A visit to Bangaan, among the rice terraces

‘That’s my village, Bangaan’, said Conchita, pointing to a cluster of houses among the rice terraces far below where we stood on the terrace of a simple roadside restaurant. Peering down through the drizzling rain I could make out a simple church and rooftops of corrugated metal and thatch.

‘That’s where we are going’, added our guide Jezzy. I gulped! I had known we would need to tackle some steps today but I’d been assured that she would take us to a village that was easier to reach, as I’d warned her I could find a long hike too difficult. If this was supposed to be easy … !

It was worth it, however. As I made my way very cautiously down steps that were often slippery and very uneven, I stopped often for photos as the views of the village below me changed, and new angles on both buildings and rice terraces opened up. I shared a couple of photos from Bangaan in one of my ‘postcards‘ from the Philippines; now for a closer look at that amazing landscape.

With all the galleries in this post you can click to open as a slideshow and see captions

The rice terraces of Bangaan

The Ifugao people have farmed these terraces for two thousand years, and today’s farming methods have changed little since the terraces were created. Using modern machinery and farming methods would be totally impossible here. Each family owns a few terraces, and Jezzy told us that traditionally the red shrubs we saw were used to mark the boundaries. But the community works together to maintain the stone or earth walls, and they help each other out at harvest-time. This is subsistence farming; the rice is grown to feed themselves, not for sale. The Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995, with Bangaan one of five individual locations included in that listing. According to the UNESCO website:

For 2,000 years, the high rice fields of the Ifugao have followed the contours of the mountains. The fruit of knowledge handed down from one generation to the next, and the expression of sacred traditions and a delicate social balance, they have helped to create a landscape of great beauty that expresses the harmony between humankind and the environment.

The village school

About halfway down we stopped at the local school. Earlier this morning Jezzy had gone to buy lollipops and wafer biscuits for the children. I would personally prefer to offer pencils or maybe postcards from home on such a visit. But we hadn’t come prepared, while Jezzy had. And the sweet gifts were certainly appreciated!

There were some children in the playground who clearly knew what to expect from our visit as they rushed over to greet Jezzy as soon as we appeared. We went into each class at a time, starting with the youngest. In each the children recited a greeting, but they received the treats differently according to age. The younger ones hurried over to us, those slightly older stayed at the desks looking expectant, while some of the oldest continued with their work while we walked between the desks, only pausing briefly to say, ‘thank you ma’am’ or ‘thank you sir’. But all were ready as we left to chorus as drilled, ‘Thank you for coming to see us, please come again’. One class went further and sang us a rather military hymn.

From the school we descended at least as far again until finally we reached the village. Bangaan has been labelled as a Living Cultural Landscape as it still retains a few traditional Ifugao houses called bale. 

At home with Conchita

Conchita’s was the first house we came to, and she welcomed us to sit down. She introduced us to her mother-in-law, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren, the youngest just two months old.

She brought coffee while Jezzy showed us the first stage of preparing rice for cooking, stripping the grains from the stalks. We were encouraged to have a go, with mixed results! Conchita then demonstrated how they pound the rice, winnow, pound and winnow again to get it ready for cooking. They do this every day, preparing the rice that, like most Filipinos, they eat with every meal.

Village homes

Conchita then showed us around the village. We saw some of the traditional Ifugao houses, bale, built on raised platforms. Rice can be dried in the open below, the family live on the first floor and the loft area is used to store rice. The access ladder is raised when no one is home. And the platform is attached to the uprights without nails so they can be easily separated should they want to move their location. Outside one home we met an elderly woman who showed us her weaving, and who spoke decent English.

Then we returned to Conchita’s house where we were urged to try on some traditional dress. Neither of us is particularly enthusiastic about this sort of activity as a rule. But it would have been churlish to refuse, and her little grandson was keen to join in the fun.

We bought a small woodcarving of a rice guardian such as sits outside most homes here, as both a souvenir of our visit and a way of saying thank you. And as we left they produced gifts: a fridge magnet and a bag of the rice we had ‘helped’ to prepare.

The uphill climb

After that it was time to tackle the steps back up. This time I counted them. There were almost 500, varying in depth from just a couple of centimetres to probably more than 20! I managed the first half, to the school, without too much difficulty although I needed a couple of short rests and a longer one at that halfway point. But the second half really took it out of me, and I felt pretty drained and wobbly when we finally reached the top. However I was pleased to have managed it as the visit to the village had been really lovely, with everyone we met there so welcoming.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this Monday Walk. Maybe you’ll appreciate the views all the more for not having to tackle those steps in the rain yourself!

I’m also sharing this with Terri for her monthly Sunday Stills challenge, this month focusing on shades of green.

I visited Bangaan in February 2025, and have permission to share all these photos, including those taken in the school and Conchita’s grandchildren