People say the rice terraces of the Ifugao are two thousand years old, though archaeologists now think the oldest of them may be a few centuries old, and either way the thing remains astonishing. Up in the Cordillera mountains of northern Luzon, the Ifugao people shaped whole mountainsides into stairways of stone-walled paddies, fed by bamboo pipes and channels bringing water from the forest above. If the terraces were laid end to end, it is said, they would circle half the globe. They were built by hand, without machines, and they are still farmed by hand, with rice planted in the rains and harvested once a year. UNESCO listed them in 1995, and they remain one of the country's best-known cultural landscapes.
The most famous sites are around Banaue, Batad, Bangaan, Mayoyao and Hungduan. Batad, a steep amphitheatre of terraces reached only by a hike down a long path, is the classic view. Banaue has its terraces visible from the road, a kind of green spiral rising from the valley floor. The land is sacred: the Ifugao believe in rice gods called bulul, carved as wooden figures with arms folded and knees up, and rice wine, tapuy, is part of every festival.
Getting here is half the journey. Banaue lies about a day's ride from Manila, through the plains of central Luzon and then up through the mountains, with a final stretch of narrow, winding road, landslides and the occasional waterfall across the carriageway. Many riders also come from the north by the Halsema Highway from Baguio, the highest highway in the Philippines, crossing over two thousand metres through cloud forest, mist and cabbage terraces. Fuel is available in Lagawe and Banaue, but supplies can run short, so fill up whenever you pass a station.
Typhoons between July and October bring heavy rain and slides and can cut roads for days. The dry season, from November to April, is most reliable, with the terraces golden before harvest in April, or glossy green from May to June.
Wear good waterproofs and allow extra time, because the roads are slow and the scenery will slow you more.