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The name of the Municipality "Banaue" was derived from the term "Bannawor" which is the primitive call for a now endangered medium-sized swift flying bird. Originally, "Bannawor" is refered to a sitio (now part of the Poblacion area) where these swift flying birds occassionally lark around and settle.

In the fastness of the Cordillera mountains, 250-km north of Manila, Ifugao tribespeople have carved a livelihood from bare rock. Over the centuries, generations of Ifugao have laid stone after stone constructing dikes to hold back what little soil washed off the mountainsides creating vertical gardens that rise as "stairways to the heavens." From Robert Gardner's Philippine Journeys.

Part of the Globally Important Agricultrual Heritage Systems site from the FAO. The ancient Ifugao Rice Terraces (IRT) is the country's only remaining highland mountain ecosystem featuring ingenuity of the Ifugaos and a remarkable agricultural farming system which has retained the viability as well as the efficacy of the 2000 year-old organic paddy farming. The continued existence and viability of the rice terraces is a manifestation of strong culture-nature connections, marvellous engineering systems, innovativeness and determined spirit of the Ifugaos to maximise use of the mountainous lands for food production.

Our corporate purpose is to monitor the complex biodiversity of the unique Philippine eco-system. Our goal is preserve and protect designated marine sanctuaries, and the integrity of the natural coral reefs. We are also deeply committed to the preservation of the Banaue Rice Terraces, and the development of environmental educational programs for schools - Makati City.

Images of rice farming at pbase.com from kayakbiker.

From the World Heritage Site - pictures, info and travel reports. The Rice Terraces of the Cordilleras (on the island of Luzon) ar a cultural landscape developed 2000 years ago by the Ifugao people. These terraces are still in use, and are under continuous maintenance by the current Ifugao farmeers. There are many more rice terraces in Asia (f.e. on Bali_, but these in the Philippine Cordilleras are outstanding because of their altutude (up to 1500 meters) and steep slopes (maximum of 70 degrees). A complex system of dams, sluizes, channels and bamboo pipes keeps whole groups of terraces adequately flooded. The WHS consists of four clusters of well-preserved rice terraces: 1. Banaue: Batad and Bangaan 2. Mayoyao: Mayoyao Central 3. Klangan: Nagacadan 4. Hungduan

A collection of photographs with detailed descriptions of the famous Batad terraces from S. Wallace.