The Pinay Solo Backpacker

Batad Rice Terraces is one of  the 5 rice terraces found in Banaue that’s listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Unlike the world-famous mud-walled  Banaue Rice Terraces carved out by the Ifugao‘s some 2,000 years ago (located  in Banaue town proper), Batad  Rice terraces grandeur is owed to its amphitheater-like stone-walled terraces. Like Sagada, Batad being an isolated enclave with breathtaking views of the lush green surroundings and rice terraces, the warmth of  the Ifugaos and interesting culture makes it’s a backpacker’s mecca.

Summer  last year, I revisited Batad after 10 years. Surprisingly, nothing much has changed, except that here’s already electricity in this sleepy town . I never experienced Batad with electricity  though, because at that time it’s brown out and according to the locals of  Ramon’s Homestay it happens most of the time.  But I like it that way, I remember back in college, it was a favorite  of  one of our  professors in Anthropology so the entire class went there.  We didn’t even took a jeep to the saddle point that time, we all hiked for like 2 hours to get to  the village of  Batad. Some foreigners still do that  until now.

(Rates  as of  my April 2010 trip)

How to get to Batad:

-Manila to Batad-

As of my last check (October 20,2012), only Ohayami Trans ply the route between Manila and Banaue.

Ohayami Trans

Address: Corner J. Fajardo A.H Lacson Sampaloc, Manila

Contact Number: 0927-6493-0355 or (02) 5160-501  Manila Booking Office/    (+63) 917- 506-0817

Schedule: Daily 9 PM and 10 PM

Fare: Php 500

Nueva Vizcaya

-Clark, Pampanga to Banaue-

This is a complex route though and you have to change buses.  From Clark airport you can  take a cab to Dau Bus terminal or ride a jeep to SM Clark. Then take another jeep to Dau (ask the driver to drop you off in Caltex near McDonalds and KFC). Walk to the right to Dau Bus Terminal.

Then you can ride a bus : Dau–>Tarlac–>San Jose—>  Solano,Nueva Vizcaya then take a jeep to Lagawe (fare Php 75 (USD2) / travel time 1 & 1/2 hours) —>from Lagawe take another jeep to Banaue (Php 30 (less than USD1)/travel time 50 minutes).

Alternatively, from Clark airport, you can just ride a bus to Manila and start your night trip there.

Going back  to Banaue from Batad:

Make sure your back at the saddle point before 9am to catch the jeep back to Batad, otherwise you have to rent again. We we’re lucky because during that time, there’s a group of UP students who visited Batad so we hired the jeep back to Banaue for Php 700 (USD14).

Going Back to Manila from Banaue:

Night trip:

Buses leaves at  6pm and 8pm. A reservation is  highly recommended, so I suggest before heading to Batad, make sure you reserve a seat back to Manila first.

Day trip:

Take a jeepney from Banaue to Lagawe (Php 30/travel time 50 minutes),  from Lagawe it’s another jeep ride to Solano, Nueva Vizcaya (fare Php 75 / travel time 1 & 1/2 hours) and in Solano you can now catch buses bound to Manila (Php 375 / travel time : 7 hours).

-Manila-Solano, Nueva Vizcaya-Banaue -

Take a bus bound to Tuguegarao, Cagayan ( Baliwag Transit, Florida Bus or Victory Bus) it will pass by the town of  Solano in Nueva Vizcaya. Several jeepneys ply the Solano-Banaue route or the Solano-Lagawe route, fromLagawe take another jeep to Banaue (Php 30 (Less than USD1)/travel time 50 minutes).

Victory Bus website: http://www.victoryliner.com/schedules/

How to get to Batad from Banaue:

From the terminal in Banaue, you can take a tricycle to Banaue town proper (Php 10 per pax).  Look for jeeps going to Batad saddle point, there are jeepneys bound to Batad junction only (about 3km short from the saddle point). There are two jeepneys in the morning and one at about 3 pm at Banaue.

Most  likely  though you’ll end up hiring a jeep to Batad saddle point , we got one for Php  2,000 (USD 40) (one way) and shared the cost  with other  foreigner backpackers so we paid Php 150 (USD3) each.  We found a jeep parked at Greenview Restaurant that time who are waiting for tourists. Alternatively, you can ask  at Banaue Tourist Information and pay a tourist fee (Php20 (USD0.50).  I suggest you eat breakfast first at one of the many restaurants with a  breathtaking view of  Banaue town before you head for a trek  to Batad, we had breakfast at Greenview Restuarant (prepare at least Php 100 (USD2.5) for one meal though).

From the drop off point at the saddle point, there are guides waiting, most of them are affiliated with Batad guesthouses so they will most likely bring you to their guesthouse.  We paid Php 700  (USD14)for the guide including the trek to Tappiya Falls, there is a gently sloping trail leading to Batad or you can take a steeper footpath (the 450 steps shortcut) and connect to the main trail further down the hill.

