 |
Banaue Rice Terraces
One of Philippines' pride is the beautiful Banaue Rice Terraces. These man-made rice paddies were constructed about 2,000 years ago. The original Ifugao's used their bare hands to build the stone walled mountain, one stone at a time.
This magnificent landscape is the main tourist attraction in Banaue. They have a lot of visitors who go out there to go trekking too. It's perfect for hiking because of the slopes and the narrow rugged trails. The carved out mountains looked like stairways going up the sky. It goes up to 4,900 feet high. It was said that if you put the steps side by side, from end to end, it would wrap halfway across the globe. It is truly a work of art, no wonder it was named as the 8th wonder of the World.
The lands are still being used today to plant their crops. The Ifugao's only use organic fertilizers and natural pesticides gathered from the neighboring forest, just like their ancestors did many, many years ago. Some areas of the rice terraces are showing signs of erosion. It needs maintenance. Some of the new generation Ifugao's do not want to work in the farm anymore, so if it starts falling apart, they don't know how to repair it. But despite this, visitors still flock to see the Banaue Rice Terraces.
|
|
