The Banaue Rice Terraces are ancient sprawling man-made structures said to date back 2000 to 6000 years, that were carved into the Ifugao in Cordillera Mountains in the Philippines by ancestors of the indigenous people.
These terraces built largely by hand are considered by the Philippines to be the “Eighth Wonder of the World” . It is simply fascinating that the locals still plant rice and vegetables on the terraces.
The rice fields are located at 1500 meters altitude and cover 10,360 square kilometers of mountainside. The ancestors of Ifugao people used an unique and efficient irrigation system which brings water from the rain forests above the terraces to feed the “suspended lands”.
In an attempt to conserve this unique mankind wonder, UNESCO subscribed the Banaue Rice Terraces in 2001 to the List of World Heritage in Danger, due to the “blending of the socio-cultural, economic, religious, and political environment” threatened by extinction in time if people don’t start acting responsible.
In the last few years, tourism has developed in the are, offering activities for visitors which include the traditional sightseeing of the Banaue Rice Terraces and visits to the tribes at the foot of the terraces. A special attraction is considered the Mumbaki , a traditional Ifugao witch doctor that performs spiritual healing rituals.
Getting there
The trip from Manila takes about 9 hours and air-conditioned buses have daily trips straight to Banaue. There are many terminals from where you can get the bus, but it is more indicated to visit the airport’s info desk and get the right information. During the trip to Ifugao, the bus will pass through the provinces of Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, and the sights won’t be few.
Accommodation around Banaue shouldn’t be a problem, as you are likely to find several inns in town and other lodging houses at reasonable rates. You can also search for private houses where you can stay for a lesser charge.
You will find more information about the rice fields here.
Pictures and information via 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12=
The pictures are just amazing – just like the places there… I guess it would be one of the most wonderful moments in someone’s life, to stand up there and watch the sunrise or the sunset… Now that is something to tell your friends about!
rice is nice
more lyrics, cla!
Ioan: ooor have them read your site
Nice site and great text.
Dear my friend,
I am doing in tourism and very interested in the terraced field in Banaue. In Vietnam, we also have some wonderful terraced fields such Sapa (Lao Cai province), Mu Cang Chai (Yen Bai province), Hoang Su Phi (Ha Giang province). Many local and international tourist have come to see them.
Please could you tell me about the number of tourist (both local and international) coming to Banaue terraced fields over the last time?
We would like to organize the study tours and incentive tours for our value corporate partners in Vietnam to visit this breathtaking area in your country.
Your response would be highly appreciated if sending to my email: hoangmanhthang6886@gmail.com.
@Hoang Thang
We are not from the Philippines, nore do we organize tours (particularly not for Banaue Rice Terraces). We suggest trying to find a tourism agency in the Philippines. You can start here: http://www.philtourism.com/
I hope the Philippines keep this in pristine cndition.
but I don’t believe for a second this was built 6,000BC– more ..2,ooo.. which will take us to around 1BC.
Rice was first cultivated by China & they do have rice terraces built around 4,000BC in the Yunnan province npw that it’s open to the West.
hi! would like to ask your permission to use some of these photos in my school project? thanks!
Jim, we don’t own copyrights for these photos, we took them from other websites. You will find links for every photo at the end of the article. Good luck:)
It is so nice