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• The Search for Best Tourism Village aims to recognize the important role of tourism villages in ushering in a more sustainable, responsible, equitable, and participatory rural tourism development.
• The Cordillera Administrative Region, located inside the islands of Luzon, is an administrative demesne consisting of 6 provinces: Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga, and Mountain Province.
• The regional center of the Cordillera Administrative Region is the highly urbanized city of Baguio.
• According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the Cordillera Administrative Region is the least populous region in the Philippines, with a population less than that of the city of Manila.
• During the Spanish colonization of the Philippines, Christianization and subsequent subjugation of the mountain region proved difficult for the Spanish colonial authorities.
• On June 18, 1966, Republic Act No. 4695 was enacted to split Mountain Province and create four separate and independent provinces namely Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga-Apayao, and Mountain Province.
• After the declaration of martial law by Ferdinand Marcos in 1972, the region became the focus of militarization.
• The region was formally established on July 15, 1987, and serves as a home to multiple and diverse ethnic backgrounds and communities.
• Republic Act No. 7878 was passed on February 14, 1995, dividing Kalinga-Apayao, one of the region's five provinces, into the independent provinces of Apayao and Kalinga.
• The Cordillera Administrative Region has a total size of 19,422.03 square kilometers, is predominantly mountainous, located in the Cordillera Central Mountain range, and is known as both the highest and the single largest mass of mountains in the entire Philippine archipelago.
• Gotad Ad Ifugao is an annual Cultural Festival of the Province of Ifugao conducted with the primordial goal to promote, protect, preserve, and perpetuate the Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Practice (IKSP) of the Ifugao People.
• Tapay, also known as the “Igorot’s Rice Wine”, is served to visitors or used for cooking and is feasted upon during special occasions.
• Kiniwar is a sticky rice dish similar to Biko, another sweet sticky rice dish.
• Pinuneg or blood sausage is a delicacy unique to the Benguet Kankanaey and is traditionally served after a ritual or ceremony.
• Ullalim Festival is a tourism and industry promotional event for three days (February 13-16) showcasing the rich cultural heritage of the people and their bountiful natural resources.
• Pinikpikan came from the word pikpik, meaning to lightly beat before cooking, according to the Igorots, the beating brings blood to the surface of the chicken’s flesh, thus improving the flavor of the chicken after cooking.
• Panagbenga Festival is a month-long annual flower occasion in Baguio, Philippines, created as a tribute to the city's flowers and as a way to rise from the devastation of the 1990 Luzon earthquake.
• Traditions of indigenous people have been interdependent with their natural environment as they regard the symbiotic relationship with the ecological system as something to be enhanced and nurtured for the common good and for the continued survival of all.
• Strawberry Taho is a refreshing and satisfying sweet treat made with silken tofu, arnibal, and fresh strawberries.
• The Cordillera Administrative Region is well-known for its abundant mineral reserves, including gold and copper, which may be found along the mining belt that runs the length of the mountain range.
• The Cordillera's soil is typically rich.
• The Cordillera Administrative Region has two cities, Baguio City and Tabuk City, and 6 provinces, namely Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga, and Mountain Province.
• Apo Whang-Od Ongay is a well-known “mambabatok” or tattoo artist from the village of Buscalan, Kalinga, known as the last and oldest “mambabatok” in the Philippines.
• The Sagada people have been practicing such burials for over 2,000 years, however not everyone is qualified to be buried this way; among other things, one had to have been married and had grandchildren.
• Traditional tattoos were viewed as a cruel rite of passage, adornment for the body, protection from evil spirits, bravery, a visible indicator of one's political and religious allegiance, and a status or wealth symbol.
• The region is renowned for its diversified ethnolinguistic characteristics, making it like immersing yourself in a symphony of languages, where conversations and stories are told in a variety of dialects that have thrived through generations.
• The indigenous people of the Cordilleras hold a high regard for their natural environment, which has become the base of their life, spirituality, ethnicity, culture, traditions, customs, and identity as a people and their distinct collectivity.
• These are some of the dialects that Cordillerans use: Balangao for Natonin, Mountain Province, Bontoc for Bontoc, Mountain Provine, Ibaloi spoken in Benguet, Ifugao spoken in Ifugao, Ilocano (the regions’ lingua franca), Isnag spoken in Apayao, Itneg spoken in Abra, Kalinga spoken in Kalinga, Kalanguya spoken in Benguet, Kankanaey is spoken in Western Mountain Province and other parts of Benguet.
• Hanging coffins are a common, old-fashioned method of interment in Sagada, Mountain Province, a practice that the Sagada people have been practicing for over 2,000 years.
• DOT Cordillera Begins Search for 'Best Tourism Village'.
• There are seven major ethnolinguistic groups or peoples in the Cordilleras: the Kankanaeys, the Bontocs, the Kalingas, the Ifugaos, the Tingguians, the Apayao or Isneg, and the Ibaloy.
• Sedey is a solemn ritual observed among the Ibaloi and Kankanaey peoples of Benguet, performed for various reasons, with its main purpose being to heal people in the village through the use of water and prayer.
• The best time to visit the farm is from March to May when the strawberries are in season.
• Banaue Rice Terraces in Ifugao were carved on the mountains about 2,000 years ago by the ancestors of the present-day Philippines.
• Private car travel time is usually 4 to 5 hours away if you drive your own car for the trip.
• The cave has a wide opening, reminiscent of a cathedral’s dome where the sight of stunning stalactite and stalagmite rock formations are found.
• Known as the 8th Natural Wonder of the World by many Filipinos.
• Abra Piwek Rock Formations are a cluster of white rocks and boulders along the river.
• The Strawberry Farm in La Trinidad is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the area.
• Sulfur Hills in Kalinga lie on the lower slopes of Mt. Binuluan and can be reached by trekking on hunter’s trails for hours.