The Road from BANAUE to SAGADA: BAYYO RICE TERRACES Viewpoint

The Road from BANAUE to SAGADA:

BAYYO RICE TERRACES Viewpoint

I love the Bayyo Rice Terraces. If you just view the photos below, you will see what I mean. Once again, it's a testament to the engineering genius of the people in the Mountain Province. 

This is definitely one of the stops you must make when you're along the Banaue-Bontoc Road on the way to Sagada from Banaue or vice versa.

As you can see, there's always a village beside the rice terraces.

Very clean pay toilet beside the viewpoint

The Road from BANAUE to SAGADA: Mount Polis Rolling Coffee Shop and Restaurant

The Road from BANAUE to SAGADA: 

Mount Polis Rolling Coffee Shop and Restaurant

Mount Polis is one of the highest peak in Luzon. It's located in the borders of Ifugao Province and Mountain Province. Banaue is a municipality of the Ifugao Province while Sagada is a municipality of the Mountain Province. So if you're travelling from Banaue to Sagada or vice versa, you will definitely pass Mount Polis. 

It's important to remember that Mount Polis is a good place to stop for meals when you're on the way to Sagada or Banaue. It's 30 minutes away from Banaue and 2 hours away from Sagada.

As you approach Mount Polis, you see the police outpost.

The sign that indicates this is the border between Ifugao Province and Mountain Province

Inside Mount Polis coffee shop

Turo-turo style of food
It's actually the preferred meal style in the provinces because it's already pre-cooked and you can eat immediately.
If you order food in the provinces, you wait at least 1 hour for it to be cooked because they cook if from scratch.

We ate chicken adobo and inihaw na baboy (grilled pork).
Viand with 1 cup of rice costs 80 pesos. 

The view at Mount Polis.

My BANAUE and SAGADA Itinerary with Kids (Day 2: The Trek to the Batad Rice Terraces)

My BANAUE and SAGADA Itinerary with Kids 

(Day 2: The Trek to the Batad Rice Terraces)

DAY 1. FRIDAY
MANILA - KIANGAN

Read more of Day 1 of My Banaue and Sagada Itinerary with Kids 

DAY 2. SATURDAY

KIANGAN-BATAD-KIANGAN

See the BATAD RICE TERRACES

Map of the Route for Today

NOTES ON THE MAP:
Starting point of the Map: Ibulao Ibulao Bed and Breakfast at Kiangan

The road going to the Batad saddle is the road at the right of the Banaue Tourist Information Center building. 

The road at the left of the Banaue Tourist Information Center is the road going to Bontoc and to the Banaue Rice Terraces Viewpoint. 

OUR ITINERARY FOR TODAY:

8:00 AM:

Breakfast at Ibulao Ibulao Bed and Breakfast

9:00 AM:

Left Ibulao

9:30 AM-10:00 AM:

We met with our guide and driver to Batad.

10:00 AM - 6:00 PM:

Day trip to the Batad Rice Terraces

See my post "My Trek to the Batad Rice Terraces with Kids" for a quick guide to the Batad Rice Terraces with Kids. It shows our actual itinerary with tips and costs.

6:00 PM - 6:45 PM:

Travel from Banaue poblacion to Lagawe for dinner.

6:45 PM - 7:10 PM: 

Dinner at The Gazebo Restaurant in Lagawe.

See my post for more details: The Gazebo Restaurant in Lagawe: A Great Meal Stop near the Banaue Rice Terraces

7:10 AM - 7:30 AM 

Travel from The Gazebo Restaurant to Ibulao Ibulao Bed and Breakfast.

DAY 3. SUNDAY

KIANGAN - BANAUE - SAGADA

See the Banaue Rice Terraces at the Banaue Viewpoint
See Mount Polis
See the Bayyo Rice Terraces

