Cagayan Valley

Cagayan Valley is a region at the northeastern corner of Luzon. The regional center is Tuguegarao, and is composed of five provinces in administrative terms, namely: Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino. This guide only covers the mainland areas: Batanes is treated as a separate region for its isolation and distinct culture.

Most of the region lies in a large valley in northeastern Luzon, between the Cordilleras and the Sierra Madre mountain ranges. The Cagayan River, the country's longest river, runs through its center and flows out to Luzon Strait in the north, in the town of Aparri, Cagayan.

• 18121.81 Cagayan
• 171222 Isabela
• 16.483333121.153 Nueva Vizcaya
• 16.512121.5234 Quirino

The Batanes islands is grouped as part of Cagayan Valley administratively, but Wikivoyage treats it as a separate region.

• 17.613333121.7302781 Tuguegarao - Regional economic center; has the primary entry point by plane.
• 16.766667121.7833332 Cauayan - Has the second airport with commercial service.
• 17.1478121.88873 Ilagan - Tourist town midway between Santiago and Tuguegarao.
• 16.683333121.554 Santiago City - Secondary regional economic center.

• 17.32122.2165 Northern Sierra Madre — A remote region facing the Philippine Sea, it has a large national park, and three municipalities only accessible by plane and boat, or for the adventurous, hiking through the Sierra Madre. An ongoing road project is expected to make access easier here, though construction is slow.
• 18.543122.1386 Palaui Island — A nature reserve off the northeastern tip of Luzon island.
• 16.296121.0367 Southern Nueva Vizcaya — Rural area, composed of seven municipalities and two protected areas.

The region often manifests to ordinary Filipinos as an obscure area with large swaths of fertile plains surrounding the Cagayan River, but it is far from that. Parts of the region lie along the forested Sierra Madre, and the province of Nueva Vizcaya is mostly mountainous, lying between the Cordillera and Sierra Madre. Rainforests cover the remote eastern coast.

The region is historically inhabited by hunter-gatherer Ilongot and the lowland Ibanag and Gaddang ethnic groups, but they have since been displaced by Ilocano and Tagalog migrants.

Cagayan Valley used to be a single province during the Spanish era, which has since been split into smaller provinces over time. Colonial rule was only effectively enforced along the Cagayan, Chico and Magat Rivers, with many indigenous peoples remaining more or less independent in the hinterlands until the American occupation. Culturally, the region is mostly Ilocano, Ibanag (in Cagayan and northern Isabela) and Gaddang (in Isabela and northern Nueva Vizcaya). The southernmost provinces of Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino have more in common with the Cordilleras than with Cagayan Valley, most of the residents being indigenous Igorot peoples such as the Ilongot and Isinay.

Cagayan Valley is a sparse region, with a largely agrarian economy centered on rice and corn production. The region largely lacks major attractions and tourism infrastructure.

The region's climate is heavily influenced by the monsoon, with a short but sometimes brutal dry season, with Tuguegarao frequently holding the highest temperature records in the country reaching up to 42 °C (108 °F). Typhoons typically batter the region during the rainy season from June to October, with rains somewhat alleviated by the mountains surrounding the valley blocking off the southwest monsoon ravaging the rest of Luzon. The heavy rains come during the cold season from November to February. The remote parts of Cagayan and Isabela have rain all year-round.

Flying may not be the cheapest, but the fastest way of reaching the region.

Tuguegarao Airport (TUG ^IATA) and Cauayan Airport (CYZ ^IATA) are served by domestic flights from Manila. Tuguegarao is the main point of entry by plane; Cebu Pacific offers flights from Manila twice a day for ₱4,110. Cauayan is served by a daily flight on Cebu Pacific for ₱3,835.

A new airport, the Cagayan North International Airport or Lal-lo International Airport (LLC ^IATA) has opened in rural Lal-lo, making the northeastern corner of the region accessible by plane, but is only served by flights by charter carrier Royal Air, and it remains uncertain it will be served by other carriers.

Nueva Vizcaya also has its own airport, located in Bagabag, but is only open for chartered flights.

There are regular provincial bus trips from Manila to most points in the region; most ply the Cagayan Valley Road or Maharlika Highway (Asian Highway 26/Route 1) which is the main highway through the region. An exception for this is Quirino province, with commuters needing to change vehicles in Santiago. Most travellers enter by bus, which are cheaper, although slower than taking a domestic flight.

Cagayan Valley is connected to nearby regions by highway, but most roads pass through mountain passes, most notably the Dalton Pass at the boundary with Central Luzon, and are full of hairpin curves.

Although the Maharlika Highway running via Bulacan and Nueva Ecija offers a shorter route from Metro Manila when looking at maps, it is actually prolonged by chronic traffic congestion in those areas. To save time, many travelers instead drive the full length of North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) until Pampanga and then turn into Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) and Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX) before exiting in Tarlac or Pangasinan to capillary roads leading to Maharlika Highway.

Another option that bypasses Maharlika Highway in Central Luzon entirely is taking the TPLEX exits in Pangasinan and entering via Malico (Salacsac Pass) at the Nueva Vizcaya-Pangasinan boundary, ending up at the start of the Maharlika Highway route in Cagayan Valley.

Primary highways are Rte 1 (Asian Highway 26), and Santiago-Tuguegarao Rd (Rte 51), both of which are well-maintained. Rte 1 runs from the boundary with Ilocos Region to Dalton Pass, passing by Tuguegarao, Ilagan, Cauayan and Santiago. Santiago-Tuguegarao Rd travels between its two namesake cities, bypassing Ilagan and Cauayan further west. Buses and passenger vans (UV Express) are abundant in the region.

It is common practice for farmers to dry their rice and corn on the surface of provincial roads and even on the shoulders of major highways. Although officially outlawed, this is an often tolerated practice, with farmers even encouraging motorists to drive over their grains as it somehow helps grind them without much need for mills and threshers and separates the chaff and other impurities. However, motorcycles are not encouraged to do this, as they tend to slip often, causing fatal accidents.

Most tourists come to see the region for its natural attractions such as caves, waterfalls, the pristine Sierra Madre mountains and the inaccessible beaches along its eastern coast, and the more accessible beaches on the Babuyan Channel. There are a few Spanish-era colonial churches scattered around the valley.

The region's cuisine is diverse and reflects Ilocano, Ibanag, Itawis and Cordilleran culture. Among the signature dishes are corn, a reminder that the region is the Philippines' main producer of the crop, tupig, sinabalu and inatata (rice cake desserts) and the two noodle (pancit) dishes (batil patung of Tuguegarao and pansi Cabagan).

The region has a high risk for typhoons. At the same time, the valley floor can become extremely arid during the summer months, while in higher elevations, the climate is more close to a rainforest, that means, there is no dry season.