Buscalan is a mountain village in Kalinga, in the Luzon Cordilleras. It is the home of Butbut tribe, who used to be fierce headhunters.

Understand

Buscalan is very friendly and the hike up is breathtaking. It may be cold at night so bring a jacket.

The village is the home of Apo Whang Od (pronounced "fang-odd"), the last tattoo artist (mambabatok) of the Butbut tribe.

Get in

From Banaue, take a van to Bontoc, and ask the driver to drop you off near Bontoc Public Market. From there, walk to the Mountain Province State Polytechnic College and find the jeepney to Buscalan beside the college. From the drop-off point, you can hire a local guide to take you on a 1½-hour trek to the village.

From Tabuk, take a jeep or bus to Bontoc or Tinglayan across from Saint William’s Cathedral. It will take about 3 hours to get to the drop-off point for the 1½-hour trek.

Do

• Get a tattoo. Apo Whang Od was very old in 2020, so it will take her a long time to do a tattoo for you. Other people in the village are also do traditional tattooing.

Eat

If you bring food (e.g., a live chicken) or buy it in the village, your host family will be happy to serve it to you. The people are very accommodating and if you stay the night, they will likely cook you supper and make coffee.

Sleep

There are no hotels or inns, but you can arrange to stay with local families offer their home for tourists for a reasonable amount.