“Looking where to relax alone or with a group? After a hectic-tiresome works, your mind needs peace and tranquility! SAYOCOCNA PICNIC GROVE is the answer. – Dionie Chungalan, Tourism Advocate
That is a truism permeates the innermost being of a tired soul; tired from work, tired of the worries of the world. Come to this place of solitude and tranquility.
Coming to this place is like visiting a place in another planet.
Sayococna Picnic Grove is a 15-minutes hike from the national road in Barangay Banao, Natonin bounded on the south by Kadaclan, once a cluster of barangays this place originally belongs.
The perimeters of the place is full of banana plantation, both the normal and the Abaca or the wild, extending up to 50 hectares until the tip of the hill and forest.
There is also a mini-fish park that hosts the fish varieties of “paltat” and tilapia. It is here where the minds take a breather amidst the horizon of hills and forests one gazes through across the national road.
It hosts a five-hectare area planted mostly with bananas and coconuts. Animals such as sheep and native chickens loiter around the premises. It could be more as accordingly to Mr. Dionie Chungalan, the proprietor and manager, they have yet to measure it.
The sprawling area also hosts many cottages and lodging facilities for visitors and tourists trekking to the place.
In Sayococna Picnic Grove, one finds a spot that is conducive to listening, singing, meditating to begin a spiritual journey in quietness.
“Sayococna Festival of Nature: What count most in life is the loveliness of living in paradise – like an encounter at Sayococna; a quiet and tranquil moments of rest that time trickle in a twinkling of an eye to heavenly eternal feeling of perfect salvation of peace by yourself, since by the time you visit this place called “Sayococna” – again and again you will never forget because you have experience an art of love – the art of celebrating . . . the festival of nature.” – Dionie Chungalan
We spent the night in the place. On the second day, we trekked up to see the “King of the Rocks” at the zenith of Mount Patikking with a majestic viewpoint of Natonin including the magnificent rice terraces and most of the barangays.
One is greeted by an “elephant head” rock in the uphill climb. Once on top of the head, one finds time that transcends all and everything to be with God in heavenly prayer ultimately, communing with nature.
Mayor Anthony Wooden, who was with the group, took the opportunity to pray to God while positioned on top of the “elephant head”.
Koreans, Japanese, and local tourists were among the group that graced the launching activity for both the Sayococna Picnic Grove and the Mount Patikking, headed by Takashi Fukuda, a frequent visitor to Kadaclan for more than 30 years.
Invitations were floated for everyone to come to the occasion but few chose to come but, indeed, it was an occasion surely missed.
Swooping down Sayococna, on our return, took us another hour through another trail that the way going up. It was really a relaxing experience to behold.
Mount Pattiking, as the legend has it, is where the “tikke” or a large eagle-like bird watched over the municipality and scoured for preys while stationed thereat.
Then the battle of the bird and the monkeys ensued with the trees uprooted from the large boulder to reveal the elephant head look-a-like.
That is how it became a legendary “King of the Rocks”, as it is called today.
// Roger Sacyaten & Erwin S. Batnag
