Philippines October - November 2012 : part 2 : Banaue - Batad (rise terraces)

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Banaue is a town on the Cordillera mountain range in the north of the island of Luzon, in the Philippines. It is mainly visited for its stunning rice terraces, which are a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Viewpoint. On the road to Bontoc, there is a lot of viewpoints with beautiful panoramas on the rice terraces. Walking from Banaue up to to main view point will take 1 to 2 hours, depending how often you stop to enjoy the superb view. Try to go as far as possible from Banaue: the higher you will go, the more beautiful it will be! Count P100 by tricycle from Banaue. From there it's possible to go down by foot to Banaue through the rice terraces (2-3 hours) but the way is quite difficult and you may need a guide for this walk.
To see :

Rice terraces. Sometimes called the "Eighth Wonder of the World", the 2000 years old Banaue rice terraces are a UNESCO World Heritage site, and while many are still in use today, the outer rims are showing signs of deterioration. They were created by the Ifugao (local native people), in a massive engineering project to cover the sides of the valleys (probably 200 meters from floor to rim) for several miles, irrigated by means of mountain streams and springs that have been tapped and channeled into canals that run downhill through the rice terraces.

Batad. While the rice terraces of Banaue are mud-walled, those of Batad are stone-walled. They form an amphitheater and are an impressive sight. Fifteen km. on bad roads, followed by a 40 minute downhill hike, but worth it. There are a number of hostels and guest houses in the small village there, overlooking the rice terraces. If weather and time permit, Batad is probably a better place to spend the night than Banaue. There is a public jeepney plying the Banaue to Saddle Point (start of 40 minutes trek to Batad village) route daily. Banaue to Saddle Point is around 2-4 pm while the Saddle Point to Banaue jeepney is around 9-10am. They may take extra trips during the peak season (e.g. Holy week). Head on to the Banaue public market and ask around. Fare is P150 for tourists while the locals pay P45. If you do not have time to spend the night in Batad, it is also possible to do it as a day trip. During busier times (public holidays, extended weekends), extra jeepneys will go up to Batad Saddle in the morning (7-8am, P150). Hike down to Batad village (40 minutes) from the Saddle, have lunch there overlooking the rice terraces and hike up back to the Saddle. Rented jeepneys that bring people to Batad will leave empty back to Banaue, so they will gladly take you with them for the normal P150 fare. In case you do not find any jeepneys or other people that might take you with them to Banaue (just ask around), you can hike down for 2 hours to reach the main road at Batad Junction. More public jeepneys will ply that route and you can make it back to Banaue from there. In the worst case scenario, Batad to Banaue is a 16km walk, mostly downhill.

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