Soar Over the Lush Rice Terraces of the Philippines | National Geographic

This living cultural landscape is nestled into the remote slopes of the Cordillera Mountain Range in the Philippines. For 2,000 years, the mountains of Ifugao Province have been cultivated with terraced rice fields that stretch thousands of feet high. They serve as an example of sustainable agriculture with traditional techniques. These emerald fields, and the knowledge to farm them, have been passed down from generation to generation for centuries. They've long been central to the survival of the Ifugao people, and they also hold great cultural significance. Entire communities cooperate on seasonal systems of planting, pest control, and harvest. These coordinated efforts are tied to lunar cycles, and sometimes accompanied by religious rituals. The UNESCO site encompasses five different clusters of rice terraces in the area. The Banaue rice terraces are the most famous of the lot. Banaue is about 230 miles north of Manila, and buses depart daily from the capital. It can take up to 10 hours to drive up the mountainous terrain to the rice fields. If you take a guided hiking tour, make sure to pack a picnic for an outstanding view of this remarkable landscape.