Banaue Rice Terraces...

The Banaue Rice Terraces also called Payew, are 2000-year old terraces that were carved into the mountains of Ifugao in the Philippines by ancestors of the indigenous people.  The Rice Terraces are commonly referred to by Filipinos as the "Eight Wonder of the World".  It is commonly thought that the terraces were built with minimal equipment, largely by hand.  The terraces are located approximately 1500 meters (5000ft.) above sea level and cover 10,360 square kilometers (about 4000 square miles) of mountainside.  They are fed by an ancient irrigation system from  the rainforests above the terraces.  It is said that if the steps are put end to end it would encircle half the globe.  

Locals to this day still plant rice and vegetables on the terraces, although more and more younger Ifugaos do not find farming appealing, often opting for the more lucrative hospitality industry generated by the Rice Terraces.  The result is the gradual erosion of the characteristic "steps", which need constant reconstruction and care.  
The terraces are vastly found in the province of Ifugao and the Ifugao people have been its caretakers.  Ifugao culture revolves around rice and the culture displays an elaborate array of rice culture feasts linked with agricultural rites from rice cultivation to rice consumption. 

The Ifugao people practice traditional farming spending most of their labor at their terraces and forest lands while occasionally tending to root crop cultivation.  The building of the rice terraces, work of blanketing walls with stones and earth which is designed to draw water from a main irrigation canal above the terrace clusters.  Indigenous rice terracing technologies have been identified with the Ifugao's rice terraces such as their knowledge of water irrigation, stonework, earthwork and terrace maintenance.  As their source of life and art, the rice terraces have sustained and shaped the lives of the community members.  
Tourism industry has developed a number of activities for visitors which may include the traditional sight seeing of the terraces and visits to the tribes at the foot of the terraces.  


How to get to Banaue Rice Terraces:
From Manila there are air-conditioned buses that go straight to Bananue.  The trip takes about 9 hours.  
From Baguio City, there are also buses going to Banaue Rice Terraces which takes about  4 hours.
The trip will pass through the provinces of Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya then to Ifugao.  Accomodation is no problem, there are several inns in town like the Banaue View Inn, People's Lodge, the Banaue Hotel and other lodging houses with reasonable rates.  Some private homes also accept tourist and transients for a lesser charge during peak season.

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