Banaue - Batad - Cambulo - Pula

Here we go for a wonderfull weekend around Banaue, recorded at the Unesco World Heritage for its rice terraces, in Northern Luzon. I am back in the Cordillera for an awesome trek throughout authentic villages only accessible by walk and with the fabulous view of rice terraces...

We (3 other friends and I) took first an overnight bus on Friday evening... In the morning, we went throught the village and decided to get Batad, few hours away from here and to sleep there on Saturday night...

Banaue adn the first rice terraces...

Banaue...

We took then a tricycle that took us to Batad Junction... from that point, a walk of 2 hours remained to get to Batad...

Pictures on the way...

A hanging bridge...

Men at work...

Vanessa, Prisca and Sylvie... and teh tricycles...

Here started the walk to Batad...

First view of Batad... A tiny village, far away from any roads, any cars... and famous for its terraces !

After setting up in a hotel, we went in the afternoon to the waterfall, behing the hill, crossing the Batad and the rices terraces...

Tappia Waterfall...

On Sunday morning, after a long night, I left the girls who went back to Manila, and I carried on my way to visit 2 other villages: Cambulo and Pula... Here we go for a very 2 days trek accross rice terraces valley!

Cambulo, down there...

At lunch, after 2 hours hiking, I got Cambulo, tiny village in the middle of the terraces like Batad, but more untouched, because farther than Batad from any road... I ate this meals, entirely produced here! Hiking here is not like any walk along the seaside, trails are going up and down so I needed forces to go on!
And then some kids helped to find my way to Pula, the next village, where I wanted to sleep!Unfortunately, it started to rain...

A fancy hanging bridge on the way...

3 hours later, I got Pula, where I satyed overnight. Here, the time has stopped... I felt like in a documentary on National Geographic ! (For French, just think about Ushuaia Nature)... People produce most of what they need. They make handicrafts that they sell in Banaue, 4hours away by walk,and get in change what they cannot produce. Electricity came up few years ago, but it is only solar and doesn't work everytime!

View from my window...

The school playground...

Mauro and his grand son... He haused me and, in the evening, told me about some foreigners who got lost in the surroundings!

You can see a blue house on the left, it is Mauro's house...

On Monday morning, I started early to get Banaue in the afternoon in order to go back to Manila in the evening... I left behind me the last rice terraces and went for a 4 hours walk through the Jungle... I found my way quite easily (except on time that made me loose 45min).

The rain has made the trails more difficult to follow...

I came bak in Banaue in the afternoon... After a shower and some res, I went down town to take some pictures... I then played pool with some locals...

The market...

I rode a bus to Manila in the evening!

That was an awesome weekend, far away from the polution of Manila, and very close to the nature! A natural paradise were people are friendly and so helpfull... I forgot to say that there are Ifugao people, leaving with traditions dating from thousands years ago!