Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras

The Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras are a cultural landscape of irrigated rice terraces carved into the mountains of northern Luzon by indigenous Ifugao communities. The terraces demonstrate traditional engineering, water-management systems and a living agricultural practice sustained by local knowledge.

Large clusters of terraces are spread across several provinces, with prominent groups around Banaue, Mayoyao-Bangaan and Hungduan in Ifugao. The terraces are built on steep slopes and supported by stone walls and an intricate system of channels that divert mountain water to irrigate paddies at different elevations.

The terraces were developed and refined over many centuries by successive generations of Ifugao farmers as a response to mountainous terrain and a rice-based economy; they continue to be actively cultivated and maintained by local communities, which has preserved both the landscape and associated cultural practices.

The terraces sit in the Cordillera mountain range of northern Luzon, Philippines, with many of the most visited clusters accessible from the town of Banaue in Ifugao province and set among steep forested hills and river valleys.

• Living cultural landscape: The terraces were sculpted into mountains by indigenous Ifugao communities and remain an active, labour-intensive agricultural landscape producing wet-rice crops.
• Visiting advice: Terraces are best seen during dry-season harvest periods when field patterns and stone walls are most visible, and many sites are accessed from the town of Banaue in Ifugao province.

What to See #

• Banaue terraces: Banaue cluster - carved into steep Ifugao mountains and among the most visited terraces, noted for large stepped fields and village terraces.
• Mayoyao-Bangaan terraces: Mayoyao-Bangaan cluster - an extensive group of terraces noted for their stonework and irrigation channels, located in Ifugao province.
• Hungduan terraces: Hungduan cluster - terraces in the Hungduan area that form part of the overall Ifugao terrace system still managed by local communities.