Ifugao, which means People of the Hill, is a province in the Cordillera Administrative Region on the island of Luzon, in the Philippines. This area is famous for the 2000 years old rice terraces that are inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List with the name of “Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras“. This was the first property to be included in the Cultural Landscape category.

The site comprises five clusters of rice terraces: Batad Rice Terraces, Bangaan Rice Terraces, Hungduan Rice Terraces, Mayoyao Rice Terraces and Nagacadan Rice Terraces. I managed to visit the first three of the list and I was stunned by the harmony between the environment and the people living there, who morphed the landscape according to their needs but managed to preserve the environment.

A good way to visit the rice terraces is to stay in Banaue, a small town in the middle of the Cordillera mountain range. Banaue can be reached directly from Manila or nearby bigger cities such as Bontoc, Sagada and Baguio. I took a Jeepney from Sagada which was full so I had to sit on the roof. Although very uncomfortable it was an amazing experience.

From Banaue it is relatively easy to arrange visits to the rice terraces. The easiest way is to hire, either privately or through the local tourist centre, a car or a trike (little motorcycles with side cars) to get as close as possible to the sites.

The Hungduan terraces are completely made of mud walls and said to look like a giant spider web. I found them impressive, but I couldn’t see any resemblance to a spider web.

The next day I hired another trike to visit Bangaan and Batad. I was first taken to Bangaan, which is on the road from Banaue to Mayoyao. Bangaan is a typical Ifugao traditional village and it’s located at the bottom of a small valley whose sides were transformed into rice terraces. It is very picturesque and from the top it looks like a fairy tale village.

After Bangaan my driver took me to Batad. Batad rice terraces are known as the amphitheatre-like terraces. Once I got to see them I immediately understood why. These amazing rice terraces were carved into the sides of the mountains around 2000 years ago and are still a truly stunning sight.

While Banaue and Hungduan rice terraces are mud-walled, Batad rice terraces are stone-walled. It is possible to walk along them, go up and down on the paths used by the locals to work the fields and admire the incredible views from anywhere in and above the amphitheatre-like valley. The village, and the lodges overlooking it, also offer a few places to eat and have some refreshing much-needed drinks, after the tough hike and the heat of the Philippines.

The bravest, with still some energy left after the numerous ups and downs along the terraces, can go to the viewpoint, the highest point of the amphitheatre, which is on the opposite side when reaching the village from the Saddle. It is impossible to miss the steps that climb to the viewpoint as, seen from far away, they look like a frightening scar along the side of the mountain. However, the view from up there is unbeatable. The valley can be seen in all its imposing beauty. It was hard, but it was worth every drop of my sweat.

The rice terraces in the Philippine Cordilleras illustrate how cultural traditions were preserved with continuity and endurance. According to UNESCO, archaeological evidence shows that the terraces have been in the region for about 2000 years virtually unchanged, although other sources believe that terracing began in the Cordilleras less than one thousand years ago as taro cultivation, before taro was replaced by rice around 500 years ago. In any case the rice terraces are an outstanding example of sustainable use of the natural resources, able to produce food for a local community. They represent the work of a community that has been in harmony with its environment for hundreds of years.