The rice terraces of the Ifugao are like a giant stairway to the gods. They stretch up thousands of feet toward the clear skies in the Mountain Province. No one knows when these engineering gems started, but these were created over two thousand years ago. The highland tribesmen carved them by hand from mud and stone. Many of the terraces already rose to an altitude of 5,000 feet, completely covering entire mountains; their makers’ descendants still continued to work, adding level after level to the ledge paddies and to the ingeniously intricate irrigation system that has linked them from year to year, century after century. It is the world’s oldest ongoing construction project, and, like the rings of a tree, the rice terraces speak of the history of a proud mountain people’s battle for survival.

The terraces of Banawe are the most famous in the Philippines for their extent as well as for their accessibility to outsiders. They are emerald green during the planting and growing months of December through May and purple-yellow in the harvest months of June and July. The Banawe terraces covers an area of 400 square miles. Placed end to end they would stretch ten times the length of the Great Wall of China.

If you are going to Banawe from Manila the most convenient way is to take the 10pm bus from either Dangwa Bus or Auto Bus. Trips are usually daily. The trip will usually take you around 8 to 9 hours. The trip will pass by neighboring provinces of Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Solano and Bambang. You will arrive around 5 to 6 am the next day. During peak seasons or holy week, you have to at least reserve a ticket one week or 3 days before your trip. Ticket will cost around 290 pesos.

Accommodation is almost not a problem here. There are several hotels that cost around 1500 pesos and affordable lodging houses. Some residents accept transient boarders at very reasonable prices.