Traveling A-Z: Batanes

By JACKY LYNNE A. OIGA

September 15, 2010, 12:55pm

The land that time forgot. Where time stood still and captured the comeliness of untouched glory. Almost three hundred kilometers off the northern coast of Luzon, Batanes is the smallest, most isolated province in the Philippines. No cinemas, posh hotels, supermarkets, restaurants, and hardly enough tourists to attest to its ethereal beauty.

The scenery is otherworldly and the people have a prelapsarian grace that comes from a lack of contact with outsiders and their relative contentment with a life lived close to nature. The landscape of Batanes is also distinct from other provinces in the Philippines- steep cliffs, rolling hills, deep canyons, and boulder-lined shores. 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.

The coolest months, December to February, can get chilly with temperatures as low as seven degrees Celsius, while the hottest months between April to June are searing. The most economically important islands in Batanes are: Batan, the location of the provincial capital, Basco; Sabtang; and Itbayat. Other tiny islands and islets are Dequey, Siayan, Mabudis, Ibuhos, Diago, North Island, and Y’Ami, an island closer to Taiwan than it is to the Philippines.

The Ivatans are the native inhabitants of Batanes. They trace their roots to prehistoric Formosan immigrants and latter-day Spanish conquistadors. Most of them still make a living from the cultivation of yam and garlic, or raising goats and cows. Some still wear the vacul, a rain cape made from stripped leaves of the vuyavuy vine to protect them from the heat or from the rain. Batanes locals, on the other hand, make a living from farming and fishing.

Fast facts

Local Dialect: Ivatan, an Austronesian language, with pidgin Spanish and Chinese accent.

Points of interest:

Batanes lighthouses – There are three lighthouses in Batanes one each for Basco, Mahatao, and Sabtang. The lighthouse in Basco, located at Naidi Hills is a six-storey structure with a view deck on the fifth floor and the magnificent light on the sixth.

Sabtang Island – Undisturbed and unspoiled, Sabtang exists in another time. Intermittent sandy beaches, rugged country trails, and lime stone and cogon houses have made Sabtang a secret paradise.

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

Historic Churches – The churches in Basco, Mahatao, Ivana, and Sabtang were originally decorated in baroque over 200 years ago. These churches are made of massive mixture of lime and stone.

Ivatan houses – these houses made of thick lime and stone walls with cogon grass roof have made them a favorite attraction to visitors.

Payaman - known as ‘Marlboro Country’, a pasture overlooking farm fields and the Pacific Ocean.

How to get there:

You are compelled to take the plane when you visit Batanes from Luzon. There a number of flights from Manila Domestic Airport to Batanes weekly. One can likewise fly from Manila to Tuguegarao City in Cagayan province and, from there, take a chartered eight-seater plane to Basco.

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