Hungduan Rice Terraces in Ifugao

Planning a trip? Those who love to travel know the essence of all travel is about you and your enjoyment. Travelers know that the destination is a major part in planning a trip, experiencing and delving deeper into an unfamiliar places, people and culture is paramount.

Expand your horizons and set your sight to the Philippines, an off the beaten path travel site! An undiscovered paradise made of thousands of islands and white sand beaches all around! A tiny dot in the map of the world, and yet a haven for travelers, backpackers, retirees and even passersby.

It offers awesome tourist attractions, magnificent beaches, hot spring resorts, colorful festivals, hundreds of scenic spots and world-class hotels and facilities. Not to mention the tropical climate, the affordable prices as well as the friendly and hospitable, English-speaking people! You will be glad you came, and we’re sure, you WILL come back for more FUN in the Philippines!

HUNGDUAN RICE TERRACES

“Inscription in the Heritage List confirms the exceptional universal value of the rice terraces as a cultural landscape which deserves protection for the benefit of all humanity.” – written on a sign before entering the terraces

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The Banaue rice terraces are a well-known tourist spot in the Philippines. When we passed by them though, I didn’t think they were as amazing as the Hungduan rice terraces, where we got to stay for three days during Erica’s (PCV in Ifugao) Peace Corps 50^th anniversary celebration. When we hiked in, it was like walking into a different world. A more ancient one, where things are still unpolluted and untouched by modern ugliness.

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To get from point A to point B within the expansive rice terraces, one walks on the walls, which serve as sidewalks in this community. After winding through many rice fields, we arrived at Erica’s co-worker’s family house where the 20 something of us PCVs stayed. Even though I felt like an old woman after sleeping on the concrete floor, I wouldn’t have traded the experience, being in the middle of such a beautiful place. We had delicious meals of white beans, watercress, and rice only available in Ifugao. We played charades and talked around a bonfire.

One of our activities was rice harvesting. We plopped in the muddy field with socks on our feet to keep the leeches off and our host graciously taught us how to harvest rice. I’m pretty sure we picked in our couple of hours what they could’ve picked in 10 minutes, but it was great seeing where the rice we eat comes from. It made me appreciate the work it takes to get rice from the field to our plates.

Besides unending views of idyllic rice terraces, there was also a refreshing and I suppose clean river running through the town. A little hike away was a hot spring that was rumored to have curing powers for those with skin diseases. Those rumors were the very reason why I did not enter the hot spring, but I accompanied others who went and instead, splashed around in the nearby river. I loved just sitting on a rock while the cold water rushed around me.

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Hungduan is a UNESCO World Heritage site, but there were hardly any tourists around. While I haven’t been to Banaue, I’d totally recommend Hungduan over Banaue if you’re looking to avoid tourist hustlers but still want to experience breath-taking rice terraces.

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