Saud Beach, Pagudpud
Saud Beach, Pagudpud

Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte – Tours & Attractions

Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte – Tours and Attractions

Asking yourself what to do in Pagudpud? Things to do in Pagudpud? Or, where to go in Pagudpud? When in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte, these are pretty much the standard attractions and sights to see in the Pagudpud Ilocos Norte tour itinerary as all of these are included in the southern and northern Pagudpud tricycle tours we’ve taken.

You can also take in all these attractions and sights as part of your wider, DIY, northern Luzon road trip itinerary, which we’ve done recently, driving with our friends from Manila all the way to Pagudpud, and taking in the sights along the way through the provinces of La Union, Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte.

Finally, they’re also in the itinerary of the Ilocos bus and van tour packages you’ll find on the internet that includes other towns and cities like Vigan and Laoag.

The Pagudpud Ilocos Norte Northern Tour

Paraiso ni Anton – Who is Anton? Details are sketchy, though some say he was a former local government functionary. Nothing much to see here, really. Ten minutes here and you are good to go. This is a mountainside stream by the Pan-Philippine Highway on the way to Santa Praxedes. There is a religious grotto and a few stalls selling food and souvenir trinkets. Commuter jeeps and buses passing through make this spot a stopover for refreshments. Reputedly miraculous, commuters and tourists fill their flasks and bottles with water from the stream.

Paraiso ni Anton, Pagudpud
Paraiso ni Anton, Pagudpud

Agua Grande Picnic Park – Set up around an estuary teeming with boulders, where the Agua Grande river from the Cordilleras feed out into Pasaleng Bay. Across the street, there’s a mini hydro-electric plant ran by the Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative to harness the Agua Grande’s power. Unless you actually plan on picnicking here, a half an hour should be tops. This is possibly a good location for getting a nice photo of the sunrise.

Agua Grande Picnic Park, Pagudpud
Agua Grande Picnic Park, Pagudpud

Patapat Viaduct is about 3 kilometers from the Pan-Philippine Highway and Barangay Balaoi junction. The winding 1.2 kilometer ocean-side Patapat Viaduct, rising several meters high, sits at the northern base of the Cordillera mountain range. Very picturesque.

The Patapat Viaduct, Pagudpud
The Patapat Viaduct, Pagudpud

Bantay Abot Cave – In Ilocano, bantay = mountain, abot = hole, so there you go – mountain hole. Not actually a cave. The hole’s diameter is pretty wide, you could fit 2 storeys into it. Bantay Abot is just by the road in Sitio Gaoa, Barangay Balaoi in Pagudpud. It’s about 1.5 kilometers away from the Blue Lagoon (Maira-ira).

Bantay Abot Cave, Pagudpud
Bantay Abot Cave, Pagudpud

Timmangtang Rock – Maybe a couple hundred meters up the road from the Bantay Abot Caves. Coupled together, locals say Bantay Abot Cave and Timmangtang Rock are called Lover’s Rock. Heh 🙂

Timmangtang Rock, Pagudpud
Timmangtang Rock, Pagudpud

Dos Hermanos Islands – Right in front of Surfville and Casa Consuelo. Fortunately, we were staying at Casa Consuelo so we opted out of this tour stop and had more time for the other stops. When the tide is low in the morning, you’ll be able to hop and skip your way over the reefs until you get to the Dos Hermanos Islands.

The Dos Hermanos Islands as seen from atop the hill behind Casa Consuelo, Pagudpud
The Dos Hermanos Islands as seen from atop the hill behind Casa Consuelo, Pagudpud

Kabigan Falls – A scenic 20-30 minute trek through rice fields and a forested area to get to this 20 meter, or so, waterfall. You’ll probably spend the longest time here if you choose to take a dip in its cool waters.

Saud Beach – The beach that put Pagudpud on the travel/tourist map. Opt out of this if your resort’s in Saud beach.

Saud Beach, Pagudpud
Saud Beach, Pagudpud

The Blue Lagoon (Maira-ira Beach) – The alternative to Saud Beach. Equally beautiful. Opt out of this if your resort’s in this area.

The Blue Lagoon (Maira-ira Beach), Pagudpud
The Blue Lagoon (Maira-ira Beach), Pagudpud

Start your tour early and you can comfortably round up all these Pagudpud Northern Tour attractions in in a day.

The standard rate for the Pagudpud Northern tricycle tour is PHP 750.00 (USD 17.00).

The Pagudpud Ilocos Norte Southern Tour

Bangui Windmills – The wind farm, located in the Municipality of Bangui, Ilocos Norte and officially known as the NorthWind Power Project, is comprised of 20 windmills, each 70 meters high, laid out in a single row along the shore of Bangui Bay, facing the West Philippine Sea. The clean wind energy produces 33 megawatts providing 40% of the power needs of Ilocos Norte.

The Bangui Windmills
The Bangui Windmills

On our last visit to Pagudpud, the construction of the Burgos Wind Farm Project was underway in the neighboring town of Burgos and so was, we heard, the Caparispisan Wind Farm in the town of Pagudpud.

If you’re coming from Pagudpud, the Bangui Windmills are about 22 kilometers away and almost thrice that distance if you’re coming from Laoag City.

Wake up early and make this the first stop of your Pagudpud Southern Tour as the rising sun casts a beautiful light against the windmills.

Kapurpurawan Rock Formation – About 10 highway kilometers from the Bangui Windmills and then another 4 kilometers down a real dusty dirt road to the rocky and distinctly sculpted outcrop known as the Kapurpurawan Rock Formation on the coast of Burgos town, Ilocos Norte. Kapurpurawan is Ilocano for “whiteness” hence the name for the smooth and white limestone formations, formed by ages of strong winds other weathering elements.

The Kapurpurawan Rock Formation
The Kapurpurawan Rock Formation

Cape Bojeador Lighthouse – Another 10 kilometers south from Kapurpurawan and we’re at the Cape Bojeador Lighthouse aka the Burgos Lighthouse in the town of Burgos, Ilocos Norte. Built high on a hill overlooking Cape Bojeador since galleon times on March 30, 1892 – it is still functioning as a nautical guide, albeit via solar power.

Cape Bojeador Lighthouse aka the Burgos Lighthouse
Cape Bojeador Lighthouse aka the Burgos Lighthouse

Okay, so the attractions in the Pagudpud Southern Tour are actually not in Pagudpud, as you might have noticed.

The standard rate for the Pagudpud Southern tricycle tour is also PHP 750.00 (US$ 17.00). However, tricycle drivers from the towns of Burgos and Bangui, where the attractions are located, have figured out that they’re not getting their fair share of the tour pie revenue, since most tourists taking the tricycle tours are staying in Pagudpud beach resorts. So what happened was – and this wasn’t disclosed to us beforehand –  we had to switch to a local tricycle and pay an additional amount which I can’t recall. A sharing system is being threshed out according to our Pagudpud driver, hopefully something that’s fair to them and fair to travelers as well.

For more information on Pagudpud, check out our Pagudpud Travel Guide.

Have you seen these Pagudpud Ilocos Norte attractions? What did you think of them?