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Philippines: Stairway To Heaven 6

 All the women from the village (settlements usually have about ten houses) gather in the mornings and work each field separately. Despite the heat, they are dressed very warmly. They also like headgear - some wear a scarf, a cap and a hat at the same time.

Text & Photos: Janin Klemenčič (to be continued)

Variations on the theme: Funerals 2

 Despite our best efforts, we were unable to climb to any of the caves without equipment. We got as close as five meters to one, but we were separated from it by an overhanging abyss. 

The deceased are buried in a squatting position in short wooden coffins, hollowed out of a single piece of trunk and closed with two wooden wedges.

Text & Photos: Janin Klemenčič (to be continued)

Variations on the theme: Funerals

In addition to the fantastic terraces, the place is also known for its burial caves. There are several limestone caves around Sagada. The largest are several hundred meters deep and almost inaccessible without caving equipment. Near the village there are four smaller caves in overhanging stone walls, which the residents use as a cemetery.

Text & Photos: Janin Klemenčič (to be continued)

Philippines: Stairway To Heaven 5

 

Work in the fields is always collective. Women harvest rice with semicircular knives, and they put the gathered bundles on their heads. When the sheaves are large enough, the men carry them to the village on carrying poles - sometimes several kilometers away.

Text & Photos: Janin Klemenčič (to be continued)

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)

Philippines: On the Roof of a Jeep 2

 We sat on large bags of rice, and the jeepney bounced at top speed along a narrow rocky path above ravines and beautiful rice fields. It sounds romantic, but if I hadn't held on with all fours, I would have quickly landed a few hundred meters below.

The views from the top of the jeep were incredible. The terraces, which reach up to 1,500 m above sea level, are like stairs to heaven.

Text & Photos: Janin Klemenčič (to be continued)