Rice farmers and highlanders to the outside world, fierce warriors at heart. These are the people of Kalinga, in the far-flung North, where small villages dot verdant mountains and indigenous culture rules.

• Drive by the legendary Sleeping Beauty mountain range consisting of Mount Patukan, Mating-oy Dinayao and Mantingoy, whose silhouette resembles that of a woman in repose.
• Pass through the sleepy town of Tinglayan, home to tattooed women and warriors from the Bangad, Basaso, Butbut, Dananoao, Tinglayan and Sumadel tribes.
• Visit the village of Buscalan and pay your respects to the legendary Whang-Od (Fang-Od), the last of the Mambabatoks or tattoo masters, a true artist of the Butbut tribe.
• Body art aficionados can get inked by Whang-Od or her apprentices, who use a traditional razor-edged lemon thorn, a bamboo hammer and soot.