Ifugao Road Trip

The province of Ifugao is best known for its rice terraces, which can be found in almost all the municipalities of the province. Considered one of the eight wonders of the world, the famed terraces are a marvelous engineering feat achieved by the ancients to maximize use of the land for food production. But before my posts on these famed rice terraces, let me just feature here five municipalities in Ifugao that I have passed going to my target destination.

Lamut is the first municipality that I have passed just right after Bagabag, Nueva Vizcaya. It is where the Ifugao State University is located. Other the occasional scenic mountain by the roadside, there is really nothing much to see here. Kiangan is dubbed The Heritage Town of Ifugao. Believed to be the first human settlement in Ifugao, it is where Ifugao and American troops helped force General Yamashita to make his informal surrender in World War II. Sights to see here include the War Memorial Shrine, Million Dollar Hill, Nagacadan and Julungan Terraces and Pangaggawan Cave. Lagawe is the capital of Ifugao and basically the province' commercial center. A nice, laid back town with lush trees and gardens by the roadside and magnificent view of the montains as a backdrop to the smooth concrete road. A small rice terraces in these mountains serve as a hint of greater views to come. Hingyon is another laid-back town sanwiched between Lagawe and Banaue. It's main attraction is the Hingyon View Point where you can have a glimpse of the rice terraces. It even have several Ifugao huts by the roadside manned by the bulol or sacred wooden statues magnificently carved by the natives of Ifugao. And of course, the pitstop of the trip is Banaue. Banaue is famous for its mud-walled rice terraces which is listed as World Heritage. These rice terraces are impressive not only for their chiseled beauty but because they were created around two thousand years ago. This is just a prelude, more posts on Ifugao's famous terraces soon.