Tag Archives: banaue view point

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Quickie Banaue

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Hagdan-handang Palayan ng Banaue or also known as the Banaue Rice Terraces is Violet’s childhood dream. She dream of becoming a Chemistry mobile teacher in Banaue, then maybe marry an Igorot and live a simple life with the view of the rice terrace. Probably she will never get that dream but at least she had seen the place and breathing in the what is left of that dream. This tour is part of Banaue-Sagada Adventure.

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Banaue: As Our Eighth Wonder of the World.

Ohayami bus. Manila to Banaue Route.

Ohayami bus. Manila to Banaue Route.

Getting There: 

Take Ohayami bus located at Cor. J. Fajardo St., Lacson Ave. Fare: 450 pesos and leaves at 9:00 PM and 10:00 PM daily (reserve if possible).

Stop-overs: Bulacan and Nueva Vizcaya.

Driver and ticket conductor is very friendly and helpful. They let us took the 9:00 PM bus even if our tickets is for 10:00 PM. The bus is not spacious but we’re seated well, it’s just that we cannot sleep at night especially in a bus ride.

Must See/Saw:

  • Batad Rice Terraces and Bangaan Rice Terraces declared as World Heritage Sites.
  • Banaue View Point: Take snapshots of the famous Banaue rice terraces. Find elderly Igorots and take photos of them. Buy souvenirs and try Igorot wooden bikes. 
  • Museum of Banaue View Inn: Founded by American anthropologist Dr. Otley Beyer, the first to study the Ifugao culture. Open by request.
  • Museum of Cordillera Sculpture: This museum by collections runs exclusively on the generosity of the Schenk and Ida family, donations and the 100 pesos admission fee. Located next to Spring Village Inn and is open from 8 am to 5 pm.
  • Tappiyah Falls: A 45 minutes to and hour walk from Batad Village..
  • Chapah Waterfalls: Located in Bocos Village.

Ifugao elders

 Violet and Len (her travel buddy) arrived 6AM in Banaue, one-hour ahead of schedule. The town is still sleeping and the only thing left to do is to roam around and find a place to eat breakfast.

People’s Restaurant

The staff are very accommodating and will certainly entertain every request if possible. Just like if you need the map of Banaue for 25 pesos (Violet collects maps of the places she visits), if you need your cellphones to be recharge and if you want to roam around, you can leave your bags with them, as well. They are also very fluent in english which is quite admiring, too. Anyways, this is our Dansilog breakfast for 90 pesos and the menu/price list.

Dansilog of people's restaurant in Banaueprice list of menu of people's restaurant

Since the van were still waiting for other passengers, Violet and Len took their time to enjoy the veranda view showcasing the town of Banaue and its landscape, and later went for a walk to a bridge near the place (seen in the picture).

Banaue Rice Terraces view from the veranda

View of BanaueBanaue Town Proper

Playing at the Bridge

The bridge is mainly used to connet and access the other side of the town proper. Once the town wake up, there are lots of things you can see specially in the market place.

Photo courtesy by Len Flores

Violet at the Bridge Len at the Bridge

Here are some of Violet’s shots at the bridge:

Banaue bridgeFish pond near the bridgeBanaue bridge crossingCrossing Banaue bridge
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Banaue View Point

By 8:30AM, the van is ready to go. For about 10 minutes we arrived at the view point. Here you’ll find a better panoramic view of vast terrain land of Banaue. Find elderly Igorots and take photos of them/with them, try out the peace sign which is cute in the picture below (with donations). Buy souvenirs and try Igorot wooden bikes. DSLR Photos courtesy from Len Flores, captured by Violet.

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Meet Pascal, a French backpacking world traveler. He’s staying in the Philippines for 21 days and his first PH journey is in Banaue-Sagada.

While here are some of the souvenirs found in the area (Violet’s photos):

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Haggling Tip: Bargain to save money, this is an essential skill needed in traveling in the Philippines.

  • The round woven bag cost 150, with haggling, get it for 130. In Sagada, it cost 180. The bigger bags are cheaper in Sagada (see Sagada Adventure). 
  • The key chains 3 pieces for 100 pesos, with haggling, 4pcs/ 100 pesos.
  • Ref Magnets cost 120 pesos, get it for 100. Smaller ones for 80 and get it for 50.

Violet and Len didn’t got their chance on seeing the 2 museums, even the Bontoc museum which 2-3 hrs travel away from Banaue. In order to enjoy more of Banaue and see the famous Batad, at least stay about a day or two which definitely on Violet’s travelogue list now.

Next destination is Sagada, Mountain Province. The van from Banaue cost 300 pesos which include the stopover at the Banaue View Point which passed b Bontoc and headed to Sagada.