Discovering the ancient tribes of the Philippines!

We spent 5 days in the remote village of Buscalan meeting the Butbut tribe. We tried exotic foods, witnessed life in the mountains, attended a giant party with the locals, participated in a traditional dance, and then got tattoos done on our backs by the legendary Apo Whang Od! We hope you enjoy this video and it's information, because we certainly did!

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*Getting there

This isn’t an easy place to get to, but if you are an experienced traveler you will be just fine. From Manila you need to take a bus to the town of Bontoc. It’s an 11-hour ride, so try to get the overnight bus to save yourself a hotel stay. If you have extra time you can stop by the city of Baguio, the small mountain town of Sagada, or the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Banaue rice terraces. All these deserve a couple days on their own, but I’ll let you do your own research.

From Bontoc you need to take a jeepney or bus to Bugnay, which is about 2 hours away. The jeepney leaves at 7:30am from the Sadanga Jeepney Terminal, and the bus leaves at 9am from the same place. There is one more bus as 1:30pm in case you snooze too long and miss these two.

If you got the jeepney it will probably take you straight to Buscalan, but if you got the bus you will be dropped off on the highway. Many very anxious men will ask if you want a motorcycle ride to Buscalan; apparently there is a van that you can wait for, but we opted to take the men up on their offer. For 100 pesos we each got on the back of a dirtbike, and away we went scrambling up the muddy road towards Buscalan.

After 20 minutes or so you will arrive at the guide checkpoint. Every group needs a guide, which costs 1000 pesos per day. Guides can take up to 5 people, so if you want to split this cost make sure that you form a group BEFORE YOU ARRIVE! We tried to form a group of 4 with another couple but the guides wouldn’t let us. Arrive together and they will let you.

Your guide will then take you on a 45-minute hike down and back up a ravine to the village. Hopefully you packed light, because this hike has a LOT of uphill steps. It’s gorgeous though, through forest and over streams, and finally into the compact warren of alleyways and houses that is Buscalan. Your guide will then attempt to go door-to-door and find you a place to stay. Every homestay is 300 pesos per night, per head, and all of the families are very friendly. You will be welcomed into the place, shown your bed, and offered coffee and rice. Welcome to tribal life!

*Getting tatted up

People who show up at Buscalan fall into two categories: You only want Apo’s signature 3 dots (and get your main design done by one of her apprentices) or you want Apo to do your entire piece. Most people opt for this first option as the apprentices are faster, cheaper, and their tattoos are more likely to be tidier. If this is up your alley, or if you don’t have much time to wait around, you can arrive in Buscalan in the morning, get tatted in the afternoon, get Apo’s signature the next morning, then leave that same day. We wanted to get a full design by Apo, so this is what you need to know:

When you register at the guide checkpoint they will ask you how many people are getting tattoos; make sure to tell them as this determines you place in line. We arrived on Friday and were told that she would be available to give us full tattoos on either Sunday afternoon or Monday morning. To be honest our places in line weren’t completely honored. On Sunday morning we checked in with Apo’s helpers and they said she wasn’t tattooing today, so we took off to another village for a birthday celebration (more on that later). Apparently she changed her mind, as we were told later that evening that two Canadians arrived in the afternoon, found Apo completely available, and get whole pieces done by her right then. What a stroke of luck, eh?!

So if you can hangout near Apo’s house all day, every day, you might get snuck in earlier than expected. Your guide is your best friend for these situations, as they can talk directly to Apo. Be friendly to your guide and they fight for your spot.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FOR THE FULL BLOG POST (and more info) VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT
www.Traveling2Knowhere.com
FOLLOW OUR INSTAGRAM @traveling2knowhere
SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE INTERESTING VIDEOS!
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