Calle Crisologo, Ilocos Sur Travel Guide

Calle Crisologo, Vigan, Ilocos Sur, Philippines

I have simple dreams that may seem funny or absurd for most people. I’ve always wanted to do a pictorial in tollways and expressways (which will only happen if there’s a zombie apocalypse and their operations will be shut down). I also want to take photos of rides in an amusement park at night without any people at all inside its premises. And I’ve been meaning to do a street photography of Calle Crisologo in the evening when there are no more photobombers in my frame. And I finally did.

Located in Vigan City, a UNESCO World Heritage City and one of the New7Wonders Cities of the World, Calle Crisologo is unarguably the most photographed and most popular tourist attraction in all of Ilocos Sur.

Its cobblestone path, dotted with old houses and establishments, is a perfect haven to do long exposure photography at night as the gloomy tinge of lights adds that rustic yet beautiful aura to a photographer’s composition.

Old but certainly classic.
However, it would have been much better if the authorities in charge of regulating the place have retained the natural colors of houses along Calle Crisologo.

The use of modern-day paint applied to doors and windows kind of ruins the conventional architectural designs of this Spanish colonial legacy. At least some of the contemporary colors somehow won’t ruin your photos at night.

It feels as if you’ve been transported back in time as you explore this street that witnessed history for hundreds of years since the Spanish occupation.

Calle Crisologo has always been a side trip for people visiting Ilocos Norte, Abra and nearby municipalities of Ilocos Sur.

I first set foot here in 2013 during my Ilocandia Tour with my workmates. Boy was I so shocked to see a gazillion number of tourists during that time. We toured Ilocos Norte first that weekend and Vigan was our last stop the next day. After roaming around nearby museums, we headed to Calle Crisologo. If my memory serves me true, I gave up and only took five photos or so because I couldn’t get a shot without photobombers. We just strolled to check out souvenir items.

Another thing that I don’t like are the souvenir shops along Calle Crisologo. There are even bars with loud music at night. Wouldn’t it be nice to see it intact and preserved without any clutter at all? They could just relocate these stores to other alleys parallel to this street.

I went back here in 2014 when I joined an organized travel event in Abra. It was our last stop in our itinerary before going back to Manila. It was a Sunday so I was no longer stunned to see the place populated by tons of tourists.

Fast forward to 2018, my friend and I decided to do a day tour of the northern municipalities of Ilocos Norte such as Pagudpud. After exploring Burgos, Bangui and Pagudpud, we got on a bus bound for Vigan at 5:00 in the afternoon. We arrived at Ilocos Sur Provincial Capitol before 9:00 PM. Boy was I so famished so we walked a few meters to get to the stalls of food selling empanada fronting Mcdonald’s.

Since Calle Crisologo is just around the corner, we decided to go there on foot. Some souvenir shops were still open while some were about to close. We noticed a few groups of people passing by. Some would stop to take a photo or so.

I set up my camera for my most awaited moment in Vigan. It was a dream come true.

I found it way easier to pose without any photobombers in my frames because it was already 10:00 in the evening.

The ambience was pretty much different to what I was used to during my prior visits here.

To be honest, for someone with a sixth sense, it felt as though the place was becoming creepier minute by minute, considering it devoid of any tourists.

It was unarguably eerie for me as we continued wandering the quiet corners of this street.

Walking along this famous cobblestone path at night, virtually deserted except from us was indeed one for the books.

It was creepy yet an undeniably awesome experience. Visiting Calle Crisologo late in the evening was definitely worth it.

We finished our pictorial by 11:30 PM. We walked towards the direction of the capitol and hopped on a tricycle that took us to the terminal of buses en route to Manila.