"I came here under the scorching heat of the sun in the extended summer for June but reaching the place seems like it is already December..." If you'...

[Cervantes] Edmar del Castillo Guquib

🇵🇭 CERVANTES • The Summer Capital of Ilocos Sur

"The sun was scorching hot, and the sky was clear that time. There was no time for rain drama; but even if it was summer, it was cold at Bessang Pass....

112 on 2012 Edmar del Castillo Guquib

🇵🇭 CERVANTES • Rice Terraces, Turning to Vegetable Terraces Too

"...no time is wasted, their limited farming fields at the slope of the mountain become productive all year round." Along the road in the mountain to...

[Cervantes] Edmar del Castillo Guquib

🇵🇭 CERVANTES • (Ilocos Sur) Crossing the Deadly Mountain Road

"As I am going near up to the mountains, there's no way to say that the road going to the town is deadly because as I saw the view, my senses became...

[MORE STORIES COVERING ILOCOS SUR PROVINCE]

▬ SEE ALL IN A SEPARATE WINDOW

Ilocos Sur Ilocos Sur

🇵🇭 STA MARIA (Ilocos Sur) • 2008 Explorer Tales Written from the Future

Jan 26 2025 Edmar del Castillo Guquib

As a millennial who also committed many social media mistakes during its early days, I consider my previous blunder callouts as baptism of fire to the...