How to find the Apo Whang Od tattoo village from Manila (2026): Everything you need to know

If you’re reading this post, you likely don’t need me to tell you who Apo Whang Od is, what a Batok tattoo is or give you a short introduction to the tattoos done by the ladies of Kalinga. You’ve probably intentionally searched how to get to Buscalan because you know exactly what you want to get done, you’re just not sure on the how. 

The Apo Whang Od tattoo village of Busclan is tucked up in the Kalinga province in the north of the Philippines, a couple of hours from the banaue rice terraces that feature on the country’s currency. Public transport isn’t the greatest in the Philippines, so it’s not the easiest place to get to.

I’m here to help. I completed the journey in January of this year, so you can learn from my experience and the mistakes I made. I’ll tell you how to get there, where to stay, and give you an outline itinerary and an idea of how much you should expect the entire experience to cost.  

Getting from Manila to Buscalan – my quick answer 

To keep things simple there are 3 ways to get to Buscalan – drive yourself, take public transport or join a private tour. Driving is not recommended as the roads are narrow, not well looked after and the risk of landslide or rockfall is super high.

The easiest way to get to Buscalan, where Apo Whang Od resides, is through package tours offered by travel agencies. They offer different types of tours – some direct there and back, and some including Sagada and Ifugao side trips.  

Joining a package tour saves time as they drive directly to Buscalan. It can also be quite affordable since the entire cost of the trip is upfront. They charge from ₱3,500 (€50) to ₱7,500 (€105) per person, depending on the tour and side trips. There are plenty of them on Facebook and can easily be searched by simply typing Apo Whang Od tattoo in the search bar.  I used this one Tattooed by Apo Whang-Od

Powered by GetYourGuide

The economic option

The most economic, albeit not the simplest option is to use public transport to get to Buscalan. There are 3 main routes recommended to those undergoing the journey to find Apo Whang Od – via Sagada, via Bontoc and via Tabuk.

Some recommend going with a guide from Manila. We did this as we had a very strict schedule. But it was a complete waste of money. If you decide to go with a guide from Manila to Buscalan beware who you use. Anthony Mark was highly recommended to us by 6 or 7 people, but ghosted us last minute to go on holiday, leaving us stranded upon landing in Manila. The guy we asked to help us in emergency, Mik Rodriguez, had no clue at all what he was doing and tried to scam us out of ₱19,000. Be very careful who you chose. 

Is it possible to DIY from Manila to Buscalan? 

Oh absolutely! It’s actually quite straightforward. In fact, I recommend not bothering with a guide and going by yourself for an adventure. 

I’ll give you the most easy, fool-proof route. You’ll begin with a 10-hour overnight bus ride to Bontoc, Mountain Province. We caught the coda lines bus at 21:30 from the terminal in Cubao, Quezon City. It was fairly comfortable, but not at all easy to get sleep as we’d planned. 

From the bus terminal at Bontoc it’s a quick 3 minute walk to find the jeepney headed to Tinglayan, Kalinga – it really is just around the corner. Just head out of the terminal, turn left, follow the road past the Special Education Centre, continue past the Mountain Province State University building and find the jeepney on the corner at the crossroads. Double check they’re going to Bugnay Junction. You usually pay upfront.

The jeepney usually leaves at 07:20 and then again at 09:30. But it does wait until it’s completely full to leave. We luckily made it as the last people on that first jeepney at 07:30. It takes about 1.5 hours for the jeepney to snake its way up the mountain. There are a lot of landslides in the area making the road difficult to navigate. 

The jeepney will take you as far as the Bugnay Junction. This is where you’ll check in with the local police by signing your name in the visitor book. You’ll provide simple details like your full name, home county and a telephone number. This must be done for all guests, not just the lead.  

The final leg – whichever route you take

The second to last step is the ‘habel habel’ – a motorcycle taxi that can fit up to 3 people. An experience of itself! If one isn’t available, there will be someone with a car who can transport everyone plus backpacks for the same price. It doesn’t have quite the same appeal, but if you have 40l+ backpacks I don’t recommend more than one person per habel habel and the car is far more comfy. 

