ILOCOS NORTE PROVINCE
Ilocos Norte Province covers 3,468 square kilometers and is home to about 600,000 people and has a population density of 172 people per square kilometer. Composed of: one city, 22 municipalities and 557 barangays, the province is bounded in the East by Cagayan and Kalinga-Apayao, in the Southeast by Abra, in the South by Ilocos Sur and in the West by the South China Sea. Ilocano (Iloko) is the main language-dialect. English and Tagalog are the media of instruction in schools. Ilocos Norte draws some tourists with it old churches, ancestral houses and scenic spots. There is an international airport in the city of Laoag.
Long before the Spaniards arrived, there the area now occupied by the provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Abra and La Union was known for its gold mines. Merchants from Japan and China visited the area to trade beads, ceramics and silk for gold. The inhabitants of the region believed to be of Malay origin, called their place "samtoy", from "sao mi toy, which literally meant "our language".
In 1571, after the Spanish under the conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi had gained control of the Manila, they began looking for new places to conquer. Legaspi's grandson, Juan de Salcedo, volunteered to lead an expedition to the north. Together with eight armed boats and 45 men, the 22 year old voyager headed to northern Luzon. On June 13, 1572, Salcedo and his men landed in Vigan and then proceeded towards what is now Laoag, Currimao and Badoc. As they sailed along the coast, they were surprised to see numerous sheltered coves ("looc") where the locals lived. As a result, the Spanish named the region "Ylocos" and its people "Ylocanos".
Ilocos Norte Province has two distinct seasons: dry from November to April and wet during the rest of the year. Monthly average rainfall reaches 172.3 millimeters. Temperature averages 26.8 degrees centigrade. Like the other provinces of the Ilocos, Ilocos Norte's economy is mostly agriculturel, producing rice, fruits, vegetables, legumes, garlic and tomato. Among the industries are furniture-making, handicrafts and metalcraft.
Ilocos cuisine is one of the bestl-known types of Filipino food. Ilocanos love bagoong (fish paste) and add it just about anything, using souring agents such as native palm vinegar. They also love bitter vegetables and papaitan. A few of the dishes associated with the region are pinakbet ((stewed vegetables seasoned with fish paste), igado, dinakdakan, and poqui-poqui. They love pork too. Deep-fried pork belly (bagnet) and their native sausages (longganisa) are local delicacies.
Pricing Information: Items Price
Dining — Filipino meal at a restaurant. Ex., Quarter chicken barbeque Php 100 — 200
Dining — Bagnet (crispy pork belly) Php 380 — 430 per kilogram
Accommodations — Hostel bed Php 300 per person
Accommodations — Hotel room Php 800 — 2,000
Accommodations — Family room Php 1,600 to 5,000
Accommodations — Resort cottage Php 1,800 to 3,000
Transportation — Kalesa ride Php 12.00 per head
Transportation — 10 minute tricycle ride Php 10.00 minimum
Transportation — 10 minute jeepney ride Php 8.50 minimum
Souvenir — T-shirt Php 280 to 350
Laoag City
Laoag City (487 kilometers Northwest of Manila) is a gambling center and the capital, largest city and the hub of everything Ilocano. Among the historical sites are the Tobacco Monopoly Monument, constructed at the foot of the Marcos Bridge to commemorate the lifting of the Tobacco Monopoly, which from 1872 to 1881 gave the Ilocos untold miseries. To find out more about the monopoly and other historical events in the region check out the Museo Ilocos Norte.
St. William's Cathedral has an Italian Renaissance design and was built by the Augustinians in 1612. Its unique 2-storey facade is held by four pairs of coupled columns. The deeply recessed niche shows the image of the Patron Saint of Laoag City. Sinking Belltower, about 100 meters from St. William's Cathedral, has sunk to the ground and leans slightly to the north
Tourist Office: Ilocano Heroes Memorial Hall, 2900 Laoag City
Tel. No. (6377) 771-1473
Fax: (6377) 772 0467
E-Mail: dotlaoag@digitelone.com
Beaches and Places of Interest in Ilocos Norte
Ilocos Norte is a coastal province with different colors of sand — the blackest of black in Laoag, brown in Currimao, and white sands in Pagudpud. Some parts in Pagudpud are lined with a rocky shores. But overall, Pagudpud’s beaches are stretches of white sand lined with coconut trees and crystal-blue water. Another that’s nice about is that it not overrun by tourists yet, but is starting to be discovered. Saud Beach is more developed. Many of the newer and more posh accommodations are here. If you want a more secluded beach, try Blue Lagoon. A good place to stay there is Kapuluan Vista Resort.
