Barlig Rice Terraces in Mountain Province

BARLIG RICE TERRACES

Text below from:

http://anglakwatserongfeet.blogspot.com/2012/06/barlig-place-where-time-stands-still.html

Barlig is a rarely visited remote town up North (belonging to Mountain Province) that overflows with natural wonders. The town, although surrounded by lush forests and mountains, rarely gets visitors probably because of the travel time (usually 13-14 hours) and the road conditions which are highly inaccessible during the rainy season. On the brighter side, this difficulty has helped protect the town from exploitation.

Photo from: https://nature.desktopnexus.com/wallpaper/2026654/

There are several ways to get to Barlig from Manila:

Manila to Bontoc:
1. Cable Bus Tour: located beside Trinity University of (Back of Shakeys) along E-Rodriguez Ave, Cubao QuezonvCity. It leaves daily for Bontoc at 8PM, (only 1 trip per day), fare costs Php 650. As soon as you arrive at Bontoc, it is best to buy your return trip ticket. The bus going to Manila leaves twice from Bontoc at 11AM and 3PM.

Manila to Bontoc via Banaue
2. Ohayami Bus: located along Lacson Ave near Espanya, they have several scheduled trips to Banaue (7PM, 8PM, 9PM and 10PM) travel time is roughly 7-8hours, fare costs 450. from Banaue you can either take a van (php 150) going to Bontoc (takes 1-2hours depending on the stops) or Jeepney

Bontoc to Barlig:
There is a jeepney (parked near the Church) scheduled to leave for Barlig Proper at 11am, 1PM and 4PM. If you areplanning to go straight to Lias, you’ll have to wait for the 4PM jeepney. Fare is 80Php, travel time is 1 to 2 hours.

Photos below from:

http://anglakwatserongfeet.blogspot.com/2012/06/barlig-place-where-time-stands-still.html

Photos and text below from:

https://nomadlens66.wordpress.com/2013/09/09/terraces-of-barlig-mountain-province/

A quaint town seemingly frozen in time. No internet and no phone signal. Only 2 rest-houses for visitors and 1 restaurant that we can see. There are a lot of terraces in the Cordilleras but Barlig stood out from the rest. All along the edges of the rice fields were large sections of pristine pine forests that have stood there for generations. I found out from the locals that there are Philippine Oak trees that flourish here and I saw the acorns to prove it.

The air seemed cleaner and cooler than the other areas. No pesticides are used and they grow their own variety of rice called Chor Chor Os. They deal with pests like birds and rodents by having the kids use slingshots. Their population is stable and it hovers around 4,000 people at any one time. This is one reason why they live sustainably and take only what they need from the environment around them. A strong tribal foundation has allowed Barlig to stay the same and resist all out development.