Read more of Day 3 of My Banaue and Sagada Itinerary with Kids 

DAY 4. MONDAY

SAGADA

Do SPELUNKING AT SUMAGUING CAVE

See the LUMIANG BURIAL CAVE

Read more of Day 4 of My Banaue and Sagada Itinerary with Kids 

DAY 5. TUESDAY

SAGADA

See Echo Valley and Hanging Coffins
Do the Sagada Zipline

Read more of Day 5 of My Banaue and Sagada Itinerary with Kids 

DAY 6. WEDNESDAY

SAGADA - MANILA

See Dalton Pass

Read more of Day 6 of My Banaue and Sagada Itinerary with Kids 

BANAUE: My Trek to the Batad Rice Terraces with Kids

BANAUE: My Trek to the Batad Rice Terraces with Kids

The UNESCO declared the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras as a World Heritage Site. This site consists of 4 clusters of well preserved rice terraces in the following municipalities in the Ifugao Province: 

1. In the municipality of BANAUE, the rice terraces in Barangay Batad and Barangay Bangaan.  
2. In the municipality of MAYOYAO: the rice terraces in Barangay Mayoyao Proper.
3. In the municipality of KIANGAN: the rice terraces  in Barangay Nagacadan.  
4. In the municipality of HUNGDUAN: the rice terraces in Barangay Hapao.

We chose BATAD RICE TERRACES because a lot of people in blogs and in forums think it's the most magnificent of all because of its amphitheatre style of rice terraces.

My tips:

1. You need to hire a jeep with a driver and a guide to do this trek.

a. Even if you have a sports utility vehicle (SUV) for transportation, I highly recommend you hire a jeep with driver to bring you from Banaue poblacion to the Batad Saddle. The roads are rough and sometimes narrow so you need an experienced driver to navigate it for you. 

b.  For a group of 6 like us, it is safest to have at least two guides. One is in front, leading the group and one is at the back, making sure that the last person walking in the group is not unwittingly left behind. Also, at times, the difficulty of the trail requires the assistance of both guides.

2. You need to be physically fit to do this trek.

The locals say they travel from the Batad saddle to the Batad tourist information center (where all the inns and restaurants are) in 30 minutes. We did it in 1 hour and 15 minutes walking slowly and with a stick. 

Walking on flat terrain for an hour is challenging to some. So just imagine doing it on a hill in rough terrain. Rough means walking along a small trail with the ravine just beside you, or walking on a trail peppered with small and big rocks, or walking and trying to cross a mini landslide with the ravine a step away, or walking up a trail on a 45 degree slope. 

Others manage the trek by staying overnight at the inns near the Batad tourist information center and resting before navigating the trail back to the saddle. So be prepared to have enough energy if you intend to return to the saddle on the same day.

3. If you want to do this trek as a day trip (meaning, going to Batad and returning to your Banaue accommodations on the same day), skip Tappiyah falls.

This tip ensures that you have enough energy to do the trek on the way up the saddle, which is the more difficult one than the trek going down. The trek to Tappiyah falls is challenging and takes a lot of time and energy to finish.

After arriving at the Tourist Information Center, it's possible to do the walk along the rice terraces before lunch and while waiting for lunch to be cooked. 

4. The minimum equipment for this trek are rubber shoes and walking stick.

It's a must that you use good walking shoes to protect your feet from the rough terrain so you can survive the trek.

It is likewise essential for you to rent a walking stick once you reach the saddle (rental is at 10 pesos per stick). At some point it will actually save your life.  It will help you climb the hill and help keep your balance and footing while walking along the trail.

5. It's best to travel light so you will not tire easily during the trek.

Our backpack packing list are as follows:

My backpack contains the ff: camera, videocam, my water bottle, extra shirt, handkerchief or small hand towel, poncho, sunblock, first aid kit, tissue, hand santizer, chocolate bars (for the trek going up), money, cellphone. 

The kids' backpack contains the ff: extra shirt, water bottle, poncho, handkerchief or small hand towel, cellphone.

6. FOR SAFETY REASONS, STOP WALKING WHEN TAKING PHOTOS.  

A lot of tourists encounter accidents while taking photos, either falling into the rice terraces or falling at Tappiyah falls. Some have died because of it.

OUR ACTUAL ITINERARY:

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM:

Travel from the poblacion of Banaue to Batad Saddle.

This is where we met our guide and rode the jeep we hired to bring us to Batad saddle.
This is located after the "Welcome to Banaue" arch and before the Banaue hotel entrance.
You can make a toilet stop here.

The jeep we hired

The maximum capacity of the hired jeep is 10 people at a fixed rate of 2800 pesos.

The road from Banaue poblacion to Batad saddle is partially paved.

