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| Batad Rice Terraces |
A stay in Banaue is never complete without visiting the Batad Rice Terraces. Seeing it is a “must” but getting there is no picnic as I was soon to find out. The next day, April 12, Easter Sunday, after an early morning breakfast at the inn, Jandy and I were joined by Asia, Min-Min and Tom as we proceeded to the Trade Center. Here, we hired a jeepney for PhP1,500 and waited awhile for other hikers to join us, our intention being to split the bill even further. There were no takers. We decided for the 5 of us to go at it alone. The Batad Rice Terraces are located 16 kms. from the town and 12 kms. of the distance can be traversed, over the dusty Mayoyao national road, by our jeepney. Luckily for us, there were no sudden occurrences of landslides triggered by too much heat, it being the peak of the El Nino season. We safely made it all the way to the junction at Km. 12.
From hereon it would be hiking for the rest of the 4-km. distance. Jandy and I had on our indispensable media jackets (with its many pockets) and I brought along bottled water and my Canon point and shoot camera and videocam. The 2 to 3-hr. uphill/downhill and winding hike is demanding, but rewarding for hardy and seasoned hikers in good physical condition. I didn’t exactly fit in that category as I wasn’t in good shape. Jandy, a specimen of good health, kept egging me on – as I was huffing, puffing and sweating profusedly (even in the cold mountain air) – so I could keep up with the group, being the frequent tailender. Luckily, for me, there were about 6 waiting sheds offering refreshments (as well as souvenir items) to hikers. The rugged mountain trail sometimes narrowed to footpaths where only one person at a time could pass. Below us were treacherous ravines. Fog sometimes blanketed these trails.
After a few hours we emerged at the Batad “Saddle” in Bohr-Bohr, a landmark station in Cordilleras used to gauge the distance stretching to Batad. After another arduous hike, we finally reached our destination – the Simon Inn Viewpoint and its breathtaking side vistas of the Batad Rice Terraces. This stupendous amphitheater of stone and earth terraces, sculpted out of twin coalescing spurs of a steep, wooded mountain from riverbed to summit, are considered as the “Eighth Wonder of the World” and, unlike the more famous Pyramids of Egypt built by slave labor, were built in the true bayanihan spirit (system of helping each other without fees). However, the rice terraces weren’t as green as I would have wanted them to be, again it being the height of the El Nino phenomenon.
Below the viewpoint and adjacent to the rice terraces is Cambulo Village, a typical, unspoilt Ifugao village with two lodges and pale Hershey Kisses-like roofs in the midst of terraces. My 3 companions decided to visit this rustic cobblestoned village where the ancient craft of bark cloth weaving thrives. Going down seemed easy but I dreaded the uphill return trip so I opted to stay behind and admire the view instead. Too bad I didn’t bring any extra clothes with me. It would have been nice to have stayed overnight. Maybe next time. My 3 companions returned after 2 hrs.. After a 3-hr. stay (including lunch at the inn), we retrace our way back, under a more comfortable late-afternoon sun, to the Km. 12 junction where our jeepney waited for us. Unlike our previous trip, our jeepney was now filled to capacity with foreign and local hitchhikers all thankful for the free ride back to town. They then left us to settle our bill with our driver. The nerve!!! Jandy and I then proceeded to the Autobus ticket office at the town center to reserve bus seats as there was only one trip back to Manila. Asia, Min-Min and Tom planned to spend an extra day in Banaue. Afterwards, we returned to People’s Lodge for a well-deserved dinner and rest.
The next day (Monday), after a very early breakfast at the inn, we proceeded to the Trade Center where we boarded our Autobus bus for the 347-km. (10-hr.) long-haul trip back to Manila via the Dalton Pass in Nueva Vizcaya. Although the bus was branded as “aircon,” it would have been better for us to open the bus windows as the airconditioning wasn’t working. It was hot all the way. However, as soon as we reached the lowlands, my mobile phone became useful again. Thank God.