Going to Sagada was a fun experience albeit a tiring one. We had to endure hours of being inside the van as well as hours of climbing and hiking just to get to see the hanging coffins at the Echo Valley.

Hanging Coffins at the Echo Valley

The last coffin that was added to these group was in December 2010. It’s the brown coffin that you can see at the lower part of the picture. If you are wondering why there’s a cross there, some of the “residents” are actually Christian who would like to be buried the traditional way. If you are wondering what the chairs are for, these chairs were used in a ritual and was where the dead person was made to sit for days. If you are wondering why some of the coffins are small, it is because part of the Igorot’s burial rituals required the dead people to be in a fetal position.

Here’s one coffin at Echo Valley. This is not part of the group of hanging coffins in the first picture. You can see this coffin by going down Echo Valley right before you get to the area where the hanging coffins are. If you look closely at the actual coffin, you would be able to see the ones inside. There is one bone that has already fallen on the cave floor. The tour guide explained that there used to be many coffins in the snall cove at the foot of the Echo Valley. Unfortunately, a number of grave robbers have taken these bones.

Some of these “apartments” are tagged as “For Exhumation”. These are for those who are not up-to-date in their payments (I wonder where they place the bones). Yes, even in death you have to pay rent.

This, on the other hand, is the final resting place of one of the renowned boxers of the Philippines whose name escapes me right now. In my stupidity, I forgot to take the name and was relying on the picture which, unfortunately, was taken too far.

This is the final resting place of some of the bishops/ archbishops of Manila. We also found out that a lot of the religious orders bury their dead in La Loma.

La Loma Cemetery is a pretty laid-back cemetery as compared to the Manila North Cemetery. Here, you can take a leisure walk without having to worry about your bag or your cellphone or you smashing into a running kid. The streets are also wider and the tombs are much more creepy! (read: BIGGGGG mausoleums!)

Josefa Llanes Escoda is one of those interred here albeit in an unmarked grave.  The La Loma Cemetery is one those areas that served as an execution site by the Japanese during the second World War.

The Manila North Cemetery is famous since it houses several famous people such as:

• Diosdado Macapagal
• Ramon Magsaysay and his immediate family members
• Manuel Roxas
• Sergio Osmeña
• Claro M. Recto
• Antonio Villegas, a Manila mayor
• Arsenio Lacson, another Manila mayor
• Fernando Poe, Jr.
• Pancho Villa
• Francis Harrison (yes, the governor-general!)
• Jose Maria Basa, one of Jose Rizal’s friends
• Doña Sisang of the LVN pictures
• Marcelo del Pilar
• Julio and Juan Nakpil
• Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo
• Gregoria de Jesus-Nakpil – wife of Andres Boniacio who later became the wife of Julio Nakpil (I did not know this one!)
• Pedro Paterno

You can check the complete list at the Manila North Cemetery Web Page.

We found this hidden near the Jewish graveyard.

This actually forms the center part of the graveyard

I honestly did not know that Manila North Cemetery has a graveyard for Jews. It was hidden near the Mousoleo de los Veteranos de la Revolucion.

We were actually aiming for the names listed. Oh well!

Huseng Batute’s final resting place. He is known for his poem “Bayan ko” (Panitikang Pilipino!)

The final resting place of Francis Harrison, An American Governor-General.

The Manila North Cemetery is also known for being the final resting place of the Boy Scouts who met an accident on their way to a jamboree. They were the same scouts whose names have been immortalized by the streets of Quezon City. Aside from this, Manila North Cemetery also holds the remains of some of the American teachers who came to the Philippines and helped improved the educational system.

Other sights – next to the graveyard for those who dies in war (I believe it’s the Spanish-American War, although I’m not quite sure), you can see the final resting place of cops who were killed in the line of duty.