24/10/2014
Published in lifestyle.inquirer.net
Main attraction
The main tourist attraction of the city, and possibly of the whole province, is the Ilagan Sanctuary, covering four barangays in Fuyo Spring National Park at the foothills of Northern Sierra Madre, 10 minutes drive from the city proper. A helpful guide to this place is Carla Suzette Vargas from the City Tourism Office, a bubbly person with an arsenal of information.
The place has a mini zoo of Sierra Madre wildlife (a must-see is the hair-raising wild boar), plus two Bengal tigers (brought here as cubs, then a few months later, on a diet of chicken, have grown into monstrosities.)
BOATING at Ilagan Sanctuary
There is a botanical garden, a butterfly sanctuary, and an herbal plantation. An essential-oil extraction project has been put up here by the city government and the Department of Science and Technology, a livelihood project that’s also intended for students and teachers of science classes.
The place also offers wall-climbing and rappelling; swimming pool, picnic areas; boating, horseback and bicycle rides; fish pond and parks (adopted and developed by nongovernment organizations).
Natural world
One of the biggest draws is the zip line, 72 ft high and 350 ft long, hovering over a meadow at a maximum speed of 15 seconds. Its platform is set on top of a hill 700 ft above the ground, thus the gravitational pull is stronger. Zipping at 80 km/hr, it is reportedly the fastest in the country.
For the faint-hearted, an open-sided cable car runs parallel to the zip line. A little farther is a hanging bridge over the treetops.
Or one may leisurely trek to the nearby waterfalls and caves, including a bat cave. The biggest is a nine-chambered one the size of a chapel, with stalactites and stalagmites, naturally formed lattices, shining rocks of various shapes and sizes glowing like crystals in the dark.
Seldom can one experience the natural world within city limits as one does here. Tourists flock not only to Pinzal Falls and Sta. Victoria Caves but also to Abuan River, said to be one of the cleanest bodies of water in Luzon, where the outdoorsy may shoot the rapids and wander the wilderness by rafting or kayaking.
Read more: http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/174837/isabela-uncovered
