The tour started by Miller picking me up from the banaue bus station by ohayami trans, you pay an environmental registration fee and then on your way.
Since I arrived Monday morning and would only be two days in banaue, the tour was accommodated for two days, instead of the usual three day tour.
Miller took me to a breakfast spot in a homestay and from there I was taken to several viewpoints and key points overlooking the beautiful terraces.
It was around a 30 minute ride over to Bataad in a motor tricycle.
Miller's wife, Brijhet was going to be leading the main tour of Bataad and surrounding areas, for day 1 we had a tour into the village of the Bataad terraces, and throughout the hike down Brijhet was very attentive and accommodating in both the hikes, bedroom accomodations, and in general needs throughout the tour, and finished with a demonstration of how local rice is processed manually. The people of Bataad and banaue have some unparalleled strength!
Day two was a hike down to tappiya falls, it's about an hour and back, two hours total, for someone that never hiked before this was a challenge coming back up, and I started cramping up at one point! Thankfully Brijhet was patient and would pace to allow me to rest on the way back.
The stay in the homestay was great, since I was alone i was given a common room in the under area of the homestay, with its own shower and bathroom. A warning that electricity is quite limited in this area and there was a specific time where the generators would turn on to allow charging of devices.
Throughout the tour Miller and Brijhet would offer to take pictures and videos, and at time help me out in carrying some of my items, or offering the portable fan that Brijhet would let me use.
This is a fantastic tour and Miller and Brijhet are not only great tour guides and provide in depth information to any questions about the surrounding area, lifestyle, and other agricultural questions, but they also had a great sense of humor. I was also able to meet some of Miller's cousins which were great people and hard workers.
This would be an ideal tour for more people and more days, since the area of Banaue and Bataad is so large that it would be good to plan your tour to start on a morning, and also bring some good hiking shoes because there's some hiking in rocks at times. I would recommend that you would ask for a tour map and also ask questions about the locations since most of these are stretched out and if you'd like to visit all of them, you'd either need more days, or have really strong calves since they are long hikes!
I'm glad I was able to book with them, and I'll be looking to meet with them soon the next time I go with more friends or family!
Maraning Salamat po!