Banaue Rice Terraces

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The Banaue Rice Terraces

The Banaue Rice Terraces are 2000-year old terraces that were carved into the mountains of Ifugao in the Philippines by ancestors of the Batad indigenous people. It is largely thought that the terraces were built with minimal equipments, largely by hand. The terraces are located approximately 5000 feet above sea level and cover nearly 4000 square miles of the mountainside. They are fed by an ancient irrigation system located from the rainforests above the mountains.

The Banaue Rice Terraces is part of the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras, ancient sprawling man-made structures dating from 2,000 to 6,000 years old. They are found in the provinces of Mountain Province and Ifugao. Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Locals to this day still tend to the rice and vegetables on the terraces, although more and more younger Ifugaos do not find farming appealing, often opting for the more lucrative hospitality industry generated by the Rice Terraces. The result is the gradual erosion of the characteristic "steps", which need constant reconstruction and care.

External links

Panoramic view of the Banaue Rice Terraces

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