Banaue Rice Terraces View Deck

Banaue Rice Terraces, still one of the most popular
tourist destination in the Philippines!

Tappia Falls, Ifugao, Philippines

This is Tappia Falls, located in Battad, Ifugao, Philippines. After a long hike going to the rice terraces of battad as described in my previous post Battad Rice Terraces, you can visit the falls just beside the mountain. But before you reach it, you need to balance your way on the dikes "pilapil" of the rice terraces so that you wont fall in the field and be covered with mud. You can swim along the cold water of the falls and enjoy the rest of the day with your friends and loved ones. During our visit, we decided go back and forth since we dont have much time. I would suggest you to stay overnight there so that you can have more time enjoying the beauty of Battad Rice Terraces as well as Tappia Falls.

Battad Rice Terraces, Ifugao, Philippines

How to get to Battad Rice Terraces?

We have to wake up early in the morning and eat a good breakfast so that we have enough energy to go to the famous rice terraces in Battad. We also bought our food (lunch and a lot a water) before the trip. From the hotel, we hired a tourist guide and a tricycle to take us which ever the place it could reach to reduce our hiking distance. Then we started the hike at around 7 am, it was a long and tiring walk. But it was all worth it, we reached the place at around 11 am so more or less 5 hours including a few rests and sight seeing along the way. The terraces are steeper and has a wider area and you will have a chance to actually walk along the "pilapil" or terraces (I couldn't find some of my nice photos on my old computer, sorry!). You can also find Tappia falls which I be posting next time. We went back to Banaue the same day, but it would be nice to stay overnight at Battad since there are also accomodations there. You will see a lot of water springs along the way and our tourist guide drinks from it. I don't normally drink water from anywhere whenever I travel, but out of curiosity and because the water is cold so I was tempted to drink just a little. Unfortunately, the water may not be safe since I vomitted when we went back and I experienced some stomach problem for 2 weeks. So, I have learned my lessons the hard way! So if you will go to Battad, be sure to bring lots of water altough they sell water along the way but they are very expensive.

Banaue Rice Terraces, Ifugao, Philippines

How to get to Banaue Rice Terraces?

There are many ways to get there, specially if you have your own vehicle. Personally, I think the fastest is via Manila - Bulacan (via North Luzon Expressway) - Pampanga - Tarlac (via SCTEX Lapas exit then Aliaga to escape Cabanatuan traffic or another way is via Sta. Ines exit, then Gerona, Tarlac - Pura - Guimba) - Nueva Ecija - Nueva Viscaya - Ifugao. There are also bus rides going there, I was able to ride an auto bus at espania terminal night trip and I heard there were also other buses like Dangwa Transit but I have yet to ride one. There are also package tour which you can check out. Another way is via Baguio city but it was a long road. If you have enough time, I would recommend you to go to Banaue Rice Terraces, then tour around the different sites, go to Sumaguing Cave, Sagada, Mt. Province, then go to Baguio city, and back to Manila. One week is just enough to enjoy this trip. In visiting Banaue, be sure to visit Battad Rice Terraces and Tappia Falls, its a long hike but it sure is worth it. This will be my next post so watch out...

Banaue Rice Terraces, Ifugao, Philippines

Banaue Rice Terraces, Ifugao, Philippines

Most of the farmers in Ifugao still prefer to use traditional rice, one of the most popular variety is "Tinawon" with red and white grains. Usually, traditional rice tastes and smells good and are usually grown organically. But unfortunately some of the farmer's varieties are being lost because they are being displaced by high yielding improved cultivars (like hybrids) but usually requires higher inputs like fertilizers and chemicals to attain its potential yield. Altough I have nothing against this improved varieties, if they can help farmers earn more profit why not. But I think we also need to take care of our farmer's varieties since they can be a good source of desirable genes for breeding better varieties in the future. It's a good thing we have PhilRice and IRRI to help us in conserving these varieties in genebanks for us and our future generations...

Banaue Rice Terraces, Ifugao, Philippines

Banaue Rice Terraces is one of the most popular tourist attraction in the Philippines and is often referred to as the "8th wonder of the world". These terraces had been curved more than 2000 years ago manually mostly by hands maybe with minimal tools used. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1995. Aside from the famous view point at Banaue, there are other rice terraces found in Ifugao. These includes: Batad Rice Terraces, Mayoyao Rice Terraces, Hapao Rice Terraces, Napulawan Terraces, Kiangan Rice Terraces which includes Nagacdan and Julungan. This month I will be posting some of the photos of different sites I visited in Banaue including some tips and ways on how to get there. So watch out...

Banaue-Bontoc Road, Philippines

I can never forget this road as we travelled from Banaue Rice Terraces going to Sumaguing Cave, at Sagada, Mt. Province. At more than 1,000 meter above sea level elevation the temperature is so cold even during day time and you can feel the cool wind blowing in your head.

Banaue Rice Terraces, Ifugao, Philippines