Stairways to Heaven
The Rice Terraces of Banaue (Hagdan-Hagdang Palayan ng Banaue) is often referred to as the Eight wonder of the World, and is recognized as a "Living Cultural Heritage Site" by UNESCO. Handcarved on the mountains of the Northern Philippines thousands of years ago by native tribes, the Banaue Rice Terraces truly manifested the ingenuity of the Ifugaos.
The Terraces were built to increase the cultivable area of the land, and to retain the waters in the rice paddies even at a high altitude. The Ifugaos literally took what nature gave and created a paradise in the sky. Also called the "Stairway to the Sky," these giant stepping stones are found 1,500 meters above sea level, and cover more than 10,000 square kilometers of moountainside. Laid end to end, the Terraces would stretch halfway around the globe.
The Banaue Rice Terraces is the only monument in the Philippines that shows no evidence of colonial influence, and its history is intertwined with its people, culture, and practices. Locals, to this day, still tend to the rice and vegetables on the terraces. Traditional methods are still being used to achieve and maintain environmental balance - a testament to the mastery of watershed ecology and engineering of the Ifugao tribes.
