Here is the Batad part of our adventure. The rice terraces (pic1, pic2, pic3, pic4) here in Batad are magnificent!
Batad Rice Terraces
We left Sagada at around 12 in the afternoon and as soon as we reached Bontoc an hour later, we boarded another jeep bound for Banaue. Halfway (22 km) down the road, we hopped-out of the jeep and tried top-loading. It is an 'extra challenge' like adventure where you sit at the top of jeep as it traverses the ups & downs of a curvy narrow road with cliffs on one side. It was frightening but it was fun. The views from the top is spectacular! (Sayang at wala kaming picture habang nasa taas ng jeep.)
After reaching Banaue at 4 pm, we boarded the last trip going to Batad as it is about to leave. It is not a regular trip but lucky for us, it is a Saturday – the village people buy their weeks supplies at the downtown, and the jeepney ascends approximately 2 km more of dirt road to an area they called Saddle. It is also in this ride that we meet the mother of our guide and told us all the infos we need to know. She told us that we came at the right time – that it is a holiday in Batad that day and it is forbidden to cross the rice paddies from sunrise to sunset. We later learned from a fellow visitor that they have just performed a ritual. Unfortunately, he and a foreigner crossed the paddies that day and they need to pay for the expenses to repeat the ritual. We reach the end of the road after an hour and have to walk down the mountains for another 1 hour to reach the village. We stayed and ate our dinner at Hill Side Inn.
After a good night sleep, we headed down the mountains for the waterfalls (6:15 am). After passing through the village houses, rice paddies and steep trails (pic1, pic2, pic3), we reached the waterfalls (pic1, pic2, pic3, pic4, pic5). I just realized yesterday that it was my first time to see a waterfalls that big, and it is not even that big.
Tappia Waterfalls
Since we need to catch the last trip going down to Banaue, we headed back to the inn to pay our dues and picked-up our things (a backpack of at least 10 kilos). The climb back to the inn was so hard, we literally crawled our way up on some occasions. The pictures below are taken at the relatively easy portion of the trail... syempre! :-)
Leah and I on our way back to the Inn
The climb back to the the top (Saddle) was even harder– it was torturous. Even though we were too tired, we have no choice but to forced our body to climb up once again to where the jeepney stops. It's either that or we need to walk for another one hour down the road where it usually stops. The highschool students of Batad needs to go to another village (which is more than 20 kilometers away) to study, and this special trip was for them. They were so kind to wait for us at the top. Thank you Jesus for everything! We strongly felt your presence on our adventure.
'Strawberry' on our way up to the Saddle.
By 12 noon, we reached Banaue and ate at People's. Instead of waiting for the 5:30 pm Autobus that will take us straight back to Manila, we boarded a jeep bound for Solano via Lagawe at around 1:30 pm. We were in Solano for two hours to satisfy our cravings for food (while climbing our way back to the Saddle). We left Solano at 6 pm and arrived in Manila after 6 hours.
Our journey created a lot of stories to share and memories to remember. It was tiring, but it was fun!
Batad Rice Terraces
We left Sagada at around 12 in the afternoon and as soon as we reached Bontoc an hour later, we boarded another jeep bound for Banaue. Halfway (22 km) down the road, we hopped-out of the jeep and tried top-loading. It is an 'extra challenge' like adventure where you sit at the top of jeep as it traverses the ups & downs of a curvy narrow road with cliffs on one side. It was frightening but it was fun. The views from the top is spectacular! (Sayang at wala kaming picture habang nasa taas ng jeep.)
After reaching Banaue at 4 pm, we boarded the last trip going to Batad as it is about to leave. It is not a regular trip but lucky for us, it is a Saturday – the village people buy their weeks supplies at the downtown, and the jeepney ascends approximately 2 km more of dirt road to an area they called Saddle. It is also in this ride that we meet the mother of our guide and told us all the infos we need to know. She told us that we came at the right time – that it is a holiday in Batad that day and it is forbidden to cross the rice paddies from sunrise to sunset. We later learned from a fellow visitor that they have just performed a ritual. Unfortunately, he and a foreigner crossed the paddies that day and they need to pay for the expenses to repeat the ritual. We reach the end of the road after an hour and have to walk down the mountains for another 1 hour to reach the village. We stayed and ate our dinner at Hill Side Inn.
After a good night sleep, we headed down the mountains for the waterfalls (6:15 am). After passing through the village houses, rice paddies and steep trails (pic1, pic2, pic3), we reached the waterfalls (pic1, pic2, pic3, pic4, pic5). I just realized yesterday that it was my first time to see a waterfalls that big, and it is not even that big.
Tappia Waterfalls
Since we need to catch the last trip going down to Banaue, we headed back to the inn to pay our dues and picked-up our things (a backpack of at least 10 kilos). The climb back to the inn was so hard, we literally crawled our way up on some occasions. The pictures below are taken at the relatively easy portion of the trail... syempre! :-)
Leah and I on our way back to the Inn
The climb back to the the top (Saddle) was even harder– it was torturous. Even though we were too tired, we have no choice but to forced our body to climb up once again to where the jeepney stops. It's either that or we need to walk for another one hour down the road where it usually stops. The highschool students of Batad needs to go to another village (which is more than 20 kilometers away) to study, and this special trip was for them. They were so kind to wait for us at the top. Thank you Jesus for everything! We strongly felt your presence on our adventure.
'Strawberry' on our way up to the Saddle.
By 12 noon, we reached Banaue and ate at People's. Instead of waiting for the 5:30 pm Autobus that will take us straight back to Manila, we boarded a jeep bound for Solano via Lagawe at around 1:30 pm. We were in Solano for two hours to satisfy our cravings for food (while climbing our way back to the Saddle). We left Solano at 6 pm and arrived in Manila after 6 hours.
Our journey created a lot of stories to share and memories to remember. It was tiring, but it was fun!