You can reach Pagudpud on the Maharlika Highway, which winds along coast with rolling tropical hills on one side and the blue water on the other. It’s a good place to rent a car and drive yourself. There is little traffic here, so if you can kick back and enjoy driving for a change. You can stop in the charming towns and enjoy the vistas along the way. The terrain is relatively flat and dry, but gets hillier the farther north you go. They are some an interesting hikes in the n4s amd through verdant valleys and forests and along rivers.
Pagudpud and world-famous sights such as Paoay and Vigan are less than an hour’s drive from Laog City. There are fifteen towering windmills lined up the shore of Bangui. Cape Bojeador Lighthouse, built in 1892, stands on a promontory in Burgos, 45 kilometers north of Laoag City. It still sends out signals to ships passing by the Cape facing the northern portion of the South China Sea. It is the highest lighthouse in the Philippines.
Paoay Lake National Park contains a landlocked lake located three kilometers away from the sea. Located in Suba, Paoay, the park has an area of 470 hectares. And is a place where people enjoy watersports. Abang Falls are accessible by jeepney from the Bangui townproper. Sta. Monica Church faces the river in Sarrat, approximately seven kilometers east of Laoag. The century-old Neo-classical and Baroque church sits next to the a ruin of an older church and a museum.
Aglipay Shrine, in Pinili, memorializes Fr. Gregorio Aglipay, a colorful revolutionary figure that stood up for oppressed people in the region and founded the Protestant sect known as the Filipino Independent Church. The Juan Luna Shrine, in a the restored house in Badoc, is a repository of the memorabilia of the famous Luna family, including paintings by Juan Luna which include a reproduction of his masterpiece, the Spolarium.
Loom weaving is an age-old industry in Paoay produces quality towels, blankets, table runners and clothing materials with ethnic Ilocano designs. Spelunking is done at Pasuquin Cave, 45 minutes from Laoag City on a dirt road. A special permit has to be secured from the Mayor's Office. Kayaking is enjoyed on Bulu River, Adams and Paoay Lake National Park. Four-Wheel-Drive rides are offered on the sand dunes in Suba, Paoay and Calayab, Laoag City. Adams is a starting point for treks and mountain biking.
Getting to Laoag City and Ilocos Norte
By Air: The easiest way to access Ilocos Norte is by a 45-minute Manila-Laoag daily flight via the Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific. Laoag International Airport, located in Laoag City, welcomes scheduled international flights to and from Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Taiwan, and South Korea. Domestic flights are also available via the national carrier Philippines Airlines.
By Land: Several bus companies such as Partas Trans, Fariñas Trans, Florida, Maria de Leon, Autobus and RCJ serve the Manila-Laoag route. These air-conditioned public buses leav from stations and offices found along Cubao or Pasay in Manila. The trip takes to 8-10 hours. There are also buses from places like Baguio and Vigan .Going from town to town is generally done using a bus, a minibus, or jeepney. Once you’re there, Ilocos Norte is best explored on foot or riding the kalesa, the traditional horse-drawn carriage. Tricycles abound for traveling short distances.
By Sea: Various sea going vessels are docked at the ports of San Fernando and Currimao and are used for interisland transport bu t there is not really an service that tourists can easily use. .
Church of San Agustin in Paoay, Ilocos Norte
The San Agustin Church in Paoay (15 kilometers south of Laoag City) is constructed from coral blocks and stucco-plastered bricks. It unique architecture combines Gothic, Baroque and Oriental elements. Construction of the church was started in 1704 and completed in 1894. The church is very solid looking, almost like an ancient Romanesque church A few meters away is the coralstone belltower which served as observation post of the Katipunero during the Philippine Revolution, Paoay Church is included in the UNESCO's World Heritage List under Baroque Churches of the Philippines (See Below)
The San Agustin Church in Paoay is one of the most outstanding “earthquake baroque” structure in the Philippines where the primary concern was to design the church for earthquake protection. The coral stone bell tower, for example, was built some distance from the church so that if it fell down during an earthquake it wouldn’t damage the church. The bell tower was finished in the second half of the 18th century. Several Philippine bell towers were constructed at a distance from the main church structure to avoid its falling on the church during earthquakes.
