The Climb at the Stone Kingdom

It's Wednesday and it's time for a walk or should I say hike? There's a place somewhere in the city with lots of stones, literally. It is built with rocks of different sizes and shapes. And the very reason why it is named the 'Igorot Stone Kingdom.'

Are you ready? Don't worry, we've got entry tickets. So let's go!

The place is located in Pinsao Proper in the City of Baguio. It was our first time going so we didn't know what to expect but we did have an idea because we had seen some photos before.

Walking a few meters from the ticket booth, we got to the gateway of the Kingdom. It was a bit foggy when we arrived so the Farmboy was a bit worried that the rain might come early. "No, it won't. Or when it does, at least we would have seen a lot by then." I was very optimistic, or more like excited.

You can tell because there I was in my favorite gear, my lightweight slip-on shoes, and with my phone up as soon as I got through the entrance, LOL!

Being a weekday, there were not many people around so it was good! I didn't really like brushing with a lot of elbows when going for a walk or when visiting a place. The fewer people, the better it is for me.

Anyhow, I was in awe at the sight. "It's good that these structures didn't fall down during the earthquake..." I was telling the husband. "You could say those who built it are experts in the field," he said as we were looking around.

Then it was either to the right (where the castle-like structures are or toward the left with all the rocks.

Here's a panoramic shot taken while we were deciding which way to go.

Under the bridge was a board with an interesting tale of how the site came to be. The man must have been dreaming about it for years before he finally decided it was time to make it happen.

The husband thought we'd go to the left first and hike to the top of those stony structures. I didn't really mind which way we go first so I just agreed.

From this viewpoint, the sight of the piled-up rocks, beautifully arranged and built into pillars, towers, and others is breathtaking. While I was excited, the thought of walking from the base to the top of the mountain could be a challenge. But I was game so off we went!

We crossed the short bridge and started walking up following the paved paths. I like that there was a proper drainage system up there.

And we can't help looking back down from where we started. There were parts of the walkways where artificial grass had been installed. Can you spot the white bull further down?

Some areas are still being constructed but there were not any workers around. I like that they did some workaround to preserve some of the trees on the site.

They named certain spots and our guess is that the names were after some places in the owner's hometown.

There were interesting wood sculptures too. I honestly don't know what this is supposed to be. It's even wearing a g-string!

Speaking of which, these sculptures were seen on the King's Throne.

And we also saw the King's CR. The story goes that a long time ago, folks had elevated houses and they had pigs under their houses and whatever they unloaded there was a feast for the animals, lol!

In most of the structures, there were hollowed spaces in triangular shapes and one can peek through them. They were obviously placed strategically.

Some had openings at the top and one can get a glimpse of the sky when looking up.

We were enjoying the walk and before we knew it, we reached the top of the mountain! The view from there is truly a marvel.

We spent a good amount of time up there, admiring the views and taking in as much fresh air as we could. The thick fog however covered most of the nearby areas. The good thing is that it didn't rain while we were at the topmost part of the site. We could have been drenched, lol!

The climb was worth it, that's all I have to say :)

And since this post has already a lot of photos, I may share the continuation next time around.

Many thanks for walking along. Pardon the not-so-great shots. We do need to learn proper photography, haha!

Meanwhile, this is my participation in the WednesdayWalk and I thank Tattoodjay for the initiative where we can freely share our walks, hikes, or adventures and also read or see places around the world through other people's lenses.

Have a wonderful hump day everyone!