Banaue & Batad
Rice calendar
Tap a month to see how the terraces look. Dates are typical and change a little from year to year and field to field.
High in the Cordillera mountains of northern Luzon, the Ifugao people have carved whole mountainsides into steps of rice. The terraces around the town of Banaue stand about 1,500 metres above sea level, and they were shaped largely by hand, with very simple tools.
Built by hand, watered by the forest
No one knows exactly how old the terraces are. An early estimate put them at more than 2,000 years, but many researchers now think they are younger. What is certain is the skill behind them: the terraces are fed by an ancient irrigation system that brings water down from the rainforests above, from one field to the next.
Rice is at the centre of Ifugao life, and the farming year is marked by ceremonies and rituals. Traditional houses on stilts, with steep thatched roofs, still stand in some villages.
Banaue and Batad
The famous viewpoints of Banaue are easy to reach by road, but modern buildings mean they are not part of the UNESCO listing. Nearby Batad, with its great amphitheatre of terraces, is one of five clusters inscribed in 1995 as the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras, together with Bangaan, Hungduan, Mayoyao and Nagacadan.
Visiting tips
- Batad is reached on foot from the road. The walk down is steep, so wear shoes with good grip.
- Stay overnight to see the terraces in the soft morning light.
- Walk only along the terrace walls and paths. The walls are fragile and belong to local farmers.
Key facts
| Location | Ifugao province, Luzon, Philippines |
| Altitude | About 1,500 m |
| Built by | The Ifugao people |
| Age | Debated: from a few centuries to 2,000 years |
| UNESCO | Batad and four other clusters, since 1995 |