Near Sagada lives the Kankanaey people, who have a really unique funeral custom. Instead of burying coffins in the ground, they either hang them on cliff faces or place them in caves.

Traditionally, the deceased were placed in coffins in the fetal position (as you came, so you go). But after Christians arrived in the Philippines, coffin sizes got bigger.

Not everyone gets hung though. Only those with special merit. The higher the coffin, the more important the person. Ordinary folks get arranged in caves.

Tourists are only allowed at one of these cemeteries and only with a guide. The rest aren't open to visitors. Even locals only go there if they need to bury someone else.

The guide told us they don't always bury people after they've already died. Sometimes living people end up in the cemetery. Usually it's by their own choice—due to illness or other reasons.

PS. There's a coffee plantation near the cemetery. I stopped by and the coffee was nothing special, but the owner honestly admitted she prefers tea and doesn't really drink coffee much.

And honestly, the Philippines just isn't a coffee place. At a café here they offered me coffee for breakfast and brought me a cup of hot water and a packet of instant coffee 🙈 (though it's not like this everywhere—in big cities it's acceptable, but step slightly off the beaten path and that's what you get)