Cagayan

Cagayan is a province in the Cagayan Valley region of Luzon.

The province can be roughly divided into the following subregions:

• Metro Tuguegarao (Tuguegarao, Enrile, Solana, Iguig and Peñablanca) - a growing urban conurbation centered around the provincial capital, Tuguegarao.
• Southwestern Cagayan (Piat, Tuao, Rizal, and Santo Niño) - heartland of the Itawis ethnolinguistic group composed of settlements along the Chico River valley.
• Central Cagayan (Baggao, Amulung, Alcala, Lal-lo, Gattaran and Lasam) - a stretch of landlocked towns along the Cagayan River.
• Northern Cagayan (Allacapan, Aparri, Buguey, Camalaniugan, Santa Teresita, Gonzaga and Santa Ana) - coastal towns from the mouth of the Cagayan River in Aparri to Cape Engaño in the northeast.
• Cagayan Panhandle (Ballesteros, Abulug, Pamplona, Sanchez Mira, Claveria and Santa Praxedes - coastal towns running northwest from Aparri to the boundary with Ilocos Norte province.
• Babuyan and Calayan Islands - An volcanic archipelago in the Babuyan Channel between mainland Cagayan and Batanes comprising the municipality of Calayan and the island of Fuga, administratively part of Aparri.

• 17.613333121.7302781 Tuguegarao — The provincial capital
• 18.444114121.4576362 Abulug — Main gateway to Apayao province.
• 18.3575121.6372223 Aparri — Northern terminus of the Cagayan Valley Road
• 17.903056121.6555564 Alcala — Known for its milk candy.
• 17.934722121.7733335 Baggao — A municipality on the western slopes of the Sierra Madre and the base for most hiking and waterfall activities.
• 18.28823121.83316 Buguey — Crab capital of northern Luzon.
• 18.275556121.6755567 Camalaniugan — Home to the oldest Christian church bell in the Far East, dating from 1594.
• 18.606111121.0822228 Claveria — A coastal town with a lagoon
• 18.261389121.9969449 Gonzaga — Home to Mount Cagua, the only active volcano in mainland northern Luzon.
• 17.751667121.73638910 Iguig — Pilgrimage hub and pottery-making town
• 18.2121.66222211 Lal-lo — Rural municipality housing the new Cagayan North International Airport. The guide also covers the nearby towns of Gattaran and Lasam.
• 17.625833121.78527812 Peñablanca — A municipality on the western slopes of the Sierra Madre known for Callao Cave, one of the largest systems of its kind in the Philippines.
• 17.791944121.47694413 Piat — Pilgrimage hub housing the most venerated image of the Virgin Mary in Cagayan Valley.
• 17.751667121.73638914 Rizal — Highland town with a Spanish-era church.
• 18.458889122.14194415 Santa Ana — Prime beach resort and gateway to Palaui Island.
• 17.735121.45527816 Tuao — Main gateway to Kalinga province.

• 19.261944121.4752781 Calayan — Island and nature sanctuary which is home to numerous endemic species of animals
• 18.544122.1362 Palaui Island — National park and protected area off the northeastern tip of Cagayan.
• 17.703261121.823753 Callao Cave — The site of the earliest known human remains found in the Philippines and a massive subterranean network.

Cagayan has been inhabited since prehistoric times, through anthropological and archaeological finds such as the Callao Man, and the Lal-lo and Gattaran Shell Middens. The first inhabitants are hunter-gatherers specialized in hunting mollusks; they were believed to be Negritos (Atta) based on anthropological evidence. Migrations of Austronesians (or Malays), the ancestors of most of the native groups such as the Ibanag, Gaddang, Itawes and some Igorot tribes, have driven the Negritos into the mountains at the eastern coast.

Civilizations have thrived long in the province before Spanish colonization. Locals have traded with the Chinese and Japanese, and there are also records of a Japanese pirate kingdom in Cagayan, which lasted until 1582.

The Spaniards first came in 1581, on an expedition to explore the areas north of the Caraballo mountain range and east of the Cordillera Central, and convert the locals to Catholicism. Conquistador Juan de Salcedo, sent to explore the coast of northern Luzon, also landed at the areas now occupied by the towns of Pamplona and Aparri.

Cagayan used to cover all of the Cagayan Valley region during Spanish times. Founded in 1583 by royal decree, it included all of present-day Cagayan Valley, Batanes, and parts of the provinces of Ifugao, Kalinga and Apayao, until the new provinces were carved out from 1839 afterwards, namely Isabela and Nueva Vizcaya. The original capital was in Lal-lo, then known as Nueva Segovia, also the namesake of the Roman Catholic archdiocese which now has its seat in Vigan and includes the provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Abra, and Benguet.

Cagayan has all of the three tropical climate regimes of the Philippines, but the two most prominent are the tropical monsoon and the tropical savanna regimes.

