A Mother’s Stuff

Helpful tips when traveling to Batanes

Traveling to Batanes is an adventure. Here are a few tips to make your stay more enjoyable. Before reaching Batanes you should have:

• Enough cash with you, your credit card is not accepted (no communication facilities yet to support it).
• If you are traveling from abroad, you may decide to convert your dollars (or other foreign currencies) to local currency while you’re in Manila. Exchange rate is more competitive in Manila.
• If you lost something while in Batanes (such as wallet, bag or other personal belongings) you can go to the radio station (Radyo ng Bayan) to announce it. Likewise, local people who have found something usually bring it to the radio station to be announced. It is not unusual that lost wallet or even large amount of cash can be safely returned to the rightful owner.
• Bring with you comfortable clothing and outdoor shoes, you’ll surely find yourself walking along the shore lines or trekking on the hills.
• Don’t forget to bring with you your personal things such as medicines enough for your stay, flashlight (electricity switches-off at midnight), camera (with extra films and batteries), flight tickets and identification papers, raincoat/umbrella if you’re visiting during rainy season.
• Batanes is continuing its efforts to preserve its natural resources. Help them by keeping your surroundings clean and avoiding damages in its natural resources. The beaches are free but you’re expected to be responsible enough to clean your surrounding when you leave.
• Remember that you are only allowed 10 kilos of free check-in baggage during your flight to and from Batanes. Excess baggage costs around P45.00 per kilo. So travel lightly.
• Flights may be canceled due to bad weather, make enough allowances on your schedules and cash in your pocket.

Have a safe trip and wonderful adventure. Enjoy the beauty of Batanes!!!

Batanes annual events and activities

January

• Three Kings - celebrated usually on the first sunday of January by all towns. Usually as festive as Christmas Day.
• January 28 - Savidug Barrio Fiesta (Sabtang)

February

• February to June is usually the fishing season (dibang and arayu). Joining a local fisherman, if you happen to know one, could be a lifelong experience especially if you are lucky enough to catch an arayu.

April

• Summer months are usually the best times for trekking along the pasture paths and swimming or snorkelling on the beaches (White Beach, Baluarte Beach, Di-Atay Beach).

May

• May 1 - Ivana Town Fiesta (San Jose)
• May 10 - Uyugan Town Fiesta (San Antonio de Florencia)

June

• June 13 - Barrio San Antonio Fiesta (Diptan, Basco)
• June 26 - Batanes Day Anniversary. Usually a weeklong celebration with daily agro-industrial fairs, community sports festival and cultural presentations.
• June 27 - Barrio Fiesta, Brgy. San Juaquin (Valugan), Basco

August

• August 8 - Basco Town Fiesta (Sto. Domingo de Guzman), also celebrated in Manila
• August 23 - Brgy. Chavayan Barrio Fiesta, Sabtang (Sta Rosa de Lima)

September

• Sports Event: Batanes Schools Athletic Association Meet (previously known as Provincial Meet).

October

• October 1 - Brgy. Sinakan Barrio Fiesta, Sabtang (Sta. Teresita de Niño)
• October 7 - Itbayat Town Fiesta (Sta. Maria de Mayan)
• October 7 - Brgy. Tukon/Chanarian Fiesta (Basco)
• Second week of October - Experience the migratory birds season (kuyab and valichit). They pass by for a few days before they continue to fly to warmer areas.
• October 26 - Brgy. Sumnanga Barrio Fiesta, Sabtang (San Luis Beltran)

November

• November 4 - Mahatao Town Fiesta (San Carlos Borromeo), also celebrated in Manila
• November 27- Brgy. Itbud Barrio Fiesta (Nuestra Señora da la Medalla Milagrosa)

December

• Christmas Program (and dance) are usually celebrated in most towns.
• Traditional Misa de Gallo, observed from 16th to 24th
• Some towns also celebrate Three Kings on Christmas Day.
• New Year festivities are celebrated in all towns

Batanes local attractions

Aside from the festive town fiestas, free and natural beaches, trekking adventures, bird watching in October or fishing in summer, there are a lot of other local attractions worth visiting such as:

Historic Churches in every town. The churches in Basco, Mahatao, Ivana and Sabtang which were originally decorated in baroque were over 200 years old made of massive mixture of lime and stone.

Unique architecture of Ivatan houses made of thick lime and stone walls with cogon grass roof has made it a favorite attraction to visitors.

