a trek from batad's saddle

a view of the mountain range in Batad from the saddle reveals a great topography of Ifugao province. formed over years from earth's natural movement of its lithosperic plates.after an hour trip from Banaue central, we reached the saddle, Batad's drop off point for the trek down the steep cliff that leads to the village. one has the option to take a jeep, a van or a tricycle which i don't recommend to get to the saddle.a long part of the rice paddies can already be seen from here. those houses as seen in the photo above shows us where we are headed. expected trek time is 45minutes. wooden walking sticks are available here, it helps one to trek down safely.we wasted no time and started our way down. though there is not much to see along the way, a good company won't make this trek dragging. some areas are already cemented, but majority of the way are unpaved.you'll pass by small shelters that either offers a plain seat or sometimes with comfort rooms. almost halfway down, you'll find a souvenir shop. though at times it's closed. an invitation from a local to eat bettel nuts won't be unusual.spot views of paddies can be viewed along the way, showing bits of what was ahead of us. there's not much effort needed going down but i recommend that you pack light as the way back won't be easy. a sign that we were now approaching the village, is a cemented walkway which leads to a curve. we were also walking along the houses that we've seen from the saddle. and just few minutes from there, reveals the world famous Batad amphitheater. which comes up next. the a view of the 2000 year old rice paddies. for the contest in the previous post, i'm now revealing the winners! it was quite hard choosing as you did proved to be deserving. so the Peruvian hat goes to the following:

"what I'm thinking is baka eto na ang aking magiging lucky charm ko sa pagtra-travel" - Cyndirellaz

"i deserve that peruvian hat because i know it will look good on me and it will be my newest travel buddy for the coming year and the next, and the next." - Carlotta

and decided to give one more since it's Christmas.

"I deserve that peruvian hat because I haven't received any gifts yet. Seriously. " - Leoj

email me at i.dongho@gmail.com to check out how you'll claim your prize. thank you to all those who participated and have a blessed Christmas!