Known as the “stairway to heaven” and considered as the 8th wonder of the world, the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras is the most scenic cultural world heritage site I’ve ever seen in Asia.
The weather was cool, it was the month of December. I went to the Ohayami Bus station in Sampaloc, Manila en route to Ifugao on a night bus. There were more foreigners than locals, I noticed. They were struggling to position their legs comfortably because the seats were “Asian size”- there’s not enough leg room but it seemed they care less. From Manila, it will take you probably at least 9 hrs by land, with some sections of some treacherous zigzag roads that offer amazing mountain vistas of the province of Ifugao.
I arrived at the Banaue Tourism Office around 5:30 in the morning for registration- which is the first thing you need to do, and just outside, I met my guide whom I previously contacted because I intended to visit all five UNESCO sites that make the Rice Terraces of Philippine Cordilleras, spread on different municipalities within the province.
The great Ifugao people!
The five sites are the Nagacadan Rice Terraces, Mayoyao Rice Terraces, Hungduan Rice Terraces, Bangaan Rice Terraces and the crown jewel of the Rice Terraces of Philippine Cordilleras, the Batad Rice Terraces. These sites have about 2,000 years of rich history, of living cultural landscape devoted to the production of one of the world’s most important staple crops, rice. Although not uncommon in Asia, the Ifugao rice terraces is one of the most ancient, with the highest altitude (between 700m to 1,500m above sea level) and steepest slopes also, considered to be one of the most extensive having maintained remarkable harmony between mankind and a natural environment of great aesthetic appeal.
It also appears in one of the Philippine peso bills and is one of the most authentic because the rice terraces are the only monuments in the Philippines that show no evidence of having been influenced by colonial cultures. I have read somewhere that Ifugaos have resisted colonialism and because of it’s remote location, Spanish influence is not as prevalent as elsewhere. The Ifugaos were also able to preserve traditional techniques and forms, dating back two millennia, as well as demonstrating sustainable farming systems in mountainous terrain based on careful use of natural resources.
I first visited the Hungduan Rice Terraces which is near Banaue. It is famous for its sprawling spiderweb- like rice terraces design. The way to Hungduan is via road system in poor condition going uphill for about 45 minutes to one hour. It was muddy from the previous day’s rainfall and, since we used a motorcycle, I was muddy as well but I didn’t mind at all, the way going to Hungduan was very scenic to say the least. Then we did hiking of about an hour going around and in the rice terraces. I took a bath on a nearby spring as well. We also visited the local village and just wander around, amazed by the beauty and sheer size of the site. It took me the whole day visiting Hungduan and going back to Banaue.
Hungduan Rice Terraces
Hungduan Rice Terraces
Hungduan Rice Terraces
Hungduan Rice Terraces
I checked in at People’s Lodge, it’s a backpacker’s inn of reasonable price with a nice view of the Banaue Rice Terraces and the typical Ifugao village below. It was the high season so I was not surprised that it was full of other backpackers- even with other lodges and hotels. I went straight to my room to charge my phone and I noticed that there’s no sockets in the room, even at the lobby… So I made inquiries with the receptionist and she said that it’s the same thing even with other lodges. I was surprised but I said “ok” since I got no choice and, as I really need to charge my 2 phones since both were almost empty, I was forced to stay pile on a long queue of travellers waiting for their turn to charge their phones, iPads and cameras on the sockets only available at the reception table! It was such a hassle!
Good thing that even if I waited long, I didn’t feel like I’ve wasted time to see the rice terraces on my first day because it was already at dusk that I manage to get back from Hungduan. I had my dinner and the food was OK. Clearly, the menu is catered for the tourists. I had my shower thereafter and called it a day.
It was the holiday season so the Mesa de Gallo or the early morning mass is being held daily for nine consecutive mornings. The Banaue town proper is only very small, and the christmas song being played loudly at the chapel to waken up the villagers and churchgoers can be heard by the entire world! Jackson 5’s “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”, mind you, young Michael Jackson’s high pitched voice was so distinct and powerful, to say the least- it was like a boom box situated right next to you, reverberating on the halls of the lodge at 5 in the morning! It was not a good start for me to be waken up like that but, it definitely was a blessing in disguise, because all other travellers in the inn were still sleeping soundly (I don’t know how they can manage that from the loud music being played!) and so I am the ONLY one using the sockets to charge my two phones and camera all the same time! I am the only one out in the lobby having my coffee and starting my day while everyone is asleep, save for the inn personnels who were already preparing food for breakfast. It was such a luxury, trust me…
And as predictable as they are, all other travellers woken up, almost simultaneously, at 7am while I am already readying to go to my next rice terraces destination! Haha!
And that has been my routine for the next seven days! Thanks to the loud music- it was such a blessing! 🙂
Next stop is the Bangaan Rice Terraces. Located nearby the Banaue town proper, it’s the smallest of the 5 UNESCO sites but it’s one of the prettiest! A small Ifugao village with a chapel is located in the middle of the rice terraces that looked like a five star resort from afar amidst the greeneries surrounding the village that seem like a coliseum in its style tilling the mountainous terrain. It was very pretty it was almost therapeutic to just stare at.
