Dont Tell My Mother What Happened in Batad

Actually I didn't even mention Batad when my parents asked me where am I going that time. If I did, they might remember the case of Julia Campbell, a journalist who was murdered in Batad last 2007. I know that was just an isolated case and I strongly believe Batad is a safe place, but my parents wont take that risk.

After Dominic sold Batad and the Cordillera region to me, I've been wanting to go there as soon as my schedule permits me. So as early as last year, I reserved my January for a travel to Batad.

Florida bus to Banaue

Tickets to Banaue are being sold 2 days prior the trip. Phone reservations are not allowed. There are only 2 bus companies that operate the Manila-Banaue route, Florida and Ohayami (later on I found out that Ohayami when read backward is Imayaho, the surname of an Ifugao who owns this bus company.)

comfortable seats for the 10-hour road trip

I chose the couple who I met in the outreach I organized to be my travel buddies. We took the Florida bus at 9pm. Bus terminal is located across UST. Fare is P400 each. Travel time is 9-10 hours.

my travel buddies in Batad

private persons daw sila, bawal ipost ang picture!

After 9 long hours, we reached Banaue at last. Weather is not that cold as I expected. We were welcomed there by Dandy, a tourguide in Batad who was referred to me by Gareth (my tourguide in Sagada and the author of http://sagadagenuineguides.blogspot.com).

for Batad's tour guides and rates of vehicles,
please contact Dandy Umhao at 0910.346.5310

Dandy advised us to purchase our return tickets first before we eat breakfast. After that, he discussed the tourist spots that may interest us. We only have one in mind that and that is Batad. He offered us to share the vehicle expenses with his foreign guests. That's where I met the French sisters Nadine and Stephanie.

breakfast at Las Vegas resto

wannabe ^_^

Right after breakfast, we board the jeepney that will take us to the saddle. The road is very narrow and very bumpy! This jeepney is awesome, parang 4x4 ride!

jumpacked jeepney

i told the French sisters they should experience the topload!

Our first stop is the famous Hanging House. And I wouldn't dare to have a house like this one.

the famous Hanging House, omg!

It's also a souvenir shop. The wood carvings are very interesting. This is where I 1st encountered a Bulul, a rice god in Banaue.

Bulul, the rice god
Every house has its Bulul sculpture. This is placed on top of their rice containers. Locals believe Bulul will give abundant supply of rice, and it also serves as guard too

And it's also a viewing deck of the terraces.

the terraces

and I

We finally reached the saddle after 1.5 hours. No more vehicles can pass thru at this point. Now everyone who wishes to see Batad needs to trek for an hour. Since Dandy assumed we have lots of energy, we took the short cut which is steeper than the usual route. This also consists of 400++ steps.

400++ steep staircase

And there's still more walking after the steep stairs. Not really that easy, but I enjoyed the view here the most compared to all the treks I made. This one's very refreshing.

oh yes, they carry all their supplies and pass thru the same trail. spell effort!

the kid vendor

the spectacular view

Sir Toto capturing the scenic view

French sisters playing with the water

A little more walk and we we're welcomed by a lot of signboards of guesthouses!

signboards all around

welcome to Batad

houses in the middle of the terraces

We registered in their log book and saw a lot of different nationalities who have visited this place too. Trivia: aside from the French Girls, I also saw a group of Portuguese, Canadian, and German. All of them included Sagada, Batad, and Palawan in their itineraries. Simply the Philippine's finest destinations.

Batad Elementary School

Hillside Inn

We went straight to Hillside Inn to check out their rooms. All of us are very tired to check other guesthouses, besides any decent accommodation will do for me.

Hillside Inn's room. P200/day.

the view from my window

the latest Philippine Peso Bill in the actual rice terraces kingdom

And as expected, the food is expensive. Having the fact that all supplies are no way possible to reach this village except to carry the supplies for 1 hour, understandable na mahal ang benta nila.

chicken meal for P150; P50 for a canned juice

At 2pm, we started to trek down Tappiya Falls. The view is really breath taking. All of us cant help but appreciate the scene. Dandy warned us that it's important to stop. Never walk while staring at the view. The trail is risky to miss a step.

the view along the trail

trek down the terraces

up until now, this view makes me breathless

but never walk while staring at the view.. else you die! ^_^

I didn't notice that we're already in the rice terraces! Im so amazed!
Sharing my blooper shots while going down the trail. (thanks sir Toto)

○ who says the blogger is not lampa? ○

tse! kala nyo di ko kaya yan?! LOL

And so I thought I already conquered the hardest parts of the trail, it's time for me to take a photo of our money in front of the terraces.

living in P1,000 bill

Okay, the trekking continues.

are we there yet?

Finally a resting area. For sure Im close to dehydration, I only have a little water left. Tsk tsk.

nipa hut

view from the other side

At this point, the couple decided not to pursue the trek anymore. Good choice I say. I never imagined there's a more exhausting and riskier trail that awaited us before we can reach Tappiya Falls.

never stop exploring - TNF

yes, we're going down.. seriously!

mauna ka Stephanie ^_^

This trek is as risky as Sagada's Big Falls + Hanging Coffins combined. Grabe!
Wanna see how high is the cliff where we are standing?

the test of braveness bench

omg! if this is the bench, I'll just endure to stand as long as it takes
(walang sumandal samin, iskeri!)

And there's more, landslide happens! Err, thanks for the warning! haha

geez, thanks for the warning! haha

Dandy said we should proceed...

but I cant even see the trail

At that point, I stopped talking and taking photos. I just focused on getting down the falls. This is not easy at all. And finally after 1.5 hours, we reached Tappiya Falls. Whew, Im alive!

the mighty Tappiya Falls
im so proud of myself to see you upclose!

Dandy shared there's a Korean who insisted to swim here even w/out the tourguide's approval. The strong current took the life of that Korean.

I didn't plan to swim at all,
besides I don't even know if I have the energy to go back.

The couple made a good decision not to go down the falls anymore. The trail is very risky and exhausting. Aside from that, there's the pressure that we have to be back before the night falls.

And you have no idea how helpless I look as I trek back. It's a torture!
But I don't regret anything. Overcoming a thing I thought I could never do is priceless.

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My Isolated Case in Batad

Our group tried our best to reach our guesthouse as fast as we could. When we're only 15 mins away, we heard a drunk man screaming. In his dialect, Dandy translated that this man is looking for his enemy. We didn't mind at first. But when we heard 3 gun shots, that's the time we got alarmed. Dandy instructed us to hide in the rock walls, just a few meter away from the shooter. He also asked us to remain in the dark and take away any colorful garments that we have (it may draw the shooter's attention).

Honestly, I didn't get scared (because I got another life insurance. haha). Seriously, because I know this will pass. And Im pretty sure the shooter doesn't have enough bullets to fire. And I know Im lucky enough not to be hit by his astray bullets.

Finally, we were able to seek help. A lot of the village people came and assisted us on our way to our guesthouse. We reached our place safely and the people started comforting the French girls.

Disclaimer: I shared this story not to give Batad another bad impression, but just to justify that this is an isolated case. This could happen anywhere, even right outside our homes. I hope this wont stop visitors to come in Batad.

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Now, will I go back to Batad? Definitely!
The hardships are part of the beauty of this place. There are lots of falls in Pinas but this one's not for everyone to see. And now I think I understand why a lot of people keep coming back here, not only for the view, but because there's a lot of things to learn on our being Filipino, our preserved culture and tradition.

Also see Lessons on the Road | Batad

For more stories in Batad: please see Dong Ho's Batad series.

Life is about taking chances. Take it. No one gets out of here alive anyway! ^_^