Sabtang Island, considered as one of the 12 best destinations in the Philippines according to the published coffee table by the Department of Tourism. Undisturbed and unspoiled, Sabtang exists in another time. Intermittent sandy beaches, rugged country trails and lime stone and cogon houses has made Sabtang a secret paradise.

Radar tukon in Basco rests on the hilltop overlooking a 360 degree view of the cliffs, hills and the seas around the island.

Interior road, a trail of unending countryside panoramic views, rock formations and rolling terrain. Don’t forget to stop by at Valugan Mahatao and the locally known “spring of youth” in Diatay.

Batanes food: Delicacies and cuisines

On good weather you may feast yourself with seasonal seafood. Lobster is an ordinary fare. On summer season, the dorado and flying fish are abundant. Likewise, you could find traditional Filipino vegetables.

During town fiesta or family celebrations/ gathering, you may be lucky to experience a true Ivatan cuisine that includes uvod made of mixed deboned fish and core of banana steamed with local herbs.

Yellow rice is also famous - rice cooked with yellow ginger (turmeric). Then instead of plates, you may be served on leaves of local bread fruit tree called kabaya. A unique experience for most visitors.

Coconut crab is also available although a bit expensive.

Tap water is usually safe to drink for everybody.

Coconut crab and sea urchins

Coconut crabs, Pancit Ivatan with homemade noodles topped with egg

Turmeric rice, Luniz (their version of adobo, pork rendered in its own fat with salt), kananiz ( like a cuttlefish or giant squid)

Dinakdakan (cattle’s skin chopped up with vinegar) and Inihaw na tadyang (grilled ribs)

Venus (gabi stalks) and Uvod balls (from banana ubod)

Mixed Ivatan salad of blanched ampalaya, mangoes, fern, eggplant, tomatoes, onions, with bagoong (fermented fish/shrimp sauce) and Lauya or nilagang baka

Batanes: Education, Culture & Arts

Batanes has a literacy of 95% higher than the national average of 93%. Elementary and high school education are free. Teacher to student ratio is 1:17 for elementary and 1:13 for secondary levels. There are 19 elementary schools, 11 of which offer complete courses from grades one to six. There are secondary schools in all six of the municipalities. The comprehensive national high school is located in Basco and has a branch in Ivana. Its Mahatao branch became an independent and separate school in 1977. There is a school of fisheries in Sabtang, the Batanes Polytechnic College in Basco, with a branch in Uyugan, while an agricultural high school has been put up in Itbayat. St. Dominic College in Basco is the only tertiary school. It offers vocational courses, baccalaureate courses in arts, commerce and education, and recently, graduate course in education.

The Ivatans are also rich with culture and indigenous traditions. Laji is the oldest traditional Ivatan music. sung without accompaniment during important and happy occasions. Lyrics of the laji are considered the best Ivatan folk poetry. The kalusan is a rowing song sung collectively by the people of Batanes. These are sung by the Ivatans as they work in the fields, row or cut timber. A vachi (or song leader) starts the singing with the opening lines and workers follow with the rest of the song. Some of the oral traditions of the Ivatans are: sisyavak (humorous anecdotes and tales), kabbata (legends), kabbuni (riddles) and pananaban (proverbs).

Historic churches in every town. The churches in Basco, Mahatao, Ivana and Sabtang which were originally decorated in baroque were over 200 years old made of massive mixture of lime and stone.

Economy of Batanes

Due to the frequent typhoons that batter the islands, only small-scale farming and fishing are possible. Root crops, vegetables and fruit trees are common, supplemented by hog and poultry raising which makes them self-sufficient, hence, there is no need for markets.

In spite of the reputation of Batanes as a backward region, it now has modern conveniences like mobile phones (cell sites by Smart & Globe Telecoms) and cable television but hardly any vehicles. Sturdier sea boats called faluas serve as the main mode of transport between islands. Electricity is supplied by Batanes Electric Cooperative (Batanelco) to the Island of Batan 18 hours daily (6 am to 12 midnight). Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) and Bayan Telecommunications (BayanTel) has opened their public calling offices (PCO) in Batanes. You can surf the internet and send emails from the BatanesConnect internet cafe in Basco along Abad street.

Political subdivisions of Batanes

Batanes has 6 municipalities, 29 barangays, and one congressional district. The six municipalities are Basco , Ivana, Mahatao, Uyugan, and the island municipalities of Sabtang and Itbayat.

