​You never forget your first cloud inversion.

All I could see in the darkness of the woods in pre-dawn was the head torch of my pal bobbing about as she jogged up the track towards me. "Look at that!" She screamed excitedly. She was actually jumping as she ran so she could see over the bushes at the view. She was pointing over my shoulder to the sunrise she had clearly seen before I did. When I turned to see it, I knew exactly what she was so excited about.

If you think about God looking down on the world, you might imagine something like this. Mountain tops bathed in the pink and orange of the newly rising sun poking through a carpet of clouds that completely covered the valley below.

Sure, I took the selfies and posed for the photos like a hundred times on this trip. But not before the scene took my breath away, caught my heart, and left me with a moment that will be with me forever.

Kiltepan is a beauty spot in the Mountain Province in the north of Luzon, the island which hosts its capital city — Manila — and the largest of the islands which make up the Philippines.

My best pal Linda and I had travelled from the UK to the Philippines as part of our job. We worked for a Global Telecommunications Company that had a Repair Centre in the Clark Special Economic Zone about 70Km north of Manila.

We decided to take the opportunity to get to know something about the country and its people while we were there and asked our friends at the Repair Centre where would be good to visit. As soon as the work was finished a group of our friends crammed into a minivan with us and we started heading north to the Mountain Province.

The drive from Manila takes about 12 hours and becomes both spectacular and hair-raising as you begin to wind through the narrow paths of the Mountain Province with huge drops to one side. Sometimes even driving over the frequent landslides which happen in the region every other day.

Among the main attractions in the Mountain Province of Luzon are the Hanging Coffins of Sagada and the Rice Terraces of Banaue. A steep descent along a narrow cliff path with some scrambling is needed to reach the site of the Hanging Coffins but is definitely well worth the effort. The Rice Terraces, accessible by road, were much easier to reach but equally spectacular to see.

There's plenty to do in the region and we easily filled a 3-day itinerary. Apart from being randomly invited to a local wedding in Sagada, we also managed trekking, swimming below a waterfall, caving, and plenty of sightseeing.

Accommodation is basic by western standards but definitely comfortable. As I have found in all the places I have visited in the Philippines, the welcome and the hospitality from the local people is absolutely world-class and the trip held memories to last a lifetime.

Originally published at http://inspirationthroughadventure.com on April 6, 2015...