Around Batad:

There’s no jeep nor tricycle in Batad so you can just walk around the village. Please make sure you ask permission before taking photos of people especially elderly and children.  They don’t like having their photos taken, they have this local belief of  associating photos with death. Please respect differences, respect their culture.

Food & Drinks:

You may also want to buy your  snacks and drinks at one of the stores in Banaue town proper.  As you may have heard already, drinks is not at all cheap in Batad, a small bottle of coke in Banaue town for Php12 (US$0.50) can cost  Php 40 (US$1) in Batad ( but please understand that locals have to carry these products all the way from Banaue town).

Guesthouses and Inns in Batad serves mostly  western dish.   Expect to pay at least Php 60-100 (USD 1.2-3)  for one meal in Batad. But you can also arrange with your guesthouse for a local food to be cooked for you, must try is the Batad or Igorot specialty called Pinikpikan. Our class tried this on my 1st visit to Batad. There’s no ingredient in making Pinikpikan except for salt and a live native chicken (salted pork is optional), what makes it special is its smoky taste. The chicken wings  is beaten lightly with a piece of stick until the chicken dies.  The purpose of this beating is to allow for blood coagulation in the wings.  This provides for the different taste of the chicken.  This is why it is called pinikpikan because the chicken is beaten.

Also  try the sweet potatoes grown in Patpat Sitio (Sub-Village).

Where to stay in Batad / Batad accommodations/guesthouses:

Ramon’s Home Stay: We stayed here because our guide took us here who happens to be a family member of the owner.  But I must say, it is a good choice.  Ramon Homestay is located within the village itself (Php 200 (USD 4) for a regular room;  Php 250 (USD 5) to stay in a traditional Ifugao hut). Ramon Homestay  is an excellent source of help and information about the local history and culture.  They will show you traditional artifacts, and host bonfires at night  with matching rice wine  and stories of local practices, so make sure you ask about the local culture.

Mang Ramon’s Guesthouse ( Ramon’s Native Homestay contact number 09168743787/ Facebook:  Ramon’s Native Homestay)

Batad as I’ve mentioned above is a backpacker’s mecca so no worries, you won’t have a hard time finding a room to stay (Php 200-Php250 (USD 4-5), here are several guesthouses in Batad like:

Rita’s Mount View Inn (we had breakfast here, check out their cool tourist wall), Hillside Inn, Simon’s Place,  Batad Pension and Restaurant, Foreigner’s Inn, and Cristina Inn.

Activities in Batad:

trek  around the Batad Rice terraces of course!  If you are adventurous, and have much energy, try to trek the highest  of them all!

you can have some photo-op with an old local Ifugao wearing his Ifugao costume at the rice terraces , the old man will ask you for some “donation”, you can hand any amount.  (I shouldn’t encourage this, my Anthropology professor and friends will kill me! haha)

trek  to Tappiya Falls - it’s  a 40 minute hike, a guide is a must here and please be careful especially during rainy season, I tell you  it’s not an easy trek! We paid Php 700  (US$14)for a guide from the saddle point, all the way to Batad and Tappiya Falls.  You can coördinate with your guesthouse or the Batad Tourist Information Center. Batad has a network of guides called the Batad Environmental Tour Guides Association where 20% of all the fees these guides collect goes toward restoring the rice terraces.

swim in the cold water of the 30 meter high Tappiya (Tappia) Water falls. Do check out the  ”refrigerator” of the store, the owner cools the soft drinks in the waters of the falls.

check out the old Ifugao females tribal tattoo (in the their arms). They have stories to tell, though most of them doesn’t like having their pictures taken.

visit  Patpat Sitio (Sub-Village) and try the sweet potatoes

Other  treks out of  Batad:

Batad-Bangaan Hike – a 2 and 1/2 hike starting behind Rita’s Mount View Inn down to the river.

Batad-Cambulo-Pula-Banaue Viewpoint Hike- a guide is a must for this hike. If you take this hike, it is suggested that you stay overnight in Cambulo where cheap guesthouses are available.

Batad Souvenirs:

There several shirts, trinkets, sold at the stops on your trek to and fro Batad. Do buy one.

Ifugao weaving- Beside the Foreigner’s Inn at the main village there is a small hut with an elderly woman weaving traditional clothing with a backstrap loom.

Romeo’s Antique Ifugao Collections- check it out at Rita’s Mountain View Inn

Handmade Ifugao knives- look for the village blacksmith of  Babluy-> Juan Buy-a.

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Related Post:

Batad Rice Terraces Itinerary

*********************************************************************************************** About the Blogger : Gael is a Filipina solo adventurer, a dream chaser and a student of life.  Her (mis) adventures are documented in this blog. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter. For advertisement, partnerships and sponsorship, click here. or email me at thepinaysolobackpacker(at)yahoo(dot)com. **********************************************************************************************

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