Blogs from Ifugao, Philippines, Asia

4 et 5 avril Ifugao : Province des Philippines située dans le centre de l'île de Luçon. Elle est célèbre pour les rizières en terrasses des cordillères des Philippines, inscrites au patrimoine mondial. ... Debout sur le balcon du Greenview hostel de Banaue, j'observe les quelques étages émeraudes des rizières dans la brume. Je sais bien qu'il me faudra pousser mes recherches plus au loin dans les montagnes pour en voir davantage. ... Un minuscule filipino nous aborda au guesthouse. J'étais alors assis à boire un thé vert avec Thamina la journaliste londonienne, Iness la Dutch et son copain Vincent. Le bout d'homme se tenait devant moi. Il était si petit qu'on se regardait yeux dans les yeux, moi assis et lui pratiquement sur la pointe des pieds. "Chf-two chf-days chf-trek chf-possible" qu'il me chuchutte avec ... read more

We are about 20 minutes into our tricycle ride from the town center to the Batad Junction Point when I realize I can’t stand the cold. We have left Baguio City and crossed into Ifugao province in the dead of the night, but to everyone not of this territory – I, Joseph and Dave included – every provincial boundary disappears and this becomes only a place of cold. It’s a shivering cold and everything is somehow about the cold. In the days before we find ourselves in Ifugao, I had found myself increasingly intrigued by the mountains of Cordillera in northern Luzon, reading as much as I can about these spiny ranges that command awe, respect and fear in equal doses among its inhabitants and visitors alike. It’s not a new occurrence for me, though. Ever ... read more

When we last left the Philippines after a fantastic 3 weeks in February, we vowed we would be back soon, as there is just so much to see and the 21 day visa does not give enough time for everything. Less than 8 weeks later, we find ourselves back in this amazing country, excited to visit new places and experience new things. The rice terraces of Ifugao are claimed to be the 8th Wonder of the World, and as we hadn't visited them last time around, they were high on our list for this time around. First though, we had to get here... It started with a short flight to Kuala Lumpur from Kuching, where we arrived close to midnight so chose to save some money and catch a few hours sleep at the airport, as ... read more

A friend referred me to a travel group in their office who's planning to hike in Batad/Banaue Rice Terraces. I've been wanting to go there since the rice terraces seem so pretty in pictures. Because of the beautiful pictures that I saw and my yearning to do a little hiking again.. I decided to join them. Initially, I thought that the hike will just be an easy one..so my plan was really to appreciate the scenic view of the mountains and just take a lot of pictures. It was early in the morning when we arrived in Batad, we checked in at a local transient inn near Batad and then off we go to our first adventure. The trail to the rice terraces on to Tappiya falls was easy at first but then it became really ... read more

After a day of hiking narrow trails, through mountain tribe villages, and dozens of rice and vegetable terraces of the central Cordillera mountains, we reached the UNESCO world heritage rice paddies of Batad village. These two thousand year old mud wall terraces were absolutely breath taking, naturally we sat for a long while taking it all in. Batad village, is a community of Ifugao peoples, one of the many mountain tribes living in the Cordillera mountain range. Here, the traditional belief of Animism is still very alive, that is the belief that animals, plants and rocks have souls, along with natural phenomena such as thunder and rivers, and other entities of the natural environment. Amanda and I were lucky enough to have the opportunity to soak in Ifugao culture, staying a night at a homestay in ... read more