Basco - Basco is the capital of Batanes. It is the biggest in terms of population and most urbanized among the six towns of the province. It is located at a level area at the tip of Batan Island bounded on the east by Mount Iraya and on the west by Basco Bay. Being the capital of the province, it is where the Provincial Capitol as well as the provincial offices of most national government agencies are located. It is also the center of commerce and learning in the province with the larger business establishments and collegiate institutions all based in the town.

Ivana - The municipality of Ivana is the third town in Batan Island. It is located in a narrow coastal plain 14 kilometers south of Basco. It is the country’s smallest municipality in terms of area and population. The town of Ivana is the oldest in Batanes. It was founded in 1686 and established as a unit of government in 1785. It was here where the Katipuneros landed on 19 September 1898.

Mahatao - The town of Mahatao nestles at the foot of three hills namely, Naydi in the south, Langud in the east and Majorojoron on the north. The town was originally named San Carlos de Mahatao on November 4, 1798 by then Asst. Gov. Don Miguel de Amo in honor of the patron saint San Carlos Boromeo. A brook runs in the middle of the town which supplied the people potable water before the construction of the present water system. Now it has the best water supply in the mainland.

Uyugan - lies in the southernmost tip of Batan Island approximately 24 kilometers from the capital. It has an area of 15.5 square kilometers. The town was founded in March 1801 by the Spaniards who made San Antonino de Florencia as the Patron Saint. Uyugan has two barrios namely: Itbud and Imnajbu located five and three kilometers from Centro respectively.

Sabtang - is an island town with barrios scattered along the islet. It is more or less five kilometers from the seaport of Ivana. The place can be reached only by motorized water vessels or by falowa rowed by men. The municipal waters of Sabtang are the richest source of quality fish so fishermen from as far north as Basco go fishing around the place.

Itbayat - is the largest of the three inhabited islands that compose the province of Batanes. It is also the northernmost town of the country. Its northernmost islet of Y’Ami is only 46 miles south of the souththernmost tip of Taiwan, Republic of China.

Ivatan: People of Batanes

The people of Batanes are called Ivatan and they share cultural and linguistic affinity with the Tao people of Taiwan. Spanish ancestry also runs in their blood. They speak the Ivatan dialect which is so unlike any other in the Philippines. The Ivatans are sturdy, self-sufficient people with a very strong sense of community. These people trace their roots to prehistoric Formosan immigrants and latter-day Spanish conquistadors. Being out off from Luzon mainland, the Ivatan is of comparatively purer stock. They bear the features of their ancients; the Spaniards aquiline nose and the Formosan’s almond eyes. They build their houses with thick walls of stone and lime and thatched with thick layers of cogon. As added precaution during a typhoon, the Ivatan secure homes with a rope net. They do the same for their farm plots to protect their crops of yam and garlic. Ivatans wear a vakul, a headgear used to protect them from rain, wind and sun.

Batanes Geography

The Batanes (known as the “Home of the Winds”) island group is the smallest province in the Philippines in terms of population and land area. The capital of Batanes, Basco is 280 kilometers north of Aparri, Cagayan (the tip of main island of Luzon) while it is only 190 kilometers south of Taiwan. Batanes lies in the vast waters of the Philippine Sea where the Pacific meets China sea. An area that for generations is almost isolated from the rest of the Philippines. Batanes consist of 10 tiny islands and islets namely: Batan, Sabtang, Itbayat, Mavudis, Siayan, Diogo, North Island and Y’ami. Only the first three islands are inhabited.

The island-province is strewn on a 4,500 square kilometer expanse of territorial waters, the Luzon Strait and Balintang Channel, where the Pacific Ocean merges with the South China Sea, a sealane between the Philippines and the southern parts of Japan, China, Hongkong, and Taiwan. It is bounded on the north by the Bashi Channel, on the east by the Philippine Sea, on the west by the South China Sea, and on the south by the Balintang Channel.

Batanes is about 860 kilometers (approx. 525 miles) from Manila. Basco, the capital town, is 280 kilometers north of Aparri and 190 kilometers south of Taiwan.

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Batanes History

The Ivatans lived in relatively well-populated settlements at the time western travelers visited the islands. William Dampier, an English buccaneer, visited Batanes in 1687 and found the people organized into communities built around protected settlements called idjangs, which were usually defensive positions on top of steep hills.

The Dominican friars attempted to Christianize the Ivatans as early as 1686 but the efforts were abandoned with the death of two resident missionaries. In 1718, missionaries made another attempt to bring the people of Batanes under the Cross. Missions directed from the island of Calayan in the Babuyan Group were sent to Batanes to urge the residents to resettle in the Babuyanes.