The most outstanding feature of the church is the phalanx of buttresses that jut out perpendicularly from the sides to strengthen the walls against earthquake damage. San Agustin Church has the most massive buttressing in any church in the Philippines. The 14 S-shaped buttresses are ranged along the lines of a giant volute supporting a smaller one and surmounted by pyramidal finials. A pair of buttresses at the midpoint of each nave wall have stairways for access to the roof.
The visual impact of the San Agustin church is striking. The buttresses rise in rhythmic cadence from the ground reaching almost to the roof line. A pyramidal finial triumphantly tops each buttress. The lower part of the apse and most of the walls are constructed of coral stone blocks, the upper levels being finished in brick, but this order is reversed on the facade. The massive coral stone bell tower, which was added half a century after the church was completed, stands at some distance from the church, again as a protection against damage during earthquakes.
The town of Paoay is called "Bombay" in early documents, in keeping with the legend that the earliest inhabitants came from India. It is first mentioned in 1593 and became an Augustinian independent parish in 1686. Building work on the present church started in 1694 and it was finally completed in 1710.
See Baroque Churches of the Philippines Under ARCHITECTURE OF THE PHILIPPINES factsanddetails.com
Batac and Places Associated with Ferdinand Marcos in North Luzon
Batac (471 kilometers north of Manila in Ilocos Norte province) is the hometown of Ferdinand Marcos. His embalmed body was sealed in an air-conditioned crypt inside the Marcos Mausoleum until November 2016, when he was buried in the Heroes' Cemetery in Taguig, Metro Manila, after Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte order the burial take place, something the Marcos family had desired for decades. When Marcos’s body was in Batac it drew a steady stream of visitors, who were allowed to view the body but not take any pictures. The corpse reportedly was so waxy-looking that many people claimed it was a fake and the former dictator was really alive somewhere, living off of his billions.
The ancestral house of the Marcoses in Batac showcases the memorabilia of the late president and was where his body could be viewed. In the Marcos Museum you can see the fake medals that Marcos awarded himself, ghost-written books on his theory of democracy, and other Marcos memorabilia. The President Ferdinand E. Marcos Monument — a life-size metal statue on a pile of stones — lies in Batac Mini Park. Batac is located in a beautiful area of Ilocos North Province with nice beaches, rice fields and old Spanish churches. Not surprising it has some of the best paved roads in the Philippines (Marcos always took care of his own), which makes visiting these places easy.
The Malacañang of the North is a presidential museum in Paoay, Ilocos Norte was the residence of the family of Ferdinand Marcos when he was the President of the Philippines. This imposing structure overlooks the Paoay Lake and is now a museum (a small entrance fee is collected). The two-story mansion contains seven (supposedly a lucky number for Marcos) rooms, with each room having a theme of historical events from the Marcos era: Study, Agriculture, Diplomacy, OFW (overseas Filipino workers), Culture, Nation Building and Family.
Marcos Monument (in Tuba, west of Baguio, 200 kilometers south of Batac) is a 30-meter-high (98-foot-high) Mount-Rushmore-like bust of Ferdinand Marcos made of concrete that juts out from a slope in the Cordillera Mountains. The monument was built on the orders of Marcos in a park that he named after himself. using government funds. The monument was controversial as the land used was grabbed from the indigenous Ibaloi people, who were against the Marcos dictatorship. After the Revolution that ousted Marcos in 1986 local tribal people wanted to blow it up but it was spared like Malacanang Palace as a symbol of the extravagances of the Marcos Regime. In December 2002, the giant concrete bust of Marcos was severely damaged by explosives by treasure hunters looking for Marcos gold. The destroyed bust is considered "a monument to evil, warning people never to become what this man was. The Marcos Monument is a half hour drive from the Marcos Highway.
Batanes Islands: Between the Philippines and Taiwan
Batanes Province (860 kilometers, 525 miles north of Manila) lies at the northernmost tip of the Philippines, where the Pacific Ocean merges with the South China Sea. It is composed of three major islands, namely: Batan which contains the capital town of Basco, Sabtang, and Itbayat. Close by are seven islets including Amianan, which is the closest to Formosa. Thus, Batanes has been identified as the country’s potential gateway to East China.
The Batanes were islands created by a series of volcanic activities and other geologic forces millions of years ago. They are 160 kilometers north of Luzon and Philippines mainland and about 190 kilometers south of Taiwan. This island province is situated in a 4,500-square-kilometer expanse of Philippine territorial waters, in the Luzon Strait and Balintang Channel, where the