Getting there and around

Take the 10 PM Autobus trip to Banaue, Ifugao from the Dimasalang bus station in Manila. Expected time of arrival in Banaue should be in the morning, after 8-10 hours. Temperature inside the bus is freezing after a couple of hours, so be sure to dress up accordingly or be prepared with your jackets.

The jump-off point is the city of Banaue where you can have breakfast. From there, jeeps and tricycles run to the Batad-Banggaan junction for an hour's journey. From the junction, you can only take a hike for about 3-4 hours going to the village of Batad. Be prepared to eat your packed lunch midway.

As soon as you arrive in Batad, you may opt to take an hour's trek to Tappiya Waterfalls or do it the following day. If you arrive late, plan to spend the night in Batad. The hike from Batad to Cambulo takes about 3 hours.

When you get to Cambulo, you can spend the night there or proceed to Pula (another 4 hours trek). From Pula, the trek back to Banaue takes the whole day, so be sure to leave early if you plan to catch the 5 PM bus going back to Manila.

Accomodation

There are plenty of inns in the villages of Batad, Cambulo and Pula. Price ranges from P75 to P100 a night. You don't have to take your own tents and cooking utensils.

Other useful info

• It is NOT advisable to camp at Tappiya Waterfalls like what we did. We found one of our tents slashed the following day.
• If you are new to the place, get a guide at Batad before proceeding to the other villages.
• Use trek poles or makeshift poles to navigate your way in the rice terraces. The trails could get slippery most of the time.
• Natural water source abound. Bring your own drinking water if you are in doubt, although this could put quite a strain on your load.
• You can eat decent food from the inns in tourist-friendly Batad. You'll be surprised that the inns in the remote villages of Cambulo and Pula have nothing much to offer aside from canned sardines and tunas, and their basic rice staple. Bring your own food to these places if you plan to eat gourmet.
• For the sake of future visitors and to maintain the dignity of the natives, please refrain from giving out candies or money to the children in the villages. Your kindness and respect to their customs and the environment is enough.
• There are occasional "limatiks" or small leeches on the forest reserve trail from Pula back to Banaue. Use an insect repellent to ward off these small blood suckers.