Batad & Bangaan - tips by travel authority Howard Hillman

Batad & Bangaan
Rice Terraces

Travel tips you can trust

Batad and Bangaan

Technically, they are geographically distinct from the Banaue Rice Terraces. However, in the tourism industry, the general "Banaue Rice Terraces" term often encompasses nearby rice terraces, including those of Batad and Bangaan.

Getting to
Batad & Bangaan

Reaching them from
Banaue is not a piece of cake

The journey entails a bumpy, jerky drive over rutted dirt roads. Then, you must hike the final legs. But the rewards are worth the effort.

Be aware that heavy rains can cause landslides and muddy conditions that make the roads impassable. This occurs mostly in the middle of the wet season, from June to August.

About Batad

Pronunciation

bah-TAHD

Setting

Its extensive terraces cling to a grand amphitheatre-shaped slope. The small Batad village sits at the bottom.

Visitor fitness

Those traveling to Batad should be fit hikers.

Accommodations

Most travelers wisely stay over in Batad rather than making a daytrip. There are casual inns with breathtaking views of the rice terraces. You can book them when you arrive.

Nearby attractions

The village is also a good jumping-off place for exploring other remote settlements and rice terraces. And, you can simply take a 2-hour trek to Tappiya Falls.

Traveling to Batad

The drive from Banaue to the Batad Junction (see guide map) takes about one hour. Driving up the road extension from the junction to the trail head at the Saddle ridge consumes another half hour or, if you have to hike it because the road is washed out or blocked by landsides, one hour. From the Saddle it takes the average hiker about 1.5 hours to reach Batad.

Return trip from Batad

It is much more strenuous and time consuming than getting there because you have to trudge up the steep mountainous path from Batad to the Saddle. It can be hot and humid in midday.