Tours and Tickets by Uncharted Philippines Adventure Travel and Day Tours
Overview
The 2000-year-old Banaue rice terraces are among the largest and most beautiful terraced fields in the world, and you’ll see them up close on this four-day trek. But, they are just one highlight of Ifugao region. Trek through mountains, forests, native communities, and past waterfalls. Stay overnight in a village, where you can chat with locals and learn about their life and culture. A challenging and memorable trip.
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Uncharted Philippines is such as amazing company. They have exceeded my expectations with every interaction. Leo was very responsive from my initial interaction with him, and through the whole process. He checked with me periodically during the trip to make sure our expectations were being met, and to communicate any updates for our trip. He made a great itinerary for my wife and me (private tour), communicated all the expectations, documentation, and other needs very clearly. We had a very busy and full 12-days, and the Uncharted team never skipped a beat. As with any great company, the individual team members each attribute a unique piece to merit success. Our guides were those individual pieces, and they were all unique and amazing people. In 12 days, we explored Manila, traversed rice terraces in Banaue, Batad, and Sagada, explored the waterfalls of Laguna, snorkeled and did an intro. dive in Anilao, and spent a wonderful week in Palawan. In each region, our guides were local to the area, so not only did we have a great experience with them, we also gained knowledge from they insights they shared. Our manila guides, Dondon, EJ, and Jason were great company. Jason safely and efficiently tackled the Manila traffic, while joking and conversating with us the whole way. He knew shortcuts to save us time and never seemed to get tired/sleepy! EJ flexed his knowledge of Intramuros Manila, and helped us with getting various things settled upon arrival (currency exchange, necessities shopping, etc.). We explored areas of my childhood that my wife has only seen in pictures, and it was great to re-visit these areas. Dondon braved the 4 waterfalls we visited, and always made sure we were safe on the trail. He took great pictures for us and knew a great local eatery to sample some unique Filipino dishes. Too bad I didn't get to sample his cooking (I hear he's a great chef). Jonathan, or rather, Jhon was a great guide through the Cordillera region. He was so pleasant, friendly,and funny. He grew up and lives in the region, and it was great to share in his pride of his home province. He shared a great deal of knowledge of both the region and the local trails through the rice terraces. Hiking the rice terraces was a great challenge (especially in the rain), but he ensured our safety and had a good gauge of our pace. On our trek to Batad, we finished early enough to eat our lunch at Cavinti Falls, before proceeding to our lodging in Batad. At the lodge, we had such a great time hanging out with Jhon and the various guides who all congregated there for the night. In Palawan, Jonel was our guide. Jonel is so friendly and respectful, and was always thoughtful of our safety. We had a fairly active adventure in Palawan, where we snorkeled, swam, kayaked, and trekked through the jungle. Jonel never skipped a beat. He was not only by our side the whole time, but he cooked several lunches for us as we island hopped throughout the week. Who would have thought, he's an athlete, guide, and a chef! Through our whole trip, Ana checked in with our guides to make sure everything was going well and sending any updates as they arose. And of course, Leo not only put the whole thing together, but was in communication with us, even after we had already left the Philippines. All in all, not only were the experiences he put together amazing, but his whole team is amazing. We left the Philippines, knowing that we made new life-long friends and can't wait to contact Uncharted Philippines for our future adventures. They really lived up to their mission of adventure tourism, as I have never had so much fun from being exhausted from and during my trip. If you're looking for a great adventure to an amazing and foreign place, look non further than Uncharted Philippines. They are a professional company, and their whole team is experienced, friendly, genuine, and great to work with.…
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Date of experience: February 2020
4 Helpful votes
Helpful
This hike is a total must. It gives you unique insight into a specific aspect of Filipino culture -- rice farming and the cultural traditions of Ifugao locals. Leo was fantastic in communicating with me about arranging this tour. And he set me up with Jody, an excellent guide who has been giving these tours for years. Jody has his photos plastered up in a village Inn in Combulo; clearly a reflection of the connection he makes with his guests. Throughout the trek, Jody was great about offering alternatives depending on your hiking skill level and energy. I opted for the longer routes but he was familiar enough with the trails to do shorter routes if you desired. The trail at some points can be very slippery, narrow, steep -- or all of the above! At certain points, the hike actually feels more like outdoor rock climbing, which I loved but is important to know as you plan for this tour. We were making good time so once we arrived in Batad, I had the choice to either do Tappiya Falls that afternoon or wait go the following morning. I was feeling energized so I did it that afternoon. PRO TIP: The inn you stay overnight at Batad is about an hour away from Tappiya Falls. The normal itinerary is to do Tappiya Falls on the morning of the 2nd day. But if you have the energy to do Tappiya Falls on day 1 before going to the inn, it will save you about 2 hours of trekking. All in all, I really enjoyed this tour and highly recommend it for folks with some hiking skill experience and a sense of adventure. Be warned, however, that the accommodations are very very very basic. The villages in Ifugao experience regular power outages. Expect cold showers and limited food options. With a positive outlook, all of these factors are part of what made the experience so memorable. I hope you'll consider it!…
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Date of experience: February 2020
2 Helpful votes
Helpful
Absolutely amazing!! We originally were to do the scuba dive day tour from Manila but we changed it last minute to the waterfall tour - Leo was so easy going and quick to sort our request for this change. The guides were so caring and helpful - most of the family sprung through the climbing easily but a couple of us were wary of heights - we still did it only because of the guides helping us through - so patient with us and making sure we also were able to enjoy everything this tour had to offer. We were so fortunate as the main waterfall which we swam under we had all to ourselves! Magic!!! Everything was fun and amazing! Thank you Unchartered and thank you in particular Leo for helping me so much more with our Philippines holiday - over and beyond the tour we organised with you.…
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Review collected in partnership with this attraction
Date of experience: February 2020
2 Helpful votes
Helpful
Logistics all worked out perfectly in terms of getting there and back. Jonathan was amazing and looked after me really well from the moment he met me at the bus station to the moment he dropped me back off. He was very knowledgeable and answered all my (many) questions about the terraces, villages, rice growing etc. He was also flexible with our plans each day (I’m a fast walker so we adjusted the plans to fit in longer routes/set off later than other groups) which was great as it meant we avoided bumping into too many other tourists while hiking…
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Review collected in partnership with this attraction
Date of experience: January 2020
2 Helpful votes
Helpful
Leo put together a fantastic tour for me (I was time constrained and could not join a group). I wanted to see and explore Banaue, Bontoc, and Sagada, and that's exactly what we did. My guide, and hiking partner, was Jonathan. He was fantastic, knowledgeable and helpful. The bus ride up north and back was long, but reasonably comfortable. Once up in the Cordillera region we did some great hikes through the rice terraces, they're amazing. The hanging coffins in Sagada's Echo Valley were a fascinating sight to see too. Both were highlights of the trip, but another highlight was the experience of riding the Jeepneys and moto-trikes and meeting and talking with the locals. It was a fantastic experience, highly recommend it. Great response before, during, and after the trip with Leo and his team.…
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Review collected in partnership with this attraction
Date of experience: November 2019
1 Helpful vote
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