Ifugao rice terraces
Terrazas de arroz de Ifugao
- Date
- c. 1650 (muy discutido) · confidence low
- Place
- Banaue, Ifugao, Cordillera, Philippines
- Credited to
- Ifugao people
- Field
- Life & health
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
Irrigated rice terraces carved into mountain slopes above 1,500 m, watered by channels from the forests on the peaks. They are among the most spectacular mountain farming landscapes in the world.
Tradition credited them with 2,000 years, but recent excavations (Acabado, 2015-2017) place their major expansion around 1600-1650, perhaps as a response to the Spanish arrival; the question remains open.
What it led to
- mountain societies independent of Spanish rule
- communal management of forests and water (muyong)
- World Heritage status (1995)