Photo Print | The Refreshing Batad Tappiya Falls

Usually, there is nothing more pleasing that returning to a place where you have endured hardship. ~ Tahir Shah A challenging trek but a rewarding sight once reached, tucked behind the mountains of Banaue is the Batad Tappiya Falls. Large 36×24 Canvass Print available and other print sizes (starting from 4×6) available at SmugMug WHCC.

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Ifugao: Banaue Batad Bangaan Photo Adventure Chronicles 2011

It was three days and 2 nights at the cool highlands of Ifugao. It was a mini Photo Adventure with the small number but we did give out what we promised which is adventure, immersion and tons of photographic opportunities. This was our first Backpack Photography for the year and we’re cooking something up for the last quarter of the year. In the meantime here’s our itinerary for the Banaue Photo Adventure last May and I’ve also added some Ifugao posts from previous weeks.

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Ifugao: Hiking The Scenic Back Trail from Batad to Bangaan

Not many people really stay in Bangaan as it’s a place that’s either far or in between. The rice terraces of Batad usually overshadows that of Bangaan by coming in first geographically and If you are headed to Mayoayao, it’s a place you usually pass by on the road. But how did I came about it? Well you could say early in my traveling sojourns, I was with a bunch of crazy travelers with sadistic humor and chose to torture us then, newbie hikers, by going to a longer back trail route to Bangaan from Batad. But seriously, we were just yearning for more adventure then and took an off-the-beaten trail which promises a much rewarding experience.

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Ifugao: Batad Morning, Chewing Moma and Bangaan Family Inn

It’s such a sheer delight to open our doors and be greeted by the morning scenery of Batad Rice Terraces and the surrounding mountains. Waking up was effortless, but seeing the warm-lit clouds like a painted sky above the mountain skyline put each of our initial plans to wash up when we got out of bed to a halt and quickly grab our cameras instead to capture what’s left of this sweeping light. Having woken up several times in this place, it’s a rare moment for me to see the sky lit up like this.

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Ifugao: Backpack Photography Banaue Photo Adventure Day One

“Why do you have to go back here? The trail is exhausting!”, a participant exclaimed while we were hiking from the Saddle to Batad proper learning that it would be my fifth time to come here. While I laughed it out as I carefully navigated through a rocky downhill part of the trail, I was thinking at the back of my mind that there are places really worth going back to. Places you have to work hard for and feel rewarded once you reach it. Batad is still one of those magnificent places and I never get tired looking at.

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Ifugao: Trekking Batad Terraces to Tappia Waterfalls

It’s one thing to look at the Batad Rice Terraces from afar, but it’s another seeing it up close and on a different angle. After setting down our things at Simon’s Inn, we rested a few minutes to prepare our trek to Tappia Waterfalls (or Tappiyah Waterfalls). The trek to Tappia Falls is at least an hour as I remember. We didn’t hire a guide and just relied on my memory on where to go. I remember going on two routes then. Let’s just see if I recall them right.

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Ifugao: Batad Rice Terraces still a Wonder after the years

The Batad Rice Terraces

If there is one thing in the Philippines I could say I am proud of, that would be the Rice Terraces in the Ifugao Mountains. This marvel of an architectural and cultural landscape was built by our ancestors more than 2000 years ago. Other countries have terraces as well but none can compare to the height, steepness and intricacy. Even the steps of these terraces when combined end-to-end can encircle half the globe. Truly a deserving site to be included in UNESCO’s World Heritage Lists.

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