Part of the road is rough and unpaved.

The single lane road to Batad saddle.
When you hire a jeep with a driver, they would know how to handle this situation.

Construction along the road leading to Batad saddle.

The winding road to Batad saddle

At the entrance of Batad saddle

The Batad saddle

Stores at the Batad saddle

Walking sticks for rent at 10 pesos.
There's a restroom at Batad saddle.

11:00 AM - 12:15 PM:

Travel from the Batad Saddle to Batad Rice Terraces.

Ready to start the trek to Batad Rice Terraces.

FIRST LEG:
You have a choice of whether to take the SHORTCUT: the stairs with 415 steps, or the LONG CUT: the downward sloping road.

We took the LONG CUT because it's kinder to the knees.

You can see from the distance at the center of the photo the people walking down the stairs.

See the people going down and using the stairs.

At the left of the photo is the path we used.
The stairs is the path the other travellers used

SECOND LEG:

This is where the paths of those who take the long cut and those who take the short cut merge. 
From this point, you have a common path.

A portion where landslide took place

One wrong step and you slide down a ravine.

The Batad saddle

Halfway through the trek, we see where we came from, 
which is the Batad saddle at the UPPER RIGHT portion of the photo.

THIRD LEG:

When you start seeing the advertisements of the inns, it means you are near your destination.

Starting from this portion, it gets more difficult because the slope is steeper.

When you see this sign, your destination is just a few steps away.

12:15 PM:

Arrival at Batad Tourist Information Center.

Batad Tourist Information Center
We excitedly take our first photos of the Batad Rice Terraces.

OUR FIRST PHOTOS OF THE BATAD RICE TERRACES

Batad Village at the foot of the rice terraces

REGISTRATION AT THE BATAD TOURIST INFORMATION CENTER:

You need to register your name and the names of all your companions.
You also need to pay 50 pesos per person tourist fee.

The new rule as of February 2014

12:15 PM - 12:40:

Rested and ordered food at Rita's Mountview Inn and Restaurant

Walking towards Rita's Mountview Inn and Restaurant

We ordered food before trekking to the middle of Batad Rice Terraces
because food at the restaurants take an hour to cook.

The view of Batad Rice Terraces from Rita's Inn.

No cellphone signal

12:40 PM - 2:15 PM:

Walk along the rice terraces.

Starting the trek to the middle of Batad Rice terraces

Walking along the paddies

This is how wide the path is.
If you compare the paddies to your left and right, you can see how deep the paddy to your right is.


My tip: If you lose your balance, fall to your left instead of your right. 
You can break your neck if you fall to your right.
The terraces look like stairs from afar but in reality the height of the "steps" are more than 6 feet.

You can see the height and depth of the terraces.

The stone riprap is not cemented together.

The height of the riprap (what looks like stair steps from afar)
 is more than 6 feet.

We reach the middle of the rice terraces.
This is the view from the middle of the rice terraces.

The left side...

... the middle...

... the right side of the Batad Rice Terraces.

Souvenir shop at the middle of the Batad Rice Terraces

Our guides, Ogie and Daniel

2:15 PM -3:30 PM:

Lunch and rest at Rita's Inn.

We return to Rita's Inn for lunch.
This is the view you have when you dine at Rita's Inn.

Vegetable pizza at 180 pesos

Corned beef pizza at 150 pesos

Chicken Adobo at 170 pesos

Vegetable soup at 70 pesos

OUR BILL:

AUTHENTIC IFUGAO HOUSE BELOW RITA'S INN:

This is how they store their rice: in palay bundles and still in their stalks.

3:30 PM - 4:45 PM:

Travel from Batad to Batad Saddle

WE SURVIVED BATAD!!!

5:00 PM - 6:00 PM:

Travel from Batad Saddle to Banaue poblacion

ACTUAL COST OF TODAY'S TRIP:

Jeep with driver: 2800 pesos

2 guides: 2400 pesos, or 1200 pesos each

Banaue tourist information fee: 300 pesos for 6 person or 50 pesos per person

Lunch at Rita's homestay inn: 1360 pesos for 6 persons or 226 per person

Others:
Walking stick rental: 60 pesos, or 10 pesos per walking stick
Pay toilet: 5-10 pesos per use