Batad & Banaue Itinerary + Travel Guide

Batad Banaue Itinerary and Travel Guide

I first set foot in the town of Banaue Ifugao thanks to a friend who tag us along on his birthday adventure. This trip brought me so much joy and memories as we explore these breathtaking rice terraces, and beautiful falls and witnessed the way of life in this part of the Philippines.

Batad Banaue Itinerary

In this blog, I will share with you our Batad – Banaue travel itinerary and things you need to know before visiting.

Best Time to Visit Banaue

Banaue’s main tourist attractions are the rice terraces declared as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. So, visiting Banaue is best when rice terraces are greenest. For tourists, it is important to note that the color of the rice terraces depends on the time of year. The best time to visit Banaue/Batad rice terraces is between April and May, and then between October and November when the terraces are at their greenest. Between July and September, it is the rainy season and from December and March, it is the season after harvest, and terraces are often muddy and not that green.

How to go to Banaue

If from the nearby provinces, or Metro Manila, land transportations are viable options to reach Banaue.

From Baguio

There are tourists who visit Baguio first before they go to Banaue. If you are planning to make the same trip there are buses from Manila to Baguio like Victory Liner, Joy Bus, and Solid North that have daily trips from their Pasay, Manila, Cubao, and Caloocan terminals. Travel time is about 4-6 hours.

From Baguio, there is another three-hour bus transfer from Baguio to Banaue. You can check the current prices using this link.

From Sagada

If you intend to visit Sagada before heading to Banaue Ifugao, spend eleven hours traveling from Manila to Sagada.

From Sagada, ride a jeepney, which departs from 6:30 am until 1:00 pm, to Bontoc for about 45 minutes. And from Bontoc, buses, vans, jeepneys, and tricycles are the viable options to reach Banaue. The travel time is roughly an hour and a half.

From Manila

Coda Lines and Ohayami Trans in Sampaloc Terminal have direct trips from Manila to Banaue for ten hours. An overnight trip to Banaue via night buses is recommended.

To reach Batad, catch the only departing Batad-bound jeepney, stationing at Banaue Public Market at 2:00 pm. Otherwise, hire an entire jeepney or tricycle that leads you to the village, but for a pricier fare. The tricycle fare starts at PHP 500.00, or USD 9.04 per way. Inversely, ride a Poblacion-bound jeepney that leaves from Batad at 9:00 am once daily.

Where to stay in Banaue

There are a lot of hotels and homestays in Banaue town proper and Batad. If you are not visiting Batad Rice Terraces and Tappiya Falls, don’t book accommodation in Batad. Look for Banaue Town’s proper accommodations. Also, don’t expect for fancy accommodations in this part of the Philippines. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Banaue Homestay – Banaue Town Proper

2. Uyami’s Green View Lodge – Banaue Town Proper

3. Hillside Inn and Restaurant – Batad

4. Ramon Homestay – Batad this is where we stayed

You can also try checking some accommodations using the AGODA link below.

Batad – Banaue Tourist Spots

Here are some of the cool places we visited during our 2 days and 1 night in Banaue. We took an overnight bus trip from Manila to Banaue, arriving at around 6:00 am the next day. The first thing I noticed is the temperature. Like most parts of the Cordillera region, Banaue Ifugao has a temperate climate due to its high elevation. It is cooler than other parts of the Philippines.

We took breakfast first in Banaue before we take a jeep going to Batad. It is so funny to remember that while we ordered a typical Filipino breakfast (rice, eggs, and hotdogs combo) our friend, the birthday celebrant ordered what he thought was the fanciest on the menu. A porridge with banana toppings which he end up not liking and ordered a new one – this time, the same as ours. He didn’t know that porridge is basically a “lugaw“. 🤣 On his little whiteboard he wrote “Porridge pa more“.😂Oh by the way, I can’t even remember why he has a whiteboard with him on this trip. 😂

Ramon Homestay

The jeepney ride from Banaue to Batad already amazed me. It was nature everywhere. We settled our stuff at our accommodation in Ramon Homestay. What I like about this place is the overlooking view from their common restaurant area. I was told that our friend Jerson choose this place mainly because this is where Piolo Pascual stayed on his 2015 trip and this is also featured in Ms. Universe Catriona Gray’s youtube channel. Fan mode is on. 😎

No regrets though, look how beautiful my view was. For more details read here – Ramon’s Native Homestay – Experiencing Ifugao Nipa hut in Batad

Batad Rice Terraces

Our first activity for the day was to hike our way to Batad Rice Terraces. One of the known features of Batad Rice Terraces is it resembles an amphitheater.

