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Banaue Rice Terraces

The Banaue Rice Terraces also called musuan peak, are 2000-year old terraces that were carved into the mountains of Ifugao in the Philippines by ancestors of the indigenous people. The Rice Terraces are commonly referred to by Filipinos as the "Eighth Wonder of the World". It is commonly thought that the terraces were built with minimal equipment, largely by hand. The terraces are located approximtely 1500 meters above sea level and cover 10,360 square kilometers of mountainside. They are fed by an ancient irrigation system from the rainforests above the terraces. It is said that if the steps are put end to end it would encircle half the globe

The rice culture of the Ifugao people requires tremendous skill and knowledge that has been passed on from generation to generation. Recent challenges, including a devastating earthquake in 1990 that damaged the terraces, and recent El Niños that have spawned droughts and crop-threatening worms, have threatened the continued existence of the Banaue rice terraces. Farming the terraces has become less and less attractive to the new generation of Ifugao people.