Boast About Your Budget Adventure in Style

The UNESCO World Heritage Site Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras are referred to in the Philippines as the eighth wonder of the world--and for good reason. These terraces on Northern Luzon were carved out of the steep mountainside by hand as early as 2000 years ago and have been farmed and maintained almost the exact same way ever since.  Although some terraces can be seen from the road, the most spectacular are said to be the amphitheatre-shaped terraces at Batad. To see these ones, though, you'll have to bus an hour from Banaue to the Saddle, and then hike another hour to the village.

Most of these terraces are accessible only by foot and multi-day treks with local guides are easy to arrange and very affordable. This is an opportunity not to be missed. In recent years more and more farmers have been abandoning the hard life on the terraces in search of an easier one in the city. For this reason, the terraces are now on UNESCO's list of Endangered World Heritage Sites.  

Island Hopping Between Busuanga and Palawan

The waters between the islands of Busuanga and Palawan are dotted with dozens of small islands that rise sharply out of the aqua sea, are capped with jungle, and are lined with white sand beaches. It's a stunning setting--the kind of place a villain in a James Bond movie would put their hideout.

You can kayak or ride a banca boat from island to island, snorkel brilliant reefs, scuba dive numerous WWII wrecks (there is even one shallow enough for snorkeling) and visit the otherworldly barracuda lake. At night you'll sleep under the stars on white sand beaches on islands feel practically uninhabited.

Swimming with Whale Sharks on Leyte

They can grow to be as long as a school bus and are the largest fish in the sea. Despite this, whale sharks are incredibly docile. Although the practice is frowned upon now, several years ago I saw a young Filipino hold onto a whale shark's dorsal fin and stand on its back like a surfboard. The whale shark paid him no mind.

Most people who want to swim with the whale sharks in the Philippines go to Donsol, a few hours from Manila. From what I've been told the visibility there is not very good, however, and the water gets very crowded with tourists. I prefer to go to Leyte. It's more remote, but there are just a couple of operations taking people out with the whale sharks and the water is crystal clear. Both times I've gone it was just me with five or six other visitors and one (or two) enormous fish!  
 
Whale sharks are migratory animals. If you want to do this, it's best to visit between February and May. If you want to do it on Leyte, I recommend going with Peter. I've found whale sharks with him every time I've gone.

Hiking the Chocolate Hills on Bohol

The Chocolate Hills is a region on the island of Bohol of about 20 square miles covered in conical and almost perfectly symmetrical hills. During the dry season the foliage that covers them dies and turns brown, hence the name. The visual effect is otherworldly. There is no scientific explanation for the formation of the hills, and it is the only geological formation of its kind on Earth.

Since the ground between the hills is relatively flat, hiking here is not too difficult. Single- or multi-day hikes with local guides can easily be arranged, and are a great way to experience this one-of-a-kind landscape.

Visiting Unknown Hill Tribes

The last time I was in the Philippines I rode a motorcycle into the mountains of Bohol and visited a tribe called the Eskaya. There are less than 200 Eskaya families on Bohol. They have a unique language that linguists have not been able to connect to any other known language; they have their own system of writing, and an oral history and mythology dating back 2000 years.  Nobody is even sure where they came from.

It was one of the most unique cultural experiences I've ever had.

When I was in the Batad Rice Terraces I met farmers who were farming the rice terraces using the same methods their ancestors had used 2000 years earlier. The first foreign visitors only started visiting the area in the 70's, and that was because word about the spectacular terraces got out.

The Philippines is an enormous country with thousands of islands, and on each island the people have their own unique characteristics. Outsiders seldom visit most of these places and there are probably hundreds of tribes that have met nary an outsider.  The opportunity for rich and unique experiences boggles the mind.

If I could only recommend that you do one thing in the Philippines, it'd be this: go explore.

**All photos by Matt Gibson except the Chocolate Hills, which was provided by α is for äpΩL †
 
Matt Gibson is a professional travel writer an photographer specializing in outdoors and adventure travel. He runs an award-winning adventure travel blog at Matt-Gibson.org, writes a column for Transitions Abroad, and blogs for the Huffington Post.  Catch up with him on his blog, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google +.