THE STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

 LOCATION: BATAD, IFUGAO, PHILIPPINES
Giant, emerald green steps that lead up to the endless blues of the sky, Batad is a secluded glimpse into a rich culture and a majestic sight to behold…

 LOCATION: BATAD, IFUGAO PHILIPPINES

Zara Playsuit

Let me introduce Batad; a little secluded gem of a town, tucked away in the mountains of Northern Luzon, Philippines. Seeing the crisp outline of emerald, green stair-like formations peek through the foliage along the 40min hike from the only access road feels like a discovery. The feeling is as if you are peering through a window back in time. Life here has not changed much in the past hundred years. Traditional grass huts sit amongst small modest structures that makeup the small town. Children run up the stairs to make it to school, as there are no roads- only roughly cobbled pathways and the edges of rice terraces. Unlike the Banaue Rice Terraces, the town of Batad sits cradled at the mouth of very defined, stone-walled rice terraces. The result is a well preserved, secluded piece of paradise. Of course, the only way to photograph this post-card worthy landscape was in a red dress – or in this case a playsuit (very handy for scaling the steep walls of the terraces). Standing amongst the rice fields, surrounded by 360 degrees of natural landscape one is captured in a moment of bliss.  Now that I’ve introduced Batad to you, its about time you introduced yourself.