• The tropical savanna climate zone mostly occupies the basin of the eponymous Cagayan River (except at its estuary), which includes the capital at Tuguegarao. There is a dry season from January to April, and temperatures can hit the 40 °C (104 °F) mark.
• Most of the province have a tropical monsoon climate, which has a shorter dry season, and low possibility of extreme daytime highs.
• Mountains at the eastern coast have a rainforest climate, which transitions into temperate oceanic at about 1,000 m (3,300 ft) above sea level.

The province is at the heart of the typhoon belt, and has weather stations that are vital for typhoon tracking. Typhoons generally strike the province during the rainiest months, from August to October.

Cagayan's overall climate is rainy, with a short dry season lasting from either January or February to April. The northeast monsoon (amihan) from Siberia and moist air masses from the Pacific brings much of the rain, and the province generally gets 85 rainy days a year.

Buses connect the province with Manila and Ilocos Region, mostly terminating at the capital at Tuguegarao, but there are also buses that head to major towns such as Aparri and Santa Ana.

Asian Highway 26 (AH26) provides the main road link with Manila, though it is possible to take the Santiago-Tuguegarao Road as a shorter alternative. The same highway also provides the main access from Ilocos Region.

From the Cordilleras, the main land route goes through the province of Kalinga.

Tuguegarao (TUG ^IATA) is served by domestic flights from Manila, Basco and the coastal towns of Isabela. There is another airport at Lal-lo (LLC ^IATA), which is only served by occasional charter flights.

Passenger vans and buses are the main mode of public transportation between towns. The main transport hub is Tuguegarao, from where trips to all municipalities except Calayan can be made.

Access to Fuga and Calayan Group of Islands involves ferries from the coastal towns of northern Cagayan, a trip that takes five hours in fine weather, but is otherwise a nightmare thanks to the rough waters of the Babuyan Channel.

• Magapit Suspension Bridge in Lal-lo is known as "the Golden Gate of Cagayan." It is Asia's first suspension bridge, built in 1978. It spans the Cagayan River at Lallo and is 760 m long, and carries Asian Highway 26.
• Calesa (horse-drawn carriage): In Cagayan, calesas are common, especially in Tuao and many other municipalities. In Tuguegarao, they are mixed in traffic with private cars, motorcycles, sidecar motorcycles, jeepneys, trucks, and bicycles.

• Duba Cave (Baggao) is a wet river cave and a swimming cave. Almost all passages with water, which is about 70% of the way to the Skylight Falls, have large breakdowns or walls without handholds along the side so the only way through is to swim. Because of this, you should wear a lifejacket. This will ensure a safe return trip especially after the long swims in.
• Rio Grande de Cagayan (Cagayan River) — the Philippines’ mightiest watercourse — is the longest and widest river in the country. Small streams originating form Balete Pass, Cordillera, Caraballo and the Sierra Madre Mountains meet other streams. It passes from Aparri traversing Isabela as far as Aurora.
• Claveria Coast is called the "Coastal Paradise of the Cagayan North."
• Portabaga Falls (Santa Praxedes) A well-developed resort and inn managed by the local government of Santa Praxedes. It has 5 pools catering the needs of different age levels. Local and foreign tourists come for its natural beauty.
• Calayan Island (Calayan): The island town is a two-hour boat ride from Aparri. It is rich in natural attractions like excellent beaches, archeological sites, endemic flora and fauna, virgin forest, crystal clear blue waters, plus hospitable and gentle people with colorful history.
• Kalamudinan Falls (Baggao) is 26 km from the center of Santa Margarita, Baggao, Cagayan. More than 100 m high and rich in shrimp (locally called udang) and fishes.

• The Malaueg Church (Rizal) is at the Poblacion of the town. The church was preserved completely by UNESCO and underwent restorations. The church is made entirely of stones that was designed by Spaniards.

• Swimming
• Sight-seeing

• Enjoy the yummy giant crabs of Buguey
• Indulge with the famous Pancit Batil Patong
• Gakka, a tiny shell that no-one can resist.
• Milk candy - derived from carabao milk, the municipalities of Alcala and Lal-lo have a rivalry on who makes the better product, although Alcala's is more widely available outside of town.
• Chicharabao - fried animal rinds (chicharon) made from carabao rather than the traditional pork.

There are New People's Army guerrillas in the Sierra Madre and in the highland areas bordering Kalinga and Apayao, while some towns such as Rizal are no-go areas during election season.

The towns along the Cagayan River basin frequently get inundated during the rainy season. In the summer, temperatures can reach 40 °C (104 °F), especially in the Tuguegarao area. The Cagayan River and its tributaries can generate extensive flooding during the rainy season and when the Magat Dam opens its gates upstream in Isabela. Unlike the rest of Luzon, the province gets dry spells during the monsoon season from June to October unless a typhoon directly hits, while more sustained rain is common during the cold season from November to February.

• Batanes
• Isabela