Jul 212017
 

National Geographic Travel has identified the Philippines as one of the “10 Places That Deserve More Travelers.”

Banaue Rice Terraces

Banaue Rice Terraces [via National Geographic Travel]

NatGeo travel writer Tara Isabella Burton recommended coming to the Philippines’ many tourist-friendly destinations outside the Sulu archipelago, such as the Banaue Rice Terraces.

Burton beckons travelers to “Visit the country’s ice-white beaches, or head inland to stunning places like Banaue and Batan, both on North Luzon–the archipelago’s biggest island–to visit two-thousand- year-old rice terraces–UNESCO World Heritage sites each violently blindingly, green.”

NatGeo encourages visitors to keep coming to the tourist economy-reliant Philippines saying, “The local tribes who live around the terraces sustain themselves though tourism–so contribute to the local economy by hiring a hiking guide (around 15 dollars) and participating in homestays, like Ramon’s: where you can spend the night in a traditional Ifugao hut.”

The Philippines and the other 9 countries in the NatGeo list “can offer not just an unforgettable vacation experience but also an opportunity to engage with cultures and practices outside one’s own experience.”

The travel authority counters the image of an unsafe world created by news, stating that unusual destinations are actually safer to explore these days using the internet for research.

NatGeo Travel placed the country at 5 th spot in the list saying that despite a U.S. government warning due to terror attacks and political flak the current administration is receiving for how it handles its drug war, the South East Asian nation is worth the bit of risk and attention of travelers from around the world.

 

The post Nat Geo recommends Banaue for globetrotters appeared first on Good News Pilipinas.

Jun 252017
 
Banaue Rice Terraces access now faster via Clark

Access to Banaue Rice Terraces, an “8th Wonder of the World”, has been made faster with the opening of flights linking Bagabag Airport in Nueva Viscaya from Clark International Airport in Pampanga. Banaue Rice Terraces [by George Tapan via Facebook] Visits to the famed man-made rice terraces created by the Ifugao tribes over 2,000 years ago can now be done via the Batanes-based airline Wakay Air Services after it started regular charter flights from Clark Int’l Airport in May. The Banaue Rice Terraces World Heritage Sites are now just five hours away from Manila via Wakay Air. The land drive usually takes 10-12 hours. Bagabag, the closest public airport to the Rice Terraces, is a 30-minute flight from Clark Pampanga. The Department of Tourism announced the opening of the flights and encouraged tourists to visit the Cordillera provinces of Ifugao and Mountain Province during June to July before harvest, and January to March before cleaning and planting. Wakay Air operations manager James Ong said the Clark-Bagabag flights will generate investment opportunities for Northern Luzon, according to an Inquirer article. The Bagabag Airport is classified as a community airport by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines under the Department of Transportation and Communication.   The post Banaue Rice Terraces access now faster via Clark appeared first on Good News Pilipinas. Related posts: 300k outsourcing jobs available in Clark Freeport Kalibo, Davao airports named among world’s most efficient Philippine economy grew faster than China in 2016 Huffington Post gives 8 reasons Read More …

Nov 012013
 
Stunt’ at Banaue Rice Terraces draws ire

Banaue Rice Terraces MANILA (AFP) – Philippine conservationists hit out Sunday at a wakeskating “stunt” that took place at an ancient mountain rice terrace, accusing sponsors of exploiting the UNESCO World Heritage site. Professional wakeskaters Brian Grubb of the United States and Dominik Preisner of Germany are shown on a video on YouTube skimming on the waters of the Banaue rice terraces in the Philippines’ northern mountain region. Wakeskating is similar to the popular water sport wakeboarding but users are not bound to the board. “I noticed that on the back of the bills here, you could see all these rice terraces and tonnes of water,” Grubb says in the video, which was uploaded Thursday and already viewed over 241,000 times as of Sunday. “It’s just a wakeskate paradise but no one even knew it was here.” Although they said they obtained permission from local tribal leaders, the video quickly spread on social media, drawing mixed reactions from Filipinos. “Wakeboarding at the terraces? It is a stunt totally inappropriate to the site. And stunt it is,” Augusto Villalon, president of the Heritage Society, told AFP. “The world heritage property and the local residents should not be exploited.” Sponsors Red Bull defended the event, saying in a statement attached to the video: “Respect for the environment was a priority from the beginning of this project! “The team has assured that the plants and wildlife have neither been damaged nor disturbed at any time during the project. “All agreements have been made Read More …