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| Subject: Banaue Rice Terraces in Ifugao 13/11/2010, 8:18 pm | |
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The Banaue Rice Terraces of the Philippines have been said to belike the 8th wonder of the world. They were carved from the hillside bythe tribes people of Ifugao about 2,000-3,000 years ago. The tribespeople did this with their bare hands and crude implements, withoutusing machinery to level the steps where they plant their rice, whichis what makes this wonder so attractive, aside from the fact that therice terraces are still used today.This is considered to be one of the greatest engineering feats ofmankind, because if each one were connected end to end, then they wouldreach halfway across the globe or be 10 times as long as the Great Wallof China. It was not until only 13 years ago (1995) that the BanaueRice Terraces were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.The rice terraces are like stepping stones stretching towards thesky, where some of them reach almost 5,000 feet in altitude and coverabout 4,000 square miles of land. They are now beginning to show signsthat they are eroding, and some of them need maintenance, while theIfugaos’ new generation is migrating to nearby cities in search ofbetter opportunities.Even though it is about 8 or 9 hours from Manila in a car, theBanaue rice terraces are known to be one of the most spectacular placesto see in the Philippines. They have transformed the Cordilleramountains of barren stone into ledges that are fit to grow rice.
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