World Art Utopia

Hanging Coffins of Sagada — Kankanaey community

Old wooden coffins, some painted with names, are tied to a limestone cliff face high above the forest in Echo Valley, Sagada, in the Philippines
Artwork FileSagada, Philippines

Hanging Coffins of Sagada

SeenDec 2025

Kankanaey community · Sagada, Philippines

Photo: Andrewhaimerl / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

In Sagada, in the mountains of northern Luzon in the Philippines, the dead are laid in hand-carved coffins tied or nailed to the sides of cliffs. The custom of the Igorot people is believed to be centuries old, and the hanging coffins of Echo Valley are now a visitor attraction. Source Source Source Reported

Seen Dec 2025. Evidence date: 2025-12-02. Source Reported

💡 4 things to know

  1. Closer to the ancestorsOne common belief, Rough Guides writes, is that moving the dead higher up brings them closer to their ancestral spirits. Source Reported
  2. A reported ancient traditionBBC Travel says the ritual is believed to date back 2,000 years; the elderly carve their own coffins. Source Reported
  3. A continuing traditionIn its 2018 report, the BBC quoted guide Siegrid Bangyay naming 2010 as the latest cliff burial. Rough Guides says the practice continues occasionally; neither is a current burial register. Source Source Reported
  4. A day of restOn 1 December 2025 Echo Valley and the hanging coffins closed for a day so residents could hold the sagangsang gathering, Philstar reports. Source Reported

📍 Where it is

Echo Valley, Sagada, Mountain Province · Sagada, Philippines Source Reported

Open in Maps

Map pin is approximate; use the named site or address to locate the work.

🗓️ Sightings

  1. 200912 Feb

    Photo of coffins on the Sagada cliff · camera date

  2. 20158 Jun

    Photo of the cliff-side coffins · camera date

  3. 20186 Apr

    BBC Travel feature on the custom

  4. 201913 Jan

    Photo of the hanging coffins · camera date

  5. 20252 Dec

    Sites closed one day for sagangsang · Philstar

Green stamps mark dated photographs; amber stamps mark records or reports; red stamps mark removal. Publication dates are not camera dates.

✅ The facts

People
Igorot (Kankanaey) of Sagada Source Checked
Location
Echo Valley, Sagada, Mountain Province Source Checked
Age of the custom
Believed 2,000 years Source Reported
Latest burial in 2018 report
2010, according to guide Siegrid Bangyay in the BBC’s April 2018 report; not a current last-burial date. Source Reported
Fixing
Tied or nailed to the side of a cliff Source Checked
One-day closure
1 December 2025, for the sagangsang Source Checked
Reported frequency
Rough Guides describes occasional burials; the article is not a current burial register. Source Reported

More photos

Hanging coffins in Sagada, January 2019
2019-01-13 · Hanging coffins in Sagada, January 2019 · Photo: Виктор Пинчук / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

In the press

BBC Travel · 2018-04-06
“According to Bangyay, the last cliff burial took place in 2010.” Source Reported

Philstar · 2025-12-02
“The temporary closure was made to allow communities to hold their annual cultural gathering called sagangsang” Source Reported

🔗 Related

All sources & image credits

Photo: Andrewhaimerl / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Last checked: 26 October 2026 · How we verify art