A 90 minutes drive through muddy roads brought us on top of mountain overlooking the Batad valley. It took another 90 minutes of a walk down the steep flanks of mountain to get the isolated town of Batad. The long procession of locals carrying huge loads of goods, animals of food shows make the tourist breathing loudly look silly. No cars ever made it here and only the screams of kids and a few barking dogs break the silence. Finally, Batad can be seen at the bottom of the valley, laying in the middle of rice fields whose stone walls were built thousand years ago. The long trip was definitely worth it.