Banaue Rice Terraces

The Banaue Rice Terraces are a major attraction of the Philippines.

They are located in a mountainous landscape about 1,500 meters above sea level and cover nearly 10 square kilometers of the mountain slopes. About two thousand years ago, the Austronesian inhabitants of this region began to cultivate rice fields. To this day, is given to the cultivation on slopes up to 70 degrees slope continues. Thus, there are fields that are less than two meters wide. The Bontoc, other inhabitants of the region, led the construction further by paved the earth with stone walls. The terraces are considered to be the oldest building in the entire Philippines.

To this day, rice and vegetables are grown by local people on the terraces, although more and more younger Ifugaos consider agriculture as not attractive and opting for the more lucrative tourism industry, which has developed through the rice terraces. This results in a gradual erosion of the characteristic steps of which require regular cultivation and maintenance.

The rice terraces are along with four other facilities since 1995 a UNESCO World Heritage Site and included in the List of International Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks in the same year by the American Society of Civil Engineers.