Philippines: Stairway To Heaven 4

 
The terraces are flooded, and the edge of the earth around them is sometimes very narrow and unstable. On steeper slopes, the terraces are more than three meters above each other, so it is sometimes a real art to find the right path, as the terraces are mostly connected only lengthwise, with few cross-paths.

Text & Photos: Janin Klemenčič (to be continued)

Philippines: Stairway To Heaven 3

 
Since they are several hours' walk away from the nearest road, they have to manage without machinery or means of transport. There are no straight paths in the villages, only winding trails that rise and fall between thatched huts on wooden poles.

To reach some of the villages, we had to walk for several hours on narrow paths through the jungle uphill, and then a few kilometres further along the edges of the rice terraces.

Janin (continued)

Philippines: Stairway To Heaven 2

The locals don't need any signposts on the long kilometres of these paths, for us, finding the right path was a puzzle. The terrace walls are made of stone, unchanged for several thousand years and still as solid as they were then. On the way from one village to another, there is almost no way other than to climb back at least a few times, as the transverse passages between the terraces are steep and quite hidden.

Text & Photos: Janin Klemenčič (to be continued)

Philippines: Stairway To Heaven 1

They don't know any seasons, so the rice is at different stages of growth. On one terrace, it has just ripened, on another it has just sprouted, and on the third they have just dug it. The terraces are mostly about three meters wide, and the fields follow each other every ten to fifteen meters.

Text & Photos: Janin Klemenčič (to be continued)