Hungduan Rice Terraces

Hungduan is the terrace cluster with the pattern - instead of the parallel bands seen elsewhere in Ifugao, the fields here radiate outward in irregular webs from central points, following the shape of the valley floor rather than contouring a single slope, and from the viewpoints above they read as a spider's web. It is one of the five UNESCO-listed clusters, on a road from Banaue that takes an hour and a half and deters most day trippers. Behind the valley rises Mount Napulawan, a mossy forest peak climbed from here, and the Bogyah hot springs sit beside the river below. Hungduan is also where the Tungoh ad Hungduan festival is held in April, a harvest ritual with traditional games and dances that draws people from across the municipality. Accommodation is homestays, guides are arranged locally, and the whole place operates at the pace of a farming district rather than a destination.

What you actually see

• The web pattern - terraces radiating rather than contouring.
• The valley floor - fields spread across the whole basin.
• Mount Napulawan - the mossy peak behind the terraces.
• The hot springs - Bogyah beside the river below.

When to go

April to June for green fields and the Tungoh festival; December to February for flooded planting. Roads are worst in the wet months.

Honest expectations

The road from Banaue is rough and transport infrequent. Accommodation is homestays with basic facilities. Guides are needed for the trails, and the valley is spread out - walking is the way to see it.

Nearby

Banaue and its viewpoints are an hour and a half east; Kiangan and the Nagacadan terraces are south.