Banaue and the Legendary Ifugao Terraces

Our trip in the Philippines took us to the northern provinces, famous for the lush valleys with rice terraces thousands of years old! This region of the Philippines is quite easy to get to from Manila thanks to the long distance buses. The most convenient is to take a night bus from Manila to Banaue, and then commute from Banaue to Brontoc, Sagada or Baguio. Towards the end of our trip, we took another night bus on the return trip to Manila and then flew to Kalibo airport, 2h drive away from the famous island of Boracay and its magnificent sunsets.

Manila is not really a city tourist-friendly. Although the Filipinos are amongst the most friendly people in south east Asia, the city itself is rather messy with hectic transports, and some very poor shanty towns. I wouldn't actually recommend staying too long in Manila, part of the reason being that there isn't actually so much to see or do compared to other cities of the region.

The Chinese community of Manila being very numerous, the Chinese new year celebrations in china town are elaborate and popular, and make for a great welcome to the city!

For a feel of old-colonial Manila, stroll in the Intramuros neighborhood in the evening, and feel the Spanish vibe!

The direct buses to Banaue from Manila are comfortable, and we were able to sleep quite well in the bus, and arrived fresh and rested early morning, in the sleepy town of Banaue, located in a valley surrounded by rice terraces.

Classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site, the Banaue terraces can be visited by trekking from one village to the other. In the north of Banaue, the Hapao terraces offer a quick trek and a view on very well structured terraces limited by little stone walls typical of the Hapao valley. The Batad terraces are limited only by earth, relentlessly reconstructed by the owners. The trek into the Batad valley is absolutely beautiful and is a must!

 

Banaue is a very cosy little town well equipped for tourist, and hostel recommendation clearly goes to Susan Paredes's >> SANAFE LODGE <<, a great place to stay with very friendly staff & owner, a beautiful view on the valley, and awesome food! The Bistek Tagalog is a must have !

Sagada is situated 3h away from Banaue by jeepney. The jeepney leaves at 9 in the morning and does a stopover at Bontoc, a little town where the museum on local tribes is worth a detour. Sagada has a lot of activities proposed such as hikes and cave exploration. The hike to the Bamodo'ok waterfall is clearly one of the highlights, and can be done in an afternoon. The hike crosses many peaceful villages, a gold mine, and ends at a huge waterfall where the sweat of the hike can be coolly washed off!

There are a few routes to visit the caves. Some are 1-hour long walks into the cave to admire the rock formations, and others are actually several hours caving from one cave to the other. Don't be fooled by the guides: the caving is not easy, its slippery, you will need to walk in the water if you're lucky, otherwise you'll actually have to swim across. Do bring your own headlight (each guide has a light, but if you're a little group, the people lagging behind won't get much light at all!). The caving is fantastic, and the sights beautiful so it really is worth it!!

In Sagada, there are a lot of activities, and a lot of treks to do. One of the attractions is to trek to those areas around Sagada where the hanging coffins are.

Many airlines propose the flight to Kalibo - Boracay. From Kalibo airport, it takes about 2 hours to reach Boracay (1.5hours van, and 30mins boat + tricycle on Boracay). Boracay is a beautiful island, which tends to be overcrowded by tourists. Nevertheless, the several km-long white-sand beaches, transparent waters and great seafood justifies the status of the island as one of the very top beach destinations in the world.