Description
The Batad terrace cluster in Ifugao Province is considered the most perfectly preserved traditional terrace system in the Philippines — a naturally circular amphitheatre of stone-walled terraces that descend 500 metres from the ridge down to the rice paddy floor, with the Tappiyah waterfall dropping 30 metres on the far side of the bowl. Access requires a 45-minute mountain hike from the nearest road, which maintains a quality of isolation unusual in the well- documented Banaue region. This panoramic image was made from the saddle trail that overlooks the Batad bowl — the highest accessible viewpoint that shows the full circular terracing system. Shot at f/11 on a 24mm prime during the flooded planting season when the terraces are at their most visually dramatic — the water in each paddy reflecting the overcast sky and creating alternating bands of green rice seedling and silver water across the terrace steps.
