The Philippines - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 618

(10hr), via Banaue (2 hr), usually leave daily at 3pm from
outside Cable Café . However, at the time of writing Cable
buses were suspended following a terrible bus crash near
Bontoc in which 14 passengers died.
By jeepney Departures for Banaue from outside the
tourism information centre, o cially at 8am and 11am,
but in reality they leave when they're full (2hr; P150).

winding road that leads up into the misty
Cordilleras, across a high mountain pass,
then down precipitous mountainside. It
may only be 300km north of Manila,
but Banaue is a world away, 1300m
above sea level and far removed in spirit
and topography from the beaches and
palm trees of the south. his is the heart
of rice-terrace country: the terraces in
Banaue itself are some of the most
impressive and well known, although
there are hundreds of others in the area,
some of the best of which are at nearby
BATAD , where there are a couple of
guesthouses, so you can stay overnight
and hike back the next morning.
Banaue itself is a small town centred
on a marketplace, with a clutch of
guesthouses and some souvenir shops.
Two kilometres up the road from the
marketplace are the four main lookout
points for the rice terraces. Tricycle
drivers angle constantly to take you there,
which can be irritating, but the views are
truly superb. A tricycle will cost around
P200, but be sure to agree the price
beforehand. Ifugao in traditional costume
will ask for a small fee if you want to take
their photograph, and there's a handful of
souvenir stalls surrounding the lookouts
selling carved wooden bowls and woven
blankets. Don't miss the remarkable little
museum (daily 8am-5pm; P50) at the
Banaue View Inn , which documents the
extraordinary life of Henry Otley Beyer,
an American anthropologist who came to
study Ifugao tribes at the beginning of
the twentieth century and, after marrying

ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
Cable Café Main St. Daily bands playing an eclectic mix of
music hit the little stage at 8pm, keeping Bontoc's liveliest
joint up and running. The grub is Filipino, with mains such
as chicken adobo (P95-130). Daily 8am-3pm & 6-10pm.
Churya-a Hotel Main St T 0999 994 6726, E darwin
[e-mail]. Unremarkable doubles and cold-
water showers only, but there's a nice balcony eating area
with a vi ew ov er the mountains and it's right in the centre
of town. P400
Pines Kitchenette and Inn Behind the market T 074
602 1408. This large family house was originally built to
put up adopted World War II war orphans; there's even a
mini-museum within the premises showcasing old arte-
facts dating back to that time. Rooms are simple and the
bathrooms just about pa ss mus ter, but the management is
friendly and welcoming. P400

8

DIRECTORY
Banks and exchange PNB and Landbank both have
ATMs. There's a Western Union on the main street.
Internet Cable Internet Café is directly above Cable Café
(daily 7.30am-10pm; P20/hr).
Post o ce Near the Bontoc Museum.

BANAUE
It's a rugged but spectacular two-and-a-
half-hour trip south from Bontoc to
BANAUE in Ifugao province, along a

THE STAIRWAYS TO HEAVEN
The “Stairway to Heaven” rice terraces at Banaue are one of the great icons of the Philippines.
They were hewn from the land over two thousand years ago by Ifugao tribespeople using
primitive tools, an achievement in engineering terms that ranks alongside the building of
the pyramids.
The survival of the terraces, added to the United Nations' World Heritage list in 1995, is closely
tied to the future of the tribespeople themselves. Part of the problem, it must be said, is tourism,
but you can't blame locals, who would otherwise have been toiling on the terraces, for making a
much easier buck selling reproduction tribal artefacts. The problem is compounded by the mass
migration of many younger tribespeople to the big cities. The result is that the region now only
meets a third of its rice requirements, and as you tour the region you'll notice areas where the
terraces are clearly in disrepair. Given that the main reason travellers come to the region is to see
the terraces, if they disappear then so will the tourist dollars. For now they remain spectacular
and are at their most impressive around March, April and May, right before the rice harvest.