Philippines

Angel Calayag - Philippines - 24.09.2010

Batad Village, Century Old Banaue Rice Terraces

The Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras were inscribed on the UNESCO WHS List in 1995. This inscription has five sites: the Batad Rice Terraces, Bangaan Rice Terraces (both in Banaue), Mayoyao Rice Terraces (in Mayoyao), Hungduan Rice Terraces (in Hungduan) and Nagacadan Rice Terraces (in Kiangan), all in the Ifugao Province. Built 2000 years ago and passed on from generation to generation, the Ifugao Rice Terraces reach a higher altitude and were built on steeper slopes than many other terraces. The Ifugao complex of stone or mud walls and the careful carving of the natural contours of hills and mountains to make terraced pond fields, coupled with the development of intricate irrigation systems, harvesting water from the forests of the mountain tops, and an elaborate farming system. The terraces illustrate a persistence of cultural traditions and remarkable continuity and endurance; archaeological evidence reveals that this technique has been in use in the region for 2000 years virtually unchanged.