Whenever I hear “Banaue”, the picture of the Banaue rice terraces at the back of the twenty Philippine peso banknotes pops up in my mind.

The Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1995, the first-ever property to be included in the cultural landscape category of the World Heritage List.

But I’ve heard that the rice terraces were deteriorating for years now, but for a first timer like me, it didn’t fail to get me amazed by this amphitheater like rice terraces in Batad.

Batad is actually one of the five clusters inscribed as part of the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras. These amazing irrigated rice terraces were believed to be carved into the mountains over two thousand years ago by the indigenous Ifugaos mostly by hand!

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How to get there:

In Manila, there are 2 bus terminals that has direct trips to Banaue, namely, Ohayami Trans and GV Florida Transport.  We took the bus in Ohayami Trans going to Banaue.

Here is the schedule of trips for Ohayami Trans:

Location: Lacson Ave, Corner Fajardo St., Sampaloc Manila
Contact Number: +639276493055 or (02)5160501

The bus going straight to Banaue costs ₱450.00, unfortunately the bus going to Banaue was already full when we got to the terminal so we took the one going to Lagawe (city before Banaue) instead, it costs ₱400.00. The bus will drop you off to the jeepney terminal going to Banaue, which costs ₱37.00 each.

The scheduled departure of the bus going to Lagawe is 9:30pm, we arrived in Lagawe at 7:00am. The jeepney going to Banaue will take you 30-40mins to get there.

The largest rice paddies are located in Batad. From Banaue take a tricycle going to Batad. The tricycle will drop you off at Batad Saddle. Then you have to trek down to Batad for 30 minutes. The tricycle fare costs ₱500.00.

Better do the negotiation straight to the tricycle driver when going to Batad, because some locals will swarm around you offering tricycle rides with higher prices (for their commission of course) and guiding services which is NOT necessary, there are tour guides in Batad (that is way cheaper). 

Also, they will offer you to take the tricycle ride back and forth, this will cost you a lot more money and might limit your exploration around Batad. There is actually a jeepney terminal near the Batad saddle going back to Banaue. It usually leaves at 9:00am daily, it only cost ₱50.00.

By the way, there is no mobile signal in Batad.

Upon arriving in Batad, hostels are just around the village. We stayed at Hillside Inn. The usual prices of hostels are ₱250/head/night. But you can bargain it down to ₱200 if you are planning to stay more than 1 night.

Usually, hostels offer hot and cold showers. Some hostels charge you for a hot shower. They also charge you for electronic gadgets charging.

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What to see in Batad:

The main attraction in Batad is trekking or walking around the rice terraces to see the rice terraces from different viewpoints and visit different villages to meet the locals. You could also check out the Tappiya Waterfalls, to freshen up from trekking.

We took the Highest View Point – Tappiya Waterfalls – Main Village route of the tour (Main View point is where you start). This tour package usually cost ₱800.00 then we bargained down to ₱700.00. It took us 3 hours to finish the tour.

It was raining when we were trekking the rice terraces. So as you could see the clouds are really dark and there are parts that were foggy. But we can still see the beauty of the rice terraces. And the cool weather helps lessens the tiredness from trekking.

The sun shined on the half of our trek. I really like the reflection of the sky on the waters of the rice terraces.

If you’d like to see the terraces at their greenest, then April-May or would be the best time to go. Even though we went in a time where the rice terraces were brown muddy pool, I enjoyed it.

We stayed in Batad for 3 days. Every morning, its difficult for me to get up from bed because of the cool weather. But my excitement to see the rice terraces forces me to get up and it never failed to make me amazed. Foggy.. clear..raining..the rice terraces looks amazing in any way I see it. It is a place where you can just get away from the busy city and meditate.  I am a beach lover but I instantly learned to love and appreciate this kind of thing as well!

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Other things to see in Banaue:

Banaue Museum – see the antiques and artifacts about the Ifugaos.

Banaue View Point– capture the best perspective of the rice terraces.

Tam-an Village – see the bones of village forefathers long preserved.

Poitan Village – see the purposely lined of Ifugao huts on mountain slopes surrounded with protective walls from invaders during the tribal periods of wars.

Guihob Natural Pool –enjoy the crystal clear and cool soothing water.

Hapao Rice Terraces – see the centuries old and stone walled rice terraces.

Ducligan Hot Spring – soak and relax

Banggan Village/Rice Terraces – see the centuries old rice terraces

Cambulo Village/Rice Terraces – see the rice terraces are made of stone walls.

Pula Village/Rice Terraces- meet the locals