Top 10 Incredible Terrace Fields in the World 

It’s incredible to see the crop cultivation on the mountain slopes that look carpeted with greenery. The Incredible Terrace Fields method requires massive labor work but also enhances arable land and reduces soil erosion with minimum water losses. The fields support civilizations in far places by growing crops and sustaining their livestock & poultry. It also provides a spectacular landscape for attracting tourists for scrutinizing the beauty of mountain lands.

We have compiled a list of The Top Ten Incredible Terrace Fields that will entertain you with their majestic individuality among other lands.

1. Sa Pa Terrace 

Sa Pa Terraces are situated in Vietnam and include as UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s a stunning rice field that will leave you speechless for a while because of its specular vastness. The best time to visit the place is between October and April as the temperature is quite mild during those months. The average temperature in Sa Pa range from 17-18 C and in winter it drops to 4 C.

You can also visit the villages to merge yourself with the local culture and enjoy the traditional food of the town. It’s better to spend at least four to five days so you could have enough time to interact with people and the environment in a better way.

2. Inca Pisac 

Inca Pisac is located in Cusco Region, Peru that has complex agricultural terraces formed on the mountain ridge. If you have a plan to travel to Machu Picchu, you pick the perfect route to your destination through the Sacred Valley of Cusco Region. The terraces used to be cultivated places by Inca but excavation indicates the presence of some previous civilization too.

Ajachapata terraces are an interesting attraction while watching the other Peruvian ruins. The sizes of the terraces change from bottom to top as at the bottom near to Urubama river bank terraces are the shortest and on the mountain top are the largest.

3. Douro Valley

Douro Valley is located in Portugal that appears as an enchanted world to visitors because of its magical beauty and pristine landscapes. You can access the terraces of the valley by road, train, and cruise. The valley is the entry point of the river Rio Douro and has an abundance of hiking trails.

It will be great to visit the Castle of Numao in the region to see the view over the skyline. The best time to visit the region at late May to early June as the weather conditions are very favorable for tourists to wander more in the valley.

4. Bali Rice Terrace 

Bali Rice Terrace is located in Indonesia and is divided into eight different parts with specific names. Jatiluwih is the largest rice field that spread to around 600 hectares cascading from the hillside and is the best destination to capture some memorable pictures. The other mountain village is Rendand in East Bali which will complement your drive when you move to the capital of Amlapura.

These terraces will also provide you with the taste of traditional Balinese life and paint the landscape that revolves around the cultivation of rice at the heights of mountains.

5. Choquequirao 

Choquequirao is another Peruvian agricultural site which means the Cradle of Gold because of the higher fertilization of the land. It is located around 3100 m above sea level in the staircase configuration consisting of 180 terraces. The destination is remote and only accessible on foot or on horseback rides. Like other Incas ruins, similar architecture is situated around the terrace.

The size of the terraces ranges between 6 to 18 square kilometer which makes the Choquequirao three times the size of ruins in the Machu Picchu.

6. Salinas de Maras

Salinas de Maras is an Incas salt pan that is used for getting slabs of salt. It’s the Peruvian site where natural spring water has a higher concentration of mineral salt that is stored in there around 3,000 terraces on the mountain. The sunlight helps to evaporate the water and leave behind the pure salt that is cut to pieces for selling in the market.

You will be amazed to see the symmetrical Incredible Terrace Fields filled with water. The best time to watch the whole terrace-based salt production process is in the afternoon, when the entire land glows with sunlight.

7. Ollantaytambo 

Ollantaytambo is different from other Inca places in Peru as it used to be the royal estate of Emperor Pachacuti who made it the ceremonial center for his empire. Incas used these highlands and Incredible Terrace Fields to survive during the Spanish conquest but also resisted to show their stronghold. The mountain valley is covered with a number of terraces that are still used for the cultivation of several crops.

8. Longji Terrace 

Longji rice terraces are built by local ethnic people in Guilin, China. These terraces have a long history that is extended to 650 years, starting from Ming Dynasty and ending in Qing Dynasty. The region is quite accessible as you just need to cover 77 km from the main city of Guilin to reach this place.

You will be surprised to see the green pasture spread all over the mountains 300m to 1100m above sea level. It’s incredibly fulfilling to meet with the locals of both ethnic groups Zhuang and Yao to see their land and ethnic customs and traditions.

9. Hani Terraces

Hani Terraces is a cultural landscape of around 16,000 hectares of rice terraces in the Southern Yunnan region of China. These are cascaded through the Ailao Mountains and end at the bank of Hong River. It’s fascinating how the Hani people channelize water from the high mountain top to the terraces for the last 1300 years.

You can visit the place to explore more than 80 villages situation on the mountaintop that contains typical mushroom houses. The harmony between land management of terraces and people is rewarded in the form of rice every year.

10. Banaue Rice Terraces 

Banaue Rice Incredible Terrace Fields have a history of around two millennia for the cultivation of rice on the mountain range of the Philippine Cordillera. When you landed on the northern island of Luzon, Philippine archipelago, you will find stunning clusters of rice terraces. It’s the priceless contribution of Philippines ancestors for their people who developed the phenomenal cultivation method that passed on from generation to generation.

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