The habel habel will drop you off at ‘the Buscalan jump point’. From here there are two ways to make the final leg to the village. You can take the 137-meter-long hanging bridge and hike up, which takes around 15-25 minutes depending on fitness. Or you can take the batshit crazy car tram. We chose the latter. You’re up in barely a minute, but oh my those 70odd seconds are insane! A couple of ropes, a dodgy car engine and a metal barrel are all that keep you from a 550ft drop to instant death. 

Where to stay in Buscalan? 

Until a massive hotel is built, the only option for accommodation in the Apo Whang Od tattoo village is homestay with the locals. There are plenty of them available, so booking in advance isn’t strictly necessary.  

Facilities are quite basic. Most rooms you’ll just sleep on a thin mattress on the floor with a blanket or two, with up to 4 people per room. This is generally charged at the standard rate of ₱400 (€5.60) per person per night. Unlimited coffee and rice are provided, along with breakfast of rice, egg and coffee. Anything over the basics is charged.  

We didn’t book our homestay in advance as we were travelling towards the end of peak season and on a weekday. We knew it would be quiet. Our guide Joy also provided our homestay. She cooks a rather delicious chicken in broth! Super restorative after having your tattoo. 

There is no mobile signal in Buscalan, so you’ll be totally disconnected from the outside world if that’s what you want. Most of the homestays do have wifi and will hook you up for a daily charge. We didn’t pay as our guide and host Joy took pity on us for missing Apo Whang Od.

When is the best time to go to Buscalan village?

The Philippines have 3 seasons. Summer, from March to June, rainy season is in the months of July to October and cool-dry in November to February. Since Kalinga is in the northern part of the country expect that during the rainy season most of the typhoons will hit the province.  

Rainy season is actually the worst and riskiest time to go because the roads leading to Buscalan are landslide prone. You can also expect to be slowed considerably by the construction to repair the roads after landslides.  

Summer is a pretty perfect season for visiting Buscalan because you will just deal with the heat, but the best season is cool-dry – specifically the month of January. This month is ideal because the holiday has just ended and most people are already back to their work, so you’ll be competing with lower visitor numbers. 

While typhoon season is over, the lasting damage of landslides can still slow your journey. This is more common the further north you go.  January still sees quite cold weather in the Philippines – the temperature can drop to 15°c or even lower in the evenings and early mornings. Not standard for a tropical country. 

Increasing your chances of seeing Apo Whang Od

For day of the week, I highly recommended going there on Tuesdays and Wednesdays because there are fewer visitors. We went there on Thursday, imagining we’d get ahead of the weekend crowds. You can only imagine our disappointment when we were told Apo Whang Od was leaving the village to attend a funeral and would then spend a few days with her sister in her village.  

And that’s the risk you take when you choose the DIY route to see Apo Whang Od. The locals know when she won’t be there. If you’re lucky and you’ve pre-booked your accommodation, they’ll give you a heads up if she leaves or isn’t feeling well. But you’re almost guaranteed to get tattooed by the lady herself if you take an organised tour. The final cost isn’t all that different.  

speaking of the cost…

Powered by GetYourGuide

How much does it cost to get tattooed by Apo Whang Od?

A breakdown of the costs for the route I took is as follows.

Total costs ₱5250 (€74) – ₱9700 (€136).  

Comparing this to locally run tours that can take you from Manila to Buscalan for just ₱ 3499 per person on a 7-person tour, the DIY option can be the more expensive. Though some costs are missing from the package tours – the needle, the tattoos, wifi. Those costs add at least ₱950 to the total, making it ₱4749 total to do a package tour. And still cheaper and significantly less stressful than DIY.  

The DIY option is for the more adventurous or those who are already in the area, or those who want to stay in the area beyond getting the tattoo.  

So what would a 2 day 1 night trip to Buscalan look like?

This is my exact journey, to give you an idea of how long everything can be expected to take.  

Good luck on your own adventure

I hope this information helps you to make your dream of meeting Apo Whang Od come true. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask in a comment or a message on any of my social media channels. I wish you a safe tattoo session and a quick and healthy healing.

Check out my other Buscalan guides

• The ugly truth about the Apo Whang Od viral tattoo
• Whang Od batok tattoo healing guide

and my other Philippines guides