Explore Northern Luzon
It’s a rugged but spectacular trip from Bontoc to BANAUE in Ifugao province, along a winding road that leads up into the misty Cordillera and across a mountaintop pass. It may only be 300km north of Manila, but Banaue might as well be a world away, 1300m above sea level and far removed in spirit and topography from the beaches and palm trees of the south. This is the heart of rice terrace country: the terraces in Banaue itself are some of the most impressive and well known, although there are hundreds of others in valleys and gorges throughout the area, most of which can be reached on foot. At nearby Batad there is rustic accommodation so you can stay overnight and hike back the next morning.
Read More-
Banaue’s stairways to heaven
Banaue’s stairways to heaven
The rice terraces around Banaue are one of the great icons of the Philippines, hewn from the land 2000 years ago by Ifugao tribespeople using primitive tools, an achievement in engineering terms that ranks alongside the building of the pyramids. Called the “Stairway to Heaven” by the Ifugaos, the terraces would stretch 20,000km if laid out end to end. Not only are they an awesome sight, but they are also an object lesson in sustainability.
The terraces are on the UNESCO World Heritage list, and they will not last forever if they are not protected. They have always been subject to constant deterioration, due to weather erosion, imperfect irrigation systems and the actions of earthworms. Today, however, there’s a shortage of young people to help carry out repairs – rice farming has little allure for many of them; they are understandably tired of the subsistence livelihood their parents eked from the land and are either working in tourism or packing their bags for Manila. Alongside this, another recent pressure is the conversion of the rice terraces into vegetable terraces or into residential and commercial areas.
