Banaue Rice Terraces – Proof of Voluntary Heroism

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 The Philippines holds some of the most beautiful, picturesque and amazing places and festivals in the world. Be it in the northern part of the country down to its southern part of the land.

Image: http://iamaileen.com/travel-guide-picture-perfect-banaue-rice-terraces/

Whatever you seek, from the mountain ranges to the beaches, Philippines got it all for you!

Seeing pictures of these amazing places and events in the country makes you go for a backpack adventure. Experiencing it firsthand will really blow off your mind and will make you question yourself why you haven't visited it before.

Image: http://www.thepoortraveler.net/2012/06/banaue-rice-terraces-ifugao/

With the saying "Huwag maging dayuhan sa sariling bansa" or "Don't be a tourist in your own country", I and my friends have set a goal to see for ourselves all the wonders that our beloved country offers. Of course, we also love to visit other countries. In fact, we’ve been in some foreign countries before. But travelling around the Philippines is our priority.

Included in our backpackers' list is the rice terraces in the north and luckily, just a few years ago, we just had the opportunity to feast with our own eyes the magnificence that the Banaue Rice Terraces holds.

The Banaue Rice Terraces is considered as the world's eighth ancient wonder due to so many reasons. And yes, I've listed and summarized it down for you:
  1. This amazing rice paddies have been hand-built using only stones and woods by the early ancestor of the indigenous people in the cordillera region for over 2,000 years ago.
  2. The song "Stairway to Heaven" literally applies to this marvelous creation since the area is located in high altitude.
  3. It approximately reaches up to 1500m (4920ft) high from the base of the cordilleras.
  4. The water used for the rice paddies were harvested from the mountaintop forest.
  5. If laid straight, the Banaue Rice Terraces would stretch half way around the world.
Although considered as the eighth wonder of the ancient world, Banaue Rice Terrraces is not a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Due to the presence of modern structure, the clusters of rice terraces in Banaue was excluded in the list. However, the other five (5) Ifugao rice terraces clusters that are included in UNESCO’s list are Batad, Bangaan, Hungduan, Mayoyao Central and Nagacadan. Batad and Bangaan are under the jurisdiction of the Municipality of Banaue but are not referred to as the Banaue Rice Terraces

Nevertheless, did you know that the Banaue Rice Terraces along with the other rice terraces, is the only wonder of the world made by volunteers through "Bayanihan System" and not through forced labors of slaves?

Well, it's true. Beautiful and magnificent they are, Egypt's famous pyramids were created and made by the slaves of ancient times with the fear of the pain from their backs coming from whips as their only motivation. The Great Pyramid of Egypt, according to the book written by Herodotus, took twenty (20) years for a strength of an estimated 100,000 slaves to be built.

But, our very own rice terraces is made out of love, spirit of cooperation and voluntary heroism. This, for me, made the rice terraces, stand out among other man-made creations. This feat makes me prouder to be a Filipino. Wouldn't you?





source:
www.banaueterraces.com
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/722
http://www.banauericeterrace.com/banaue/

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