It was to the credit of Governor Jose Basco y Vargas that the islands were finally brought under the Spanish Crown in 1782. Batanes was annexed to the colony the following year but the inhabitants remained unreconciled to their loss of liberty. The islands were constituted into a separate province but it was later downgraded to the status of a town and attached to the province of Cagayan. The island regained the status as a province in 1855 but was again reduced to a dependency of Cagayan in 1900 when the Americans took control of the islands. In 1909, by virtue of Act 1952, Batanes was again established as a separate province.

Because of its strategic location, the Batanes was one of the first points of attack by the invading Japanese forces at the start of the Pacific hostilities of the Second World War. During the 1950s and 1960s the Philippine government encouraged the Ivatans to resettle in other parts of the country. As a result of that program, Ivatan communites were established in Mindanao.

Batanes: destinations & accommodations

There are a lot of things to do and see in Batanes, swim on the many beaches, see the fishing villages, the churches and lighthouses, island hop, but best of all, it is a beautiful place to reflect and admire nature.

Batanes destinations:

• House of Dakay (1887) a UNESCO heritage building
• Lighthouses of Batanes
• St. Dominic de Guzman Parish Cathedral
• Mt. Iraya - A 1008-meter mountain on Batan Island
• Mahatao View Deck
• Burial Caves - Pre-historic burial caves in the town of Itbayat
• Sumhao Wind Power Plant
• Nakaboang Beach, Ark & Cave
• Songsong Ruins
• Beaches - Chadpidan Beach, White Beach and more
• Payaman - known as “Marlboro Country”, a pasture overlooking farm fields & the Pacific Ocean

Hotels and Inns in Batanes:

• Brandon’s Lodging - 11 tastefully decorated rooms each with TV, aircon and toilet & bath. Contact: Madeleine Siazon at +63 919 366 2158 for reservations.
• Batanes Resort - Tel. # 9229621 local 327 (Ivatan Center, Q.C.)
• Batanes Seaside Lodge - Tel. # 0981-993613
• Ivatan Lodge - Email: ivatanlodge@ yahoo.com
• Shanedel’s Inn - 0920-4470737
• Troy Lodge - near airport Tel. # 0920-4470726

How to go to Batanes:

SEAir [Tel. # (02) 849-0100] has early morning flights daily to Batanes from Manila and vise-versa. These flights land straight to Basco on Batan Island, Batanes.

By sea, you can catch a ferry (MV Ivatan Princess) operated by the Batanes Multi-Purpose Cooperative (Tel. # 0917-793-0102) from Currimao, Ilocos Norte to Basco, Batanes and vise-versa every Wednesday and Sunday.

Province of Batanes

The Province of Batanes is the smallest province in the Philippines in terms of population and land area. The capital of Batanes, Basco is 280 kilometers north of Apari, Cagayan (the tip of main island of Luzon) while it is only 190 kilometers south of Taiwan. Batanes lies in the vast waters of the Pacific ocean where the Pacific meets China sea. An area that for generations is almost isolated from the rest of the Philippines. Batanes consist of 10 tiny islands and islets namely: Batan, Sabtang, Itbayat, Mavudis, Misanga, Ditarem, Dinem, Siayan, Ivuhos and Diadekey. Only the first three islands are inhabited.

The landscape of Batanes is also distinct from other Philippine provinces - steep cliffs, rolling hills, deep canyons and boulder-lined shores - not unlike New Zealand in some way. But the most noticeable of all features of Batanes is the architecture of the houses - stone walled and thick thatched roofs to withstand the battering of typhoons.

Batanes is separated from the country by miles of rough waters. The Ivatans (the name of the people of Batanes) have developed a different culture. Ivatans are honest, gentle and polite but brave and robust. They are proud of their heritage and their land.

The weather of Batanes is cool and windy. Although Batanes lies along the typhoon belt and gets hit by strong typhoons, it get it’s fare share just like other provinces on the north. But in spite of the reputation of Batanes as a backward region, it now has modern conveniences like mobile phones (cell sites by Smart & Globe Telecoms), electricity and cable television but hardly any vehicles.

The landscape of Batanes is also distinct from other Philippine provinces - steep cliffs, rolling hills, deep canyons and boulder-lined shores - not unlike New Zealand in some way. But the most noticeable of all features of Batanes is the architecture of the houses - stone walled and thick thatched roofs to withstand the battering of typhoons.

Aside from the many things you can do in Batanes, the place offers a perfect venue to reflect and admire nature.