Getting to Banaue

I have always wanted to see the Banaue rice terraces. I cannot imagine having something so amazing in my country and not seeing it even once before I die.  So when I found myself living in Luzon, the prospect became more real. It was now accessible via land travel. According to Google Maps, it was some 485 kilometers from Batangas City or some 7.5 hours away.

Here is our route, starting from the NLEX toll barrier in Balintawak:

NLEX Balintawak toll plaza to Nature's Mist in Banaue, Ifugao

Tips: 

• Make sure to eat or go for a toilet stop along any of the gas stations along NLEX since there are no adequate toilet facilities along SCTEX and TPLEX.
• There’s a clean pay restroom at a yellow building that you will find when you exit TPLEX at the Pura/Guimba exit. They charge P10 per head.
• Make sure to have water and snacks that can tide you over should you sacrifice stopping for lunch or dinner to get to Banaue before dark, although there are a lot of eating places along the way. The more adventurous can always try small eateries or native restaurants but those with kids might prefer popular fastfood joints, which can be found in San Jose City and Solano. Take note that there will be very few eating places after Solano, especially when you hit the Nueva Vizcaya-Ifugao-Mountain Province Road.
• It can get dark pretty quickly at such high altitude, mainly because of the cloud coverage. We were in the mountains at around 4 p.m. and it seemed more like 6 p.m. to us, especially because it started raining.
• The road to Banaue is good, although it gets more narrow in the mountains. 

Accommodations in Banaue:

The family room houses seven, with partitions
separating areas. Behind her is a single bed.
She is peeking into a section with 1 double bed
and 1 single bed.

Our group decided to stay in Nature’s Mist even if the rate is higher than the average price of accommodations in Banaue because it was relatively new, the rooms looked decent, the room had its own CR/shower and most importantly, hot water. 

Also, electrical outlets were provided in the room, which was great for charging our smartphones, tablets, cameras. 

Cars are parked along the road outside the inns
in Banaue.

Parking is a bit of a problem in Banaue. Only Banaue Hotel has parking space. We did not want to park the car outside any of the inns in the town center, where the road is narrow and traffic from buses, jeeps and other motorized vehicles is high.  The road outside Nature’s Mist is wide enough for parking, and the quiet from being some distance away from the populous center appealed to us.

Next:  Batad Rice Terraces