After I was in the city of Manila I went to Banaue. I was really glad to get out of the city where I only seemed to see poor people, people living on the street and begging for money. I was so sad about it, I have never had that so much before.
I also wanted to visit the Ancient Old Rice Terraces so I didn’t mind going along right away.
Cool Banaue
When I came to Banaue it was a really refreshing. In terms of the temperature but also the people. Very nice and hard working people. The people of Banaue also were well prepared for all the tourists that came to their village. The village is covered with guesthouses, it is a busy village full of activity involving tourists.
Up in the Hills it’s Fresh – Banaue Ancient Old Rice Terraces
Within the hour after my arrival I had booked a room for the night, for 300 pesos at People’s Guesthouse. They really have the best view while getting your breakfast 🙂 And I booked a trip for the same day to Batad, to walk between the rice terraces and swim at a waterfall.
View at People’s Guesthouse, Banaue
Trip up to the Riceterraces
The drive up the mountain alone was an adventure. The bus wasn’t that good and the road either. But the people are working hard to make it better. I think within a year or two the roads will be ready and the way up there will be more easy. I did liked this also, has an adventurous feeling 🙂
Banaue and its Ancient Old Rice Terraces
Walking down the Rice Terraces
When we were up there you could rent a walkingstick, the Frenchmen in our company did so. He is an 63 year old man and didn’t walked that well. We saw doctors who started the same walk as we did, they had some goods and medicines with them for the villages in the area. Our guide took to rucksacks to carry with them to help. I offered my help but it was already divided.
402 steps to go down – Banaue Rice Terraces
At first we went down a staircase of 402 steps. Those steps were not the same hight and therefor an intensive walk. While watching my steps I stopped every once in a while to enjoy the scenery. It was a clouded day, it rained already a couple of times but the views were astonishing.
After the stairs we walked on and now we were walking on a junglepath, again you need to watch your steps because of the roots of the trees and plants. It’s great to walk in the jungle and getting a great view after passing a curve or suddenly standing before a cliff and getting the best view panorama over a couple of rice terraces with mountains on the background!!
The life in Batad
The village we entered was Batad. It was also the birthvillage of our guide, TJ he was called. Don’t know if this is the way to write it 🙂 He told about the way of living here. When work needed to be done people helped eachother out. They would be owing the people that helped them a day work at their rice terrace. That is why if you see people working on the ancient old rice terraces you almost always see a couple of them working on them. The next day they will be working on another families rice terrace. That way they divide the work and everything will be done in time.
There is not really a season for planting of sowing. The guide told that it went all year around so you will always see green rice terraces and empty rice terraces.
The Ancient Old Rice Terraces of Banaue
Lunch at Batad
In the village of Batad we had lunch while enjoying the great scenery of the ancient old rice terraces. Again there was a little rain but once we were done the rain had stopped and we went to hike along these great rice terraces.
And did you know that the Philipine people really like sweet food? They like it that much that they invented some new way of getting ketchup sweet… I was so surprised to see the text on this ‘ketchup’. It’s banana ketchup!!
Walking the paths the locals do too
Walking along these rice terraces you see that the mud out of the rice terraces is put on the sides of them. This will get hard by drying in the sun. We walked along these paths which are used by the locals too. You also can see how they go from one rice terrace to another terrace. The walls of the rice terraces are big stones, some of those stones will stick out and form a stairs up or down which way you like. It is very easy to walk them. Sometimes you don’t even see them sticking out the walls untill the guide suddenly rises up along the wall of a rice terrace 🙂
Most of the paths along the rice terraces are old and exactly like they were from the beginning. But you also see also some paths that are newly made and those are wider. They were easier to walk on. On those paths you have the time to walk and watch the scenery 🙂
Swimming at the Waterfall, Batad Rice Terrace
We walked up and went down on the other side of the mountain where we could hear the water falling down. We went to the waterfall.
Great!
The oldest one of us, the Frenchman was the first to enter. We were still standing at the viewingpoint when all of a sudden we saw him struggling on the slippery stones to get in the water. We went down and got in too. It was really cold in the beginning but afterwards it was really refreshing.
We went back to the rice terraces again and some of the group stayed there for the night and the rest of us walked back up. If I would have known before I would tried to get a bed in here too… Wouldn’t that be great? Sleeping in an old village like that?
Walking back that last part was getting very heavy for the Frenchman and a Argentinian girl but we made it and got back to Banaue to get a well deserved diner!
The Village of Hapao
The next day I met with the guide and the Canadian girl again. The plan was to go to Hapao, do another hike along the ancient old rice terraces. I really enjoyed that one. The views were wider and the walk along the rice terrace was longer. It gave me a better feeling about the surroundings too because of the drive there. Also the weather was better that day and just the two of us so we could stop for photomoments easier 🙂
And driving around this wonderful area in a tricycle was a great adventure!!
Hapao Ancient Old Rice Terraces
The Ancient Old Rice Terraces of Hapao
Can you imagine walking here?
I really loved this place!!
The whole day was spend on the ancient old rice terraces, we walk around on the many terraces. Sat down at a stream to just watch time go by. I loved this second day. I really had time to soak in the feeling of this place.
Showing how to use the ancient stairs 🙂
The last visit was at a viewingpoint mentioned in a guide and my friend of the day knew about. It was a great spot and we had a last view on these Ancient Old Rice Terraces before heading back to the hostel and stepping on a night bus back to Manila.
Have you been here too?
What was your most beautiful spot?
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The Morning Ritual at Varanasi – India
Part II of my Camino: Walking from 200 to 400 K
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