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In the north of the Philippines as some mountains where rice is farmed and the temperature is cooler than the rest of the country. After 3 weeks in the Philippines I met up with Graceie and her Mum in Manila and we travelled into the mountains to Sagada, a small rice farming town. Here the photos and a few stories from our trip. Since we were travelling with Graceie’s mum our travelling style was a bit different to usual. But we had lots of fun!
For more about preparing for a trip in the Philippines see: Six Things You Need To Know Before Stepping Foot In The Philippines
The comfortable sleeping bus! Victory liner from Manila to Baguio city. 6 hours in good traffic.
Wait is this holy water by the gallon???
All the buses from Baguio city to Sagada were full when we went to book in so we had to take a taxi. Luckily we found 2 other travelers from The Netherlands to share in the cost. 5000 Peso, (US$106) for the 5 hour drive. It was incredibly slow going as the road winds around the hill side the entire way.
The yogurt hose is a great please for a meal when you stay in Sagada. Not cheep but good food and try the yogurt Lassies, Very good!
Sunrise at 5:30 the next morning
As the sun rose it reviled the rice terraces below!
Graceie and her mum enjoying the sunrise
After breakfast in our hotel (see This Link fro accommodation in Sagada) it was still cool we checked in at the tourist office and set off on a trip to the Bomod-ok waterfall. Cost 650 peso for the taxi to the top of the track and 500 peso (US$10) for the guide. Not cheap but the Philippines government set the prices and its the same for locals and foreigners. We met our guide and set off down the track at about 8:30am. Most of the way was steep stairs. We also met a lovely Philippines couple from Manila and they came with u to help share the cost of the guide. 
Couldn’t help but stop and take a photo of this. And old car running the winch to pull the sacks of rice up the hill. One wheel removed and replaced with a wire winch!
They string water pipes across the valley about 500m to get water from the waterfall on one side tot he crops and rice on the other.
A rice farmer lady hard at work planting cabbages
The grass rice comes from
The view into the pool below the waterfall. Great fun jumping off the rocks into the shallow pool. You would hit the bottom but not too hard!
When we arrived early there wasn’t many people in the pool. By 10:30 it was getting busy.
The walk up was actually very easy. Lots of steps and we took our time. About and hour from the bottom to the top. You actually end up in a different place to where you started. Luckily you don’t have to climb up as far as you go down.
It was the heat of the day by the time we got to the top. Recommendation, go nice and early in the morning!
Hi I’m Chris,
I grew up super isolated 2 long days hike from the nearest road in the wilds of South Westland, New Zealand at a place called Gorge River. We live off the land and try to be as sustainable as possible in a really unique and wild part of the world.
After leaving home I have set out to explore the world. I have been on the road since 2011 and have worked and travelled in so many incredible places including working with husky dogs in Arctic Norway and teaching extreme survival skills at -40°C in Antarctica.
Along the way I make videos for my YouTube channel. This way you can join my adventures not just around the globe but also back at home at Gorge River.
Order your signed copy of my autobiography, The Boy From Gorge River direct from the author!
3 Comments
Incredible all the terraces a lot of very hard work .
They are amazing to see. I understand that they probably built them little by little over hundreds of years but still it must take a lot of work just to maintain them!
Amazing adventure!!