The Girl Behind the Pen

The Banaue Rice Terraces, locally known as the Hagdan-Hagdang Palayan, are undoubtedly a source of pride for the Ifugaos and also for the Filipinos all over the world.

Because of its magnificence, it has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1995. Since then, the world has noticed and never stopped talking about the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras.

Located at the foot of the Cordillera mountain ranges in the northern island of Luzon, this destination will definitely take your breath away as you get lost by the astounding view of these rice paddies.

Read on if you want to get to know more about the Banaue Rice Terraces. This travel guide might come in handy for you! :)

Banaue Rice Terraces being a UNESCO World Heritage Site

According to UNESCO, the Rice Terraces Philippines are the priceless contribution of Philippine ancestors to humanity. Among the reasons for its recognition is that the terraces illustrate a persistence of cultural traditions and remarkable continuity and endurance, since archaeological evidence reveals that this technique has been in use in the region for 2,000 years virtually unchanged.

UNESCO also noted that the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras are a memorial to the history and labor of more than a thousand generations of small-scale farmers who—working together as a community—have created a landscape based on a delicate and sustainable use of natural resources.

Things you need to know before traveling to Banaue Rice Terraces

The Locals

The Ifugaos are very accommodating and they are always smiling. One thing you might notice when you meet Ifugaos is that their mouth and teeth are red. This is because of nganga or betel nuts. Nganga is like an alternative to tobacco or cigarettes. However, this isn’t smoked but chewed and to be spit afterwards. It is part of the Ifugaos’ culture so expect that most of them, even women, are chewing nganga.

The Food

The food here isn’t cheap but not too expensive. Basically, a regular meal will already cost you around P150 but the serving is generous. You must try their native rice and the Banaue longganisa! They’re a perfect combination, especially with a hot choco or coffee for breakfast.

Traveling Rice Terraces Philippines won’t be easy

Sure there are vans and other transportation services available to tour you around but when you’re already going to the rice terraces, expect a lot of hiking trips, some are easy and some are challenging but definitely worth the sweat and effort!

Places you can visit near the Banaue Rice Terraces

Tappiya Falls

Unlike other waterfalls that are accessible and easy to reach, Tappiya Falls is a challenge but definitely worth it. Expect a not so easy trek by any stretch, the path to the falls will take you up and down steep uneven steps, narrow rice terraces, and muddy slippery trails. The trek will take about an hour or two depending on your pace. Also, the water here is freezing cold! But that’s what you’ll be needing after the tiring trek.

Bogyah Hot Spring

Like the trek to Tappiya Falls, you’ll be in for another challenge going to Bogyah Hot Spring. You will have to pass through narrow rice terraces and uneven steps for about an hour but all these will be worth it when you finally reach Bogyah Hot Spring for a dip.

Ducligan Snake River and Mountains

After the endless rice terraces in Ifugao, Ducligan Snake River and Mountain should be your next stop. This will be your breather during the trip. It’s among the most beautiful mountains in the Philippines featuring a snake-shaped river, hence the name.

Hungduan Rice Terraces

Among all the rice terraces I've seen in the province, Hungduan Rice Terraces captivated me the most. It's so different from the usual rice paddies in Ifugao. Hungduan features rice terraces that uniquely emerges into a spider web.

How to get to Banaue Rice Terraces

From Manila or Cubao, you can ride a bus bound for Banaue/Sagada. The bus you should take are either Ohayami Trans or Coda Lines. Travel time from Manila takes about 9 to 10 hours. 

Best time to visit Banaue Rice Terraces

During summer and fall abundant rains can sometimes cloud views of the slopes. Winter may be a more reliable period for sightseeing. June is harvest time, so the landscape is golden and activity levels are high.

If you're planning to travel here, you should know first these five surprising facts about the Banaue Rice Terraces so you can have a meaningful trip. 