It took us almost 2 hours to reach Awa View Deck which gives us the entire picture – the amphitheater that the rice terraces have formed. It’s the highest point where you can get a good view of Batad’s rice terraces.

Read more about it in my blog – Batad Rice Terraces in Ifugao Province – Travel Guide.

Tappiya Falls

After the rice terraces, we head to Tappiya Falls. This is my favorite part of the trip. The falls were gorgeous and the water was super cold as in icy cold. But don’t worry if it’s too cold for you can enjoy it from the rocky shallow part. We had so much fun here. Just a reminder, the water current is so strong as you get near the falls, avoid going into the deeper parts of the pool.

Banaue Rice Terraces

On our second day, we head back to Banaue Proper by riding a jeepney. Banaue Rice Terraces has a viewing deck particularly close to Banaue downtown to better appreciate the rice terraces in their full glory. They are easily accessible and now surrounded by numerous modern structures for tourism, causing them to score low in the UNESCO inscription.

We explore the town a little bit. At this point, you can already take a bus going to Manila to end the rip. But for us, we rented a van for Php1,000 to take us to Sagada and made a stopover at this next spot – which is just along the way.

Halsema Highroad Point

The reason why we wanted a quick stop here is that Halsema Highroad Point used to be the highest point in the Philippine Highway System before the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) announced that there is a newly confirmed highest elevation in the Highway System of the Philippines – which is located in the Municipality of Tinoc, Ifugao. It is found particularly along the Kiangan-Tinoc-Buguias Road.

Either way, this Halsema Highroad Point is a great viewpoint.

Banaue Batad Sample Itinerary:

Day 1

06:00 AM Arrival in Banaue

06:30 AM Breakfast at the nearest local restaurant

07:00 AM Ride Jeep/tricycle to Batad Saddle Point

08:30 AM ETA at Batad Saddle Point

08:35 AM Trek to Batad proper or ride another tricycle

10:30 AM Arrival at Batad

10:35 AM Pay the Environmental Fee at the Registration Office

10:55 AM Check-in at Hotel

11:00 AM Freshen Up

11:30 AM Start the trek to Batad Rice Terraces, Tappiya Falls, and lunch

03:00 PM Return to Batad Proper

05:00 PM Rest to Dinner

DAY 2

07:00 AM Breakfast

08:00 AM Check out at the hotel

08:30 AM Trek to Saddle Point or ride a jeep/tricycle

09:30 AM ETA at Batad Saddle Point

09:40 AM Ride Jeep/tricycle to Banaue Proper

10:30 AM ETA Banaue Proper

10:45 AM Ride another jeep/tricycle to Banaue Rice Terraces

12:00 PM Lunch

01:00 PM Explore Banaue Town Poper

03:00 PM Back to Manila

END

Banaue Travel Guide Tip: Bring enough cash to cover the entire duration of your trip. The ATMs in Banaue will likely run out of bills and is sometimes offline.

WHAT TO BRING IN BANAUE?

Prepare for your trip with our must-have travel essentials.

Waterproof backpack: 65L Water-resistant Hiking Backpack with Rain Cover for Outdoor Sport Travel
Quick dry microfiber travel towel: Naturehike Quick Drying Pocket Bath Towel
Action camera: KIMSTORE GoPro Hero 11 – Black
Hiking Sandals: Sandugo SD-1201 Hiking Sandals
Rash Guard: rash guard for men and Rash Guard for women Blanket – Portable Flannel Blanket Plain Foldable Travel Pillow Powerbank – Multi-Functional Portable Powerbank Fast Charging Headlamp – Waterproof Headlamp

If you have questions let me know in the comment section below!

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