Ifugao | A Glimpse Of Banaue Rice Terraces

The 2000 years old picture perfect Banaue Rice Terraces got my attention. This national wonder has been thought to us during grade school in civil and culture subject. I spend a lot of time searching for information on how to get there, where to stay and possible expenses in the internet.

Together with my officemates and some friends we pushed through this trip only armed with information i got from the web. We agreed to just meet at the Lawton in Manila. I’m traveling with Rose while mam Bebot dropped by her home in San Pedro in Laguna to get her belongings. Her son Keith is also joining us while our friend Junny, a sales representative, is coming from Quezon province.

We’re supposed to be at the bus terminal by 9 pm. But due to some circumstances were arrived at the place too late to catch the bus bound for Banaue. We even tried buses that ply to Baguio in Pasay terminal but to no avail our fate brought us back again in Espana in Manila.

Back in the terminal we asked some employees there on possible option. They told to do the Manila-Solano-Lagawe-Banaue route. We boarded the 3am bus bound to Cagayan Valley and reached the town of Solano in Nueva Vizcaya by lunch time. We eat our lunch there then we boarded a Lagawe bound jeepney together with some locals.

It was a long bumpy journey and finally we found ourselves at Lagawe, the capital town of Ifugao province. Then we boarded another jeepney and finally we hit the town of Banaue. We roam around to look for cheap accommodation. We also inquire on their tourist information center for possible tour that they can offer to us.

The following day we visited the viewing deck were we amazed by the century old Banaue Rice Terraces. there is a souvenir shop and we had a photo opt with the elders wearing their bahag costume. Their smile were priceless. Our nextstop is Sagada ! :)