Native Village Inn, Uhaj, Banaue Rice Terraces – Welcome to Paradise
The first leg of our Luzon road trip took us to Native Village Inn located in Uhaj, Banaue. This inn was built on top of a hill with the most majestic view this section of rice terraces. I will first discuss Native Village Inn, its accommodations, ambiance, hospitality, facilities. Getting there belongs to another blog post.
The picnic view on a clear afternoon.
The picnic view on regular cloudy morning.
Banaue is cool, cool, cool. The air is fresh fresh fresh. The views are spectacular, majestic, astounding and every superlative you can think of. You think you’ve driven up steep enough? The last leg up the green entrance gate is even steeper. The welcome sign is befitting: “Welcome to Paradise We Hope You Have A Pleasant Stay.” Oh yes, we did, we did.
Every architectural detail in Native Village Inn just so blends with the location. Native Village Inn is also blessed with the traditional highly skilled craftsmanship of the Ifugao. Their huts, their furniture, their decorations.
There are 2 fireplaces, one outside and one inside. At the time we stayed there, the indoor fireplace exhaust was out of order.
We stayed in authentic traditional Ifugao huts. The mattresses filled the entire floor space. The design of the ifugao hut is suited for this cold climate. Inside we had electricity, working 220v AC outlets where I got to charge my cell phones and netbook.
Smart and Globe have signals. You can call and text. I even got to do some internet. Slow GPRS. But when I needed to reboot a server I was able to connect via ssh terminal and do my thing. I got to sleep soundly and my good dreams continued.
Outside were mens and womens toilets. Modern toilets. With the amenities you are looking for. Toilet seat, tiles, lots of good quality toilet paper. And they have fresh running water, including a separate sink. I never tried taking a shower. No way in this cold weather.
The individual huts which accommodated guests were surrounded by a tastefully designed garden of various plants and flowers native to the area. This paradise is literally at the top of a mountain so everywhere you run to will wind up in the edge of a cliff. So watch out for your very young children.
My son takes a video of the accommodations.
The staff were very courteous, they were 3 ladies. They did the kitchen stuff, the cleaning stuff and the butlering stuff. The food is conventional Filipino food. I’m a raw foodist raw paleo dieter so I can give no comment. My wife and kids seemed to be okay with the food.
The highlight for me was the main picnic table. This is where we have our breakfast and lunch. The most immense, Imax, spectacular mountain view of seemingly endless rice terraces, the road to Hapao and more mountains. This is paradise. Paradise you wish you could stay in forever… it’s like a dream. A dream come true where you get to forget everything else and just be happy with your loved ones.
The drive up to Native Village Inn via the Banaue to Hapao cliff road is muddy tricky. You must have off road tires and a 4×4 for safety and confidence for all you fellow urbanites. Preferably go up and down with a local guide. Or you can leave your vehicle in Banaue town proper and hire their own local vehicle and local driver to drive you up.
Contact Native Village Inn via their official website: http://www.nativevillage-inn.com/