A legitimate contender for “Eighth Wonder of the World,” the Batad terraces are fantastic and up to the hype. I was impressed to learn that they are over two-thousand years old and probably the only remaining project of this scope that wasn’t built by slave labor. The city of Banaue is the mountain retreat that services the isolated Batad village that still cultivates the “ampitheater” terraces there.

 

North Luzon has a completely different “feel” to it compared to the islands down south. There are pine trees, fields of grass, and the air is cooler.  Banaue itself is a lovely town with it’s own impressively terraced mountains. Most people base themselves there and attempt a day trip or overnight stay in Batad.

 

You are spoiled for choices of rice terraces, remote villages, waterfalls, and hikes to keep you busy in this area. We’d recommend spending two to three days here, or more if you need some relaxation.

 

 

What We Learned

 

- The Florida Bus service from Manila is good. You might get lucky and get a bus with a toilet.

 

- I’d suggest staying overnight in Batad because hiking there and back, coupled with another two-hour trip, to and from the waterfalls, doesn’t allow for a leisurely pace. Check to make sure your room in Batad doesn’t have cockroaches. Our plywood box was crawling with the big bastards and I had a lot of trouble going to sleep while they rustled in our bags and scrapped along the walls.

 

- Batad has no road access and all the supplies you’ll find there have to make a two hour hike on the shoulders of a local.

 

- Sometimes the jeepneys to Sagada can’t get enough customers to leave.

 

- Batad has a liquor ban.