Living on the edge, literally!
Bangaan Rice Terraces
Bangaan Rice Terraces
Bangaan Rice Terraces
It was in Batad that I stayed for three days and two nights. The Batad Rice Terraces is considered to be the most beautiful rice terraces in the world. It is located in Banaue, on a different barangay, but it’s not easy to get there. From the town proper, me and my guide drove via his motor to get to Saddle Point, through a very steep and muddy road for about one hour. The Saddle Point is the location where we need to leave the motor and start hiking. It was situated so high that the clouds are beneath us covering the ravine down below.
The Batad Rice Terraces is located 1,500m above sea level. From the Saddle Point we rested a bit and so I had given time to send my partner a text message about my experience so far and that I was so excited to do some hiking to get to Batad and we are so high up the mountains that the clouds were hanging below us. Then I sent him another text message saying “we’re now going down hiking to get to Batad but the visibility is not the clearest because of the cloud”…
The hiking lasted about two hours. It was not an easy climb. It’s comparable with my hiking experience at the Preikestolen. There were parts of the trail that are steep and seemed like an endless zigzag descent following the mountain slopes and we were surrounded by lush rainforest. I was told it’s remote but I did not expect it was THAT REMOTE…! There was no phone signal!!!
And I saw, for the first time, the famed Batad Rice Terraces… It was literally and figuratively breathtaking! The entrance to the site, wherein you can also find the tourist kiosk where you need to register, will give you the best viewpoint of the famous amphitheatre rice terraces with some jagged mountain backdrop. I have never seen anything like it. It was unbelievably beautiful!
We checked in at Batad Pension and I was welcomed by the owner’s son with warmth and offered me a “Baya”- a native Ifugao rice wine, which I took and, I have to admit, it tasted great! Batad seemed to be colder than in Banaue town proper because of it’s altitude with low-lying clouds and beautiful sunset.
We wasted no time and, after lunch, we went hiking inside the maze-like rice terraces to get closer to Ifugao villages and from this point, the rice terraces looked different from the entrance view point. It almost looked circular down below. It was so huge the entire mountain was carved that the Ifugao forefathers made it a single rice field!
When I saw photos of the Batad Rice Terraces before it seemed like I can almost descend and ascend to each and every step- like in a stair but, lo and behold, each “step” is about 12 to 15 feet in height (some are even higher on some uneven parts of the mountain slopes)- it has a total height of approximately 1,500 metres! Imagine the sheer size…If you fall, you’ll be covered in mud you can hardly be distinguished from afar!
We also went and see the 70 feet waterfall nearby, at the back of the rice terraces, the Tappiyah Falls. It took us a total of one hour of another challenging hike in the middle of nowhere to get to the falls and, again, an amazing site with powerful water drop and cool river run with a nearly vertical solid mountain wall as back drop!
I have found out that if you put your phone by the balcony railing of the pension, there is a weak phone signal being found. That’s when I have sent text messages to my partner, family and friends not to worry about me, and that I was having a day to life and apologised for not being able to reach me or give advise prior to since I didn’t know about it, specially my partner as he was much worried if something unfortunate has already happened.
Batad Rice Terraces was unforgettable! I even wore an Ifugao warrior garb on a photo shoot with the Batad Rice Terraces as the background, appreciating the indigenous culture. It’s the best place I’ve seen in the Philippines, hands down!
Batad Rice Terraces
Batad Rice Terraces
Batad Rice Terraces
On my way to Tappiyah Falls
Tappiyah Falls
Ifugao warrior garb!
Mayoyao Rice Terraces is, by far, the farthest from Banaue town proper. It’s only about 50 kilometres in distance but it took us 4.5 hours on the road, one way. The road condition was the worst I’ve seen in Ifugao and the mud was about 5 inches thick! We had to even walk on an ankle- high mud to give way to trucks and bulldozers since the road was under construction at the time I was there.
Moyoyao is nothing short of amazing, too! The road to Mayoyao goes all the way inside the rice terraces- it was so wide that there are few different villages situated within the UNESCO site. It’s not as steep as Batad but it has more traditional Ifugao huts peppered around the rice terraces. And the terraces were wider that looked like scales at a viewpoint.
Mayoyao Rice Terraces
Mayoyao Rice Terraces
Mayoyao Rice Terraces
Mayoyao Rice Terraces
Mayoyao Rice Terraces
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to visit the Nagacadan Rice Terraces in Kiangan. It was even farther on a much different direction. My one week of travel was not enough, and so, therefore, I shall return!
Modernization proved to be an enemy of this UNESCO World Heritage Site that, at one time, it was put on the “In Danger List”. Although far from being spoiled by modern infrastructures because of its remote location and steep mountains surrounding the area, I was told that there are far fewer and fewer young Ifugaos tilling the land and maintaining the rice terraces because some of them would rather go and work in the corporate world in the capital after graduating from college. Construction of the terraces demands great care and precision and of its complex drainage system.
When I was there, it was on its full glory, so I hope the best for the future of the Rice Terraces of Philippine Cordilleras. It is a great representation of my people and country for the world to see.
mountaingorillaboy 