Sunlit nights: June 2014

The rice terraces of Banaue in Philippines are 2000 year old terraces that were carved into the mountains, mostly using basic handheld tools. The walls of the Banaue terraces are shaped with mud, but the terraces of nearby Batad and Hapao are walled with stones and concrete. The terraces are immense in size! I could not imagine how much time it would have taken to carve them using the very basic tools and machines!

The Batad rice terraces is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and collects a tourism fee for maintenance of the terraces, when they are damaged during natural disasters. Banaue's terraces are visible from anywhere within the town of Banaue in northern Luzon. I had an amazing view of them from my hotel room. To go to the Batad terraces, you need to trek through a forested mountainside. The Hapao terraces are easier to reach, and the walk through them is just mesmerizing!

I took an overnight bus journey from Manila to Banaue, which seems to be the only way so far to get there. I spent the first day visiting the Batad terraces, with a tricycle driver/guide. Filipino buses have an interesting concept of "centre seats". After the bus has started moving, these tiny seats magically appear in the aisle of the bus! I must say that trekking after spending the night trying to sleep on the baby centre seats is not a great idea! My second day was spent in visiting the Hapao and Banaue terraces.