The Banaue Rice Terraces

"The Ifugao Rice Terraces epitomize the absolute blending of the physical, socio-cultural, economic, religious, and political environment. Indeed, it is a living cultural landscape of unparalleled beauty." 

These are the words used by UNESCO to describe the famous Philippine wonder.

The Banaue (pronounced as BA-na-weh) Rice Terraces,  are 2000-year old terraces that were carved into the mountains of Ifugao, Philippines about 2,000-3,000 years ago. The tribes people did this with their bare hands and crude implements, without using machinery to level the steps where they plant their rice, which is what makes this wonder so attractive, aside from the fact that the rice terraces are still used today. It is commonly referred by the Filipinos as "Eight Wonder of the World." 


This is considered to be one of the greatest engineering feats of mankind, because if each one were connected end to end, then they would reach halfway across the globe or be 10 times as long as the Great Wall of China. It was not until only 13 years ago (1995) that the Banaue Rice Terraces were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.


Even though it is about 8 or 9 hours from Manila in a car, the Banaue rice terraces are known to be one of the most spectacular places to see in the Philippines. What is the purpose of the rice terraces? They transformed the Cordillera mountains of barren stone into ledges that are fit to grow rice.