Batad Rice Terraces, Banaue, Philippines [UNESCO World Heritage]
August 18, 2012
Majestic Ampitheather, Batad Rice Terraces
Batad Rice Terraces in 1000 peso Bill
Batad, Banaue, Philippines, Geographical Location. 250km north of Manila
Directions: take the 9-10pm Ohayami Bus in Manila to Banaue [P500] [9-10Hrs], the bus will stop near the entrance to the Town Proper, go down to the Town Proper, in the town proper you can rent a Jeep going to Batad Saddle [P1000-2500] [1-1.5Hrs] includes ride back to Banaue but daytrip only, you can also arrange a Jeep transportation at the Banaue Tourist Information at the Town Proper. We were able to rent a jeep for P1500 for 6 people therefore [P250/head]. When reaching the Batad saddle, you will walk down to the Batad town proper for around 1-1.5hours. The Jeepney will wait at the Batad Saddle.
Ohayami bus station address in Manila: Cor. J. Fajardo St., Lacson Ave, Sampaloc, Manila
Ohayami bus station address in Banaue: Town center, Banaue, Ifugao
What to do in Batad
#1. Walk around the Rice Terraces, the views are just breath-taking!.
One of the views from trekking Batad Rice terraces.
#2. Trek to the Tappiyah Waterfalls**!! and swim. Hire a guide for around P600-700 pesos. We did not hire a guide because one of our colleagues Ziggy has already been there and knows the way. The trek from the town proper to the Tappiyah Waterfall is around 1-1.25 hrs.
Tappiyah Waterfalls
Where to sleep at Batad.
We did’nt sleep at Batad but there are a lot of hotels such as Hillside Inn and Restaurant, Simon’s View Inn and Pizza, Ramon Home. When we asked the rates go around 100-150/head.
Suggested Itinerary [Day Tour]:
09:00-10:00 pm. – Depart from Ohayami Bus Terminal, Manila
07:00-08:00 am. – Arrive Banaue Town Proper.
08:00 am. – Register at Banaue Tourist Center inside the Town Proper.
08:00 am. – Start looking for Jeeps to Batad. I suggest 1.5k with 2k max.
08:30 am. – Have breakfest.
09:00 am. – Depart from Banaue to Batad saddle. I highly suggest leaving at 9am as the Jeeps want to leave Batad at 5pm.
10:30. – Arrive at Batad saddle. Start trek to Batad Town Proper. Hire a guide here to the falls[P600-700]. And most importantly rent a walking stick[p10-20]!
11:30 am. – Arrive at Batad town proper. At this point you can now get to see the famous majestic Batad Rice Terraces. Have some Lunch. Lunch is around 50 -150. Fried chicken was P120.
12:30 pm. – Trek to Tappiyah waterfalls. I suggest to start to trek early and don’t take too much time for lunch,
01:45 pm. – Arrive at Tappiyah waterfalls. Have some swim.
02:15 pm. – Depart back to Batad Town.
03:30 pm. – Arrive at Batad Town. Refill your waters, and start to trek back to the saddle. This is the most tiring, painstaking trek of the trip. Since on the way to Batad Town from the saddle is downhill the way back is uphill! Including what I felt was a 500 steps steep stair trail! It was so tiring we called it the stairway to Hell.
05:00 pm. – Back at Batad saddle and start to leave back to Banaue.
06:30 pm. – Back at Banaue. Looked for hotels to sleep. You can also catch the 7pm Ohayami bus bound to Manila.
[Day 2 and onwards]:
Instead of going home, go instead to Sagada. There are jeeps and vans from Banaue to Sagada. We were a Large group(7) so we only paid P200 per head from Banaue to Sagada by Van. You can also take the public Jeepney that leaves 8:30 A.M. Note that there is only one trip so don’t be late. From Banaue to Bontoc [P100 +2hrs], from Bontoc you can take a another jeepney or Bus to Sagada [P50 +1hr]. Link on Sagada Itenerary
Tips.
#1. Buy a walking stick at the Batad Saddle.
#2. Try to leave Banaue town Proper to Batad before 9:00am.
#3. When back at Banaue, get yourselves a hotel and a place to sleep. Go to Sagada on the next day which will be on the next post:
taonggubatnanaliligawsadagat 
Hi, your Day Tour suggestion in Batad is quite helpful. But question, at what point in your itinerary do you get to see the rice terraces? Is it at 9AM? By Batad Saddle – is this where you will see the rice terraces already? I’m planning a trip in August. And was reading your itinerary, but felt it just jumped to the waterfalls. Please clarify. Thanks so much! 🙂
Hi Jakeena, you will see the Batad Rice Terraces at Batad Town Proper which is around 11:30 am. Batad Saddle is just the starting point to Batad Town proper it is around 1hour trek. Thank you for pointing it out 🙂 I now edited the post to include that you will see the Batad Rice Terraces when you arrive at the Batad Town proper.