Quirino

Quirino is a province in the Cagayan Valley region of Luzon. One of the country's least-known provinces, it has underrated natural and cultural attractions such as indigenous communities and unspoiled mountains, rapids, caves and waterfalls.

Quirino is divided into six municipalities, all rural and sparsely populated, with each having a central town.

• 16.488875121.587351 Aglipay — home to an extensive cave complex and waterfalls
• 16.510278121.5222222 Cabarroguis — provincial capital
• 16.593611121.50253 Diffun — largest town and commercial hub
• 16.341111121.6833334 Maddela— secondary commercial hub
• 16.216667121.65 Nagtipunan — highland town dubbed as the provincial summer capital and the center of Bugkalot culture
• 16.539444121.5636116 Saguday — "Rice Granary" of Quirino

Quirino occupies 3,323.47 km² (1,283.20 sq mi) of land area, mostly mountainous and forested terrain. The capital is Cabarroguis. The province occupies some of the last remaining jungles of the Sierra Madre Mountains, and hosts some endemic species.

The province appears as a roughly triangular-shaped entity on maps. It is bounded on the west by Nueva Vizcaya, on the east by Aurora, and to the north by Isabela. It is bisected by the upper reaches of the Cagayan River, which runs through the length of the province on its way to Isabela and Cagayan.

Quirino is one of the least populated provinces in the Philippines, with only 210,000 residents, mostly squeezed into northern towns bordering Isabela. It is predominantly inhabited by Ilocano migrants, followed by indigenous Bugkalot (formerly known as Ilongot) and Aeta tribespeople. There are also some Aeta tribes related to those in the Sierra Madre and Zambales mountains.

Quirino's climate is similar to the rest of the Cagayan Valley, with scorching heat during the dry season from March to May, rains from June to October, and cold weather and torrential rains from November and February. The southern regions have a more temperate climate due to its altitude, but the dense jungle makes things humid.

Many visit the province during the dry season between March and May, where temperatures are at its highest but rainfall at its lowest. The rainy season is rather the same as with the rest of Luzon, but precipitation is somewhat higher, with the cool season from November to February also bringing in torrential rains. Heavy rain, especially those brought by typhoons, can cause seasonal road closures especially in southern Quirino due to landslides and rockfalls.

Quirino was uncharted territory during the Spanish occupation, inhabited by indigenous Ilongot tribes. Throughout the 18th to 19th centuries, the Spaniards based in Cagayan Valley tried to subjugate what the area with limited success. In retaliation, Ilongot tribes raided lowland villages and beheaded residents in headhunting raids. In the early 1900s, the Americans occupied Quirino and largely calmed things down, although headhunting attacks continued until well into the 1970s.

Quirino frequently switched jurisdictions between Isabela and Nueva Vizcaya until 1971, when it finally became a separate province named after Elpidio Quirino, the sixth president of the Philippines. In the 1970s and 1980s, the area became a hotbed of rebellions led by the communist New People's Army. At the same time, cronies of the Marcos dictatorship entered Quirino and were awarded logging concessions before proceeding to ravage large swathes of the province's forest until the 1990s, when they were finally driven out by a belated effort from the government to stop large-scale deforestation. Despite this, migration to the province continued as Ilocano settlers sought new farmlands and homesteads, at the cost of displacing the Ilongots, now renamed Bugkalots in a bid to move on from their headhunting reputation, to the outlying mountains.

Long seen through the colonial era and much of the post-independence years as a “no-go zone” due to its reputation for being a hotbed of tribal warfare, headhunters and communist rebels, since the 21st century, Quirino has seen an influx of tourists.

Historically an agricultural society, Quirino's economy was interrupted with the entry of commercial logging in the 1970s that left deep scars on the environment after the loggers moved on. Since the 21st century, Quirino has began to open up to tourism, although the province remains obscure to many non-residents and is often the butt of jokes questioning its existence.

The lingua franca is Ilocano, followed by Tagalog, Ibanag, Bugkalot languages and English.

Quirino is mainly accessed through roads from Isabela and Aurora. The nearest airport is in Cauayan, from where transfers towards passenger vans heading to Quirino can be made in Santiago City, while most bus services from Metro Manila usually stop just outside of Quirino, in towns of Isabela bordering the province such as Cordon, Santiago and Echague. An exception to this is Maddela, where there are bus terminals providing once-a-day direct services to Manila.

There is a rudimentary road connection to Kasibu in Nueva Vizcaya from Cabarroguis, while a road connects Aurora province to the south and is frequented by buses running from Santiago City to Dinapigue, on the southeastern coast of Isabela. Since the 2020s, construction has been ongoing to connect Nagtipunan with Dupax del Norte in Nueva Vizcaya.

Public transportation to Quirino operates at an infrequent pace, which usually involves waiting for an indefinite period for your vehicle to fill up before it leaves the terminal.

The main thoroughfare in Quirino is the Cordon-Diffun-Aurora Road, which runs the length of the province from the boundary with Isabela down to Aurora and passes through all six municipalities.

Due to infrequent public transport services, it is better to take a 4WD or any vehicle suitable for mountain roads. Many attractions are accessible following extended hikes. Tricycles are used within towns.

Tourism is still in its early stages in Quirino, with many waterfalls, mountains and caves still waiting to be discovered and identified even by the locals themselves. It is common practice in the towns to consolidate a cluster of natural attractions into ecoparks. The most visited of these are in Maddela and Nagtipunan. There is also a growing interest for cultural tourism featuring the Bugkalot.

Among popular products and souvenirs are handicrafts made from forest products such as bags, mats and fossilized flowers.

Quirino cuisine is dominated by Ilocano cooking. A popular export, particularly from Maddela, is bananas and banana chips.

There is less accommodation in the province due to low visitor numbers, forcing many to sleep in Santiago City instead. The bulk of tourist accommodation in the province, including small and mid-size hotels, is in Diffun, Maddela and Cabarroguis. Most accommodation elsewhere consists of small inns, hostels or homestays.

Accidents and landslides are common along the mountain roads, with the danger compounded by low or nonexistent guard rails and fog. Ensure that your vehicle is in good condition.

There may be a few NPA rebels hiding in the wilderness.

• Aurora
• Isabela