High in the mountains of northern Luzon, the hillsides are carved into thousands of rice terraces, rising in curved steps from the river to the ridge, and the Mayoyao cluster is one of five inscribed by UNESCO in 1995 as the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras. The cluster is in Ifugao province, about seven kilometres from the town of Lagawe, and the terraces here feel more intimate than those of the better-known Banaue, with the houses of the villages set among the paddies and the forest above.
The Ifugao people built and maintained the terraces for centuries, by hand, with stone walls and bamboo pipes, and the system of irrigation channels carries water from the forest on the ridge to the fields below. A popular claim that they are two thousand years old is disputed, and many scholars believe that most of the terraces are a few centuries old. What is certain is that the system depends on community work, ritual and knowledge handed down by the elders, and that the Ifugao grow native heirloom rice that is harvested once a year. Their culture has a rich oral tradition, including the hudhud, a long chant sung at harvest and funerals, and carved wooden guardians called bulul stand in granaries to protect the rice. Traditional houses at Mayoyao stand on four posts, with pyramid roofs of thatch.
The roads here are not for the hurried. The highway from Lagawe to Mayoyao winds up through the mountains, steep and narrow, with a mixture of concrete and rough patches, and landslides and washouts are frequent from July to November, when typhoons cross the island. Rain and fog can reduce visibility. Tricycles and jeepneys are common and drivers make sudden stops, so keep your speed down. The best months are from December to April, when skies are clearer, though planting season, from about January to March, shows the terraces at their brightest green or silvery with water.
Lagawe has nearly seven thousand people, a market and fuel stations, and Mayoyao has small shops and simple lodges. Fill up in Lagawe, because fuel in the mountains can run out. Try local red rice, grilled pork and bamboo shoots, and the strong local rice wine, which is part of every celebration.