BANAUE - UNESCO - PHILIPPINES

Banaue Rice Terraces

Banaue Rice Teraces are over 2000 years old & carved into the Cordillera Mountains by the ancient Ifagao people. Filipinos like to call them the 8th Wonder of the World.

Situated 5000 ft above sea level, in 5 clusters covering 10,000 sq km. And fed by an ancient irrigation system from the rainforest above.


The natural scenic panorama combined with the engineering achievement creates a sculptured masterpiece of unparalleled beauty.
Banaue Rice Teracces have been continuously farmed for 2 millennium and are a natural cultural landscape, ensuring them of a UNESCO World Heritage listing.

Unfortunately they have become a victim of their own popularity. Now that the Banaue Rice Terraces have become a tourist destination, many young people are now being employed in the more lucrative tourist industry as tour guides or in hospitality. Fewer Ifagao people are finding farming appealing & the terraces are under disrepair. The result is the gradual erosion of the steps, exacerbated by typhoons & earthquakes. Without the laborious maintenance, the Rice Terraces of Banaue will eventually deteriorate into ruins. Many people believe there is only limited time left to conserve the World Heritage site now.

The Ifagao people were master wood carvers as well. Maybe that is why they were so proficient at carving the terraces out of the mountains. Their other claim to fame was they were ferocious head hunters. More of a sport for young warriors. there were rituals & omens involved with the expeditions. Avenge & revenge continued through the centuries right up until the 1970's. The jaw bone was a prized possession & my Igarot friends are proud owners of 3 jaw bones handed down from their grandfather.
In Bontoc near by, there is an excellent museum depicting tribal life in the mountains with exhibits & confronting black & white photographs of head hunters.
The Cordillera Mountains have attempted to maintain a quiet lifestyle in their towns & curfews exist. I spent one Saturday night in Bontoc & when leaving a restaurant at 10pm, was unable to find a taxi to get back to my hotel. After approaching a couple of policemen & requesting help, they sent a police car to take me home. Impressed & grateful for their gesture & assurance that l get home safe. But l chucked to myself that l needed a police escort home because l had stayed out past 10 pm on a Saturday night!

Banaue is 8 or 9 hrs from Manila by bus. I travelled it at night & it was the coldest bus trip that l have had in my life. Apparently the bus driver falls asleep if it's too warm! The roads are dangerous as they spine along the top as the mountains. Bus journeys are long but the views are spectacular. A good round trip is from Manila to Baguio, then to Sagada, on to Bontoc & Banaue, then back to Manila. Allow about 9 days. The Cordillera Mountains are scenically stunning & culturally interesting. It is also a very popular destination with Filipinos as well as they  escape from the constant heat of the lowlands and enjoy the cool clean mountains.


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