Banaue Heritage Hotel: A Bit of Glamming Up, Living It Up beside a Priceless Museum

Banaue Heritage Hotel Entrance

It was almost two years ago when we found ourselves here at the Banaue Heritage Museum in Bissang, Tam-an and that time, I wrote about our encounter with the supernatural.  Fastforward to a few weeks ago when we got news (plus an invite to a preview) that the inn adjoining the wonderful museum is now a full-pledged heritage hotel which is indeed, a wonderful development.   

Travelers to Banaue and adjoining places in the province can now enjoy what I call a "luxed-up/glammed-up" choice in terms of accommodations.  The government-run institution, Banaue Hotel, still has traces of grandeur but in much need of upgrades and improvements so a place like the Banaue Heritage Hotel is indeed a welcome addition.

Banaue Birding: Seeing A Philippine Hawk Eagle and Another Lifer in the Boondocks

Aethopyga pulcherrima / Metallic Winged Sunbird

Philippine Coucal

A recent invite for a short trip to Banaue to preview a renovated inn-turned-hotel became a welcome respite from the city, escape the traffic, and go nature-tripping.  We were looking forward to perhaps catching the tail-end of the migration season, when the birds from northern climes are still here for the warmer weather.  

If we were lucky, we may get to see the Philippine Coucal (Centropus viridis), locally called Sabukot, that we first spotted and photographed two years back in the hillside garden of the DDD Habitat / Banaue Heritage Hotel in Bissang, Tam-an.  Or if we get really, really lucky, maybe we can spot a lifer or two.  The first one was not meant to be.  But the second prospect is what happened in our short trip to the boondocks.