Banaue sits at the foot of a truly mesmerising display. Its mud-walled rice terraces, North Luzon's most famous sight, have a pleasing, organic quality that differentiates them from the stone-walled terraces in most of the Cordillera. World Heritage-listed, they are impressive not only for their chiselled beauty but because they were created around 2000 years ago.

The rice terraces were built by the Ifugao. Along with being the most feared head-hunters in the Cordillera, they were skilled engineers who invented a sophisticated irrigation system of bamboo tubes and elaborate mud channels to bring water to the terraces.

The well-staffed Banaue Tourist Information Center located on the main square, will give you the scoop on hiking in the area.