Banaue -Land of the Rice Terraces

They said this was the 8th wonder of the world, so I had to see it at least once (or twice, in this case, more on that later) in my life.  About a month ago, I went to banaue with a handful of office mates for a weekend trip to this wonderful place.  The photo above is the famous Banaue Rice Terraces in Batad.  It's a beautiful, picturesque place and the locals say that these are the most beautiful rice terraces in all of Banaue.  What the photo doesn't say is what a pain( and fun) it is to get there. 

First you have to take an 8-10hr drive from Manila to Banaue.  We took the company's shuttle vans, and it was hard getting a comfortable position even with only a few people inside (there were 9 people inside an 18-seater van). Photo at left was the bridge was our entry point in Banaue.













From the Banaue town proper, we had to take a jeepney, and go for a 1hr or so ride through rough terrain along the side of the mountain.  I went and take the top-load seat (sat above the jeepney) thinking I'll get a better view. It wasn't the best plan but was fun.  It was hot and we were sitting on big aluminum rails which hurt our butts like you can't imagine.  I did get a nice view, and scary too. We passed by a number of cliffs and were inches away from the edge. I commend the driver, as it was a hell of a ride.  I later learned that a jeepney fell over a cliff earlier in the day so I think top-loading won't be a thing I will do again. :)

views from the top

After the hour long, painful drive, we reach the "saddle".  Not sure why the name (?) but it marks the place where you will start your hour and a half trek down the mountain (yes another mountain), as well a as passing over cliffs and narrow rocky terrain.  This was the hardest part of the trip for me (and the way back will be the trek back up) and I was thinking that the view must be worth the pain. And it was.

Photo to the left marks the Saddle entry point (Batad)

We also had a chance to see a cultural presentation at night.  The locals wore their traditional clothes and dance to the sound of traditional instruments.

The visitors soon joined in: )

All in all it was a lot of fun.  We went to some other view points but the one in Batad was the best. I won't tell you about the trek back, beacuase it was more pain and bruises like on the way to Batad, but it was worth it.  The nights activity with the locals got me to think of the fast disappearing culture of the Ifugao people.  they said they need to do what they need to so they can survive, even if it means to stray away from their old ways.  Too bad my future kids probably won't see these anymore. 

This got me thinking of a photo project on trying to save their culture (in images) for future generations to see.  So I went back and did it.  (more on this on a future post)