This is one of the most surprising things I learned about the Banaue Rice Terraces. Our local tour guide told us that the rice harvested here are for pure family consumption. The harvested rice are enough to feed the family for six months. Given the enormous land of rice terraces, it's hard for me to believe that they don't sell the rice in the market. They don't even export to Metro Manila. But when you go to souvenir shops, you'd see Banaue rice sold everywhere so how come? Our tour guide said, it happens only when there is an excess for family consumption.

Most often than not, prices of goods and commodities in the province are cheaper than in the metro. But in Banaue, rice is more expensive. It amounts to P120 per kilo compared to Manila's cheapest rice that's P30 per kilo. The explanation behind it is that, rice in Banaue is organic. 

The structures of the Banaue Rice Terraces are of only two kinds: the stone wall and mud wall. They used it to carefully carve and construct terraces that could hold flooded pond fields for the cultivation of rice. These incredible rice terraces were done by hand as was (and is) the farming itself.

The Banaue rice is so famous because of its organic quality. The two types of rice harvested here are sticky and non-sticky rice, all organic. 

While the historic terraces cover an extensive area, the inscribed property consists of five clusters of the most impressive terraces: 1.) the Nagacadan terrace cluster in Kiangan, a rice terrace cluster manifested in two distinct ascending rows of terraces bisected by a river; 2.) the Hungduan terraces that uniquely emerges into a spider web; 3.) the central Mayoyao terraces which is characterized by terraces scattered with traditional farmers’ bale (houses) and alang (granaries); 4.) the Bangaan terrace cluster in the municipality of Banaue that backdrops a typical Ifugao traditional village; and 5.) the Batad rice terraces in Banaue that is nestled in amphitheater-like semi-circular terraces with a village at its base.

Since the coronavirus outbreak started, the world has seen the worst it could possibly be. Thousands of people get ill and die around the world and the healthcare system is overloaded. Some hospitals can’t even accept new patients anymore because of full capacity. Schools and work are closed. Some companies collapsed. And some employees lost their jobs; even those who would risk their lives to work to feed their families can’t even go out to earn.

While this pandemic has brought a lot of pain to us, it gave us a gift; a perfect opportunity to live our lives meaningfully. In the face of overwhelmingly bad news about what’s happening to the world, we need to stay strong. We don’t set aside the fact that the coronavirus threatens us all but what we’d like you to think right now, at least for the meantime, is its bright side.

Let’s admit it, before any of these things happened, we were all soaked and letting ourselves drown in work. We’re always dedicating our time to accomplish our tasks, which is not wrong, but most of our time in a day is focused on our tiring jobs. We forgot to give time for other meaningful things. It may be too hard to believe but the pandemic just gave us a gift—a gift of time. Because of the coronavirus outbreak, we got the opportunity to spend more time with our families. We can now enjoy the break we’ve been longing for so long. Or we can do the one thing we’ve been dying to do, but can’t because of lack of time. Whatever you do now, make it worthwhile.

Gone are the days that we have to leave the house before the sun rises and go home late in the evening. Because of the home quarantine and lockdowns, the time we spent commuting can now be dedicated to our family. This is the best time to finally bond with them and relieve the what-could-have-been great times when you’re busy working. Cook for your parents; have a chat with your siblings; play board games or have a movie marathon together. Now is the time to create more great memories together as a family.

And generosity. Because of what’s happening right now—lack of supplies and down businesses—more and more people are willing to give a hand. People are helping each other. From the big companies who donated billions of dollars to an ordinary citizen who gave free food to the frontliners, people showed their compassion and love for their country and fellowmen. If you think you don’t have the capacity to donate money or food, you can still help by simply spreading the word on social media and letting the world know that someone needs their help. Make the most of what you have.

The coronavirus outbreak gave us an opportunity to reflect on things and to rethink what we do and why we do it. May it be the job we thought we really wanted in the first place or the trip we’ve been planning for so long, we can now reflect and discover ourselves more. We can also make up for the things we took for granted like the environment, our health, friends, and family. This is the time to make changes. For the better.

Due to the lockdowns and community quarantine in some countries, the roads that were used to be clogged have been cleared and the bumper to bumper cars are no longer seen. If there’s one good thing that COVID-19 did that will definitely change the world, it’s this. For weeks, the Earth can finally breathe and the people will be able to feel fresh air because there will be less pollution. There will be no smoke belchers on the roads.

In these globally trying times, what we need most right now is support from one another. We need to believe that all bad things will soon end. What we didn’t have before the outbreak can now be seen across the world. The pandemic radiates love, hope, and positivity. During these times, we lift each other up. We help each other in the best ways we can. We make sure that we’re there for each other.

It only took one little but deadly virus to remind us of what we have taken for granted before all these things. Don’t let this ever happen again.

And no matter how hard the situation is now; no matter how difficult this time is; we can and we will overcome this together.

Then come February this year, I decided to take the leap and finally go out of my comfort zone. I went on a 9-hour bus ride to Banaue only to find out that we'll be hiking almost three-fourths of our trip. From our home-stay and hot spring to the cold waterfalls and the famed rice terraces, name it, there's always hiking. 

Whenever I'm in a new place that involves a lot of stairs and going ups, I make sure to count the steps but this time, I lost track while catching my breath. The numbers aren't important that time, I just want to rest already. For a woman who has never been to the mountains and not physically prepared, hiking is a challenge. 

But I'm already there. I can't just go home, waste the money I paid for the trip, and leave the adventure that could have been the greatest one. I don't want to go back to Manila wondering what if I pushed through?

So, I embraced the challenge. I braved the thousands of steps—mostly steep and narrow paths—while being baked under the sun, wearing the wrong set of clothes just to see what the world has been talking about. And they are right, Banaue Rice Terraces is majestic! It's like a spot straight out from a postcard. All the hours of hiking, trekking, and countless catching of breath moments are totally worth it. Because with a view like this, how can you resist?

Taking a leap and going out of your comfort zone has risks, as does anything in life, but it's a great way to discover yourself and push yourself to the limit.

There's one thing I regret though... I regret not doing this sooner.

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Located at the Employees' Park at the back of Taguig City Hall, the weekend market aims to help boost local economy, tourism, and to help the displaced vendors. Some of the goods sold here are local delicacies, milk tea, Korean food, clothes, and more.

The Flea Market vendors were able to sell their products alongside other small and medium entrepreneurs as well as in the Farmers and Wet Markets in Mercado del Lago and Veterans Road in Western Bicutan. 

Mayor Lino Cayetano said that when the local government started its road clearing operations, among those affected were business owners. Through these weekend markets, the displaced vendors now got a new opportunity to earn. Apart from establishing safety through mobility, Taguig weekend markets will also provide a consistent livelihood for small and medium enterprises.

Moreover, single-use plastic will be prohibited from all sites as part of the city’s plan of going zero waste. They are encouraging the public to bring their own recyclable bags.

Feb-ibig may be nearing its end but love is still in the air in the highlands of Tagaytay because of the cool climate that lingers all-year round. 

However, things have slightly changed in the tourism scene of Tagaytay and Batangas because of the Taal Volcano eruption last January 12, 2020. What was once an icon of wonderment became the great affliction of almost 350,000 people. But amid the destruction, some were spared including the scenic Canyon Woods Resorts Club.

Because of this, Canyon Woods, together with the local government unit of Laurel, Batangas, launched Share Hope Task Force: Alagang Lawa⁠— a housing project for the homeless due to the Taal Volcano eruption as a way to give back. 

Before the housing project, Canyon Woods already had a prior event for the benefit of the Taal victims. They held a "Golf for a Cause," a by-invitation golf tournament to all Canyon Woods Resorts Club members, Canyon Woods Homeowners and Corporate Partners. 

Canyon Woods Chairman George Go reiterated that Batangas is their home so, they want to help the locals in any way they can to move forward after the disaster. He also said that not all businesses in Batangas were affected so it’s essential to continue the support to Batangas by supporting the local tourism. 

"Handa na, ligtas, at kaaya-aya na ang Laurel," said the town Mayor Joan Amo. In fact, they are already planning for the town's big event, The Tilapia Festival that will happen on June 21.