The terraces of Banaue are carved into the Cordillera mountains of northern Luzon, and the cluster at Bangaan is one of the most photographed, a tight village of thatched huts at the bottom of a steep amphitheatre of stone-walled paddies. The Ifugao people built these terraces over centuries, shaping the mountainsides with walls of stone and earth, and channelling mountain springs through bamboo pipes and canals so that water flows from one paddy to the next. Popular accounts say they are two thousand years old, but archaeologists now think most of what we see grew over the past four or five centuries. Either way, it is a monument of patient labour with hand tools, and it is a living landscape, still planted and harvested by hand.
UNESCO listed the terraces in 1995, and Bangaan is among five clusters included. Rice is planted in the rainy season and harvested around the middle of the year, so the colours change from the green of young shoots to gold at harvest, and in the dry months the paddies are bare and reflect the sky. Ifugao houses stand on stilts with pyramidal roofs, and carved wooden figures called bulul guard the rice. The Ifugao drink tapuy, a rice wine, at celebrations. Rice terraces are fragile, and many are threatened by landslides, young people leaving for the cities and erosion.
The road from Manila is long, around eight to nine hours, and the mountain roads in the Cordillera are narrow, twisting and often wet. In the wet months, landslides block roads and leave slippery clay and rock on the surface. Fog is common, and the drop-offs are steep, so ride in daylight and slow down. Jeepneys and trucks are the main traffic, and they stop without warning. The road toward Bontoc climbs high and gives sweeping views.
Banaue has fuel stations, guesthouses and small restaurants, but the villages beyond have little, so fill up and carry cash. Barlig, listed fifteen kilometres away, is a remote mountain town. Come in the dry season from November to April, but expect cool nights at altitude.