Small-Group Weekend Hiking Tour to Banaue-Ifugao from Manila

My sister and I have just returned from travel to the Philippines and Taiwan and we launched our trip with this memorable journey into a beautiful rural, mountainous region north of Manila. What a gift it was to have the experience, wisdom and knowledge of our guide, Jody, and to appreciate the generous hospitality of local proprietors and residents as we traveled through, and stayed in their communities. The hiking trails and paths were in excellent condition, with steep trail ascents and descents generally consisting of stairs that offered stable footing, even following rainfall. The history of the area and the care invested in the land by inhabitants through the years is evident in the beauty of the landscapes and the manually-tended farmland. I have deep gratitude for the invitation extended to us and others by local residents, knowledgeable guides, and the travel companies that organize trips, to visit this area.

Unchartered Philippines – Ifugao Village Trek What an amazing holiday and all thanks to Leo from Unchartered Philippines and his superb Guides for organising this un-forgettable able holiday for us. We have been on numerous trekking holidays before ie Nepal, Borneo, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and sadly the Philippines was not on our radar to visit, however we were invited to a wedding in the area and decided it would be foolish not to explore the Philippines and we are so glad that we did so. This simply was one of our best holidays and the question has to be asked why is the Philippines often overlooked? We booked the Ifugao Village Trek and added onto that the Northern Palawan Snorkelling Expedition. There were so many highlights and photographs to share I have split it into 2 separate reviews. Because we had to work around the wedding we opted for a private tour and private transfer rather than the overnight bus. This we would highly recommend it is well worth paying a little extra to get a air conditioned mini bus transfer and this turned into be an exciting start to the holiday. We travelled during daylight hours rather than overnight so were able to enjoy the great scenery. Our Guide for the Trek was Jody Kimmayong and he certainly was a character. We extended the trek so that we would have time to soak up and enjoy the culture and scenery which we certainly would recommend. Jody was a superb Guide and being local and well known in the area enabled us to have a greater interaction with villagers and he introduced us to some colourful characters along the way. We certainly wouldn’t have been able to do this without him. This very much added to our enjoyment of a truly unforgettable trip. He was a very patient and caring guide. Even though there was just the three of us on this whole trip we never ran out of conversation. We very much received an education on the history, culture and traditions of each village we passed through plus the difficulties in maintaining rice terraces and the different stages of growing rice. It was extremely interesting. So our thanks to Jody. We would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Unchartered Philippines as a tour operator. Leo organised a 3 week holiday for us to perfection and this was very much tailor made to our requirements and abilities. So our thanks to Leo also.

Wonderful experience hiking in the Banaue-Batad-Bangaan area to visit the historic Ifugao rice terraces. We were two solo travelers accompanied by Jody Kimmayong, our guide who was incredibly knowledgeable and helpful. The area is very beautiful, and people are very friendly. Be ready for long bus rides from/to Manila, lots of steps up and down and narrow pathways along the rice fields and you’ll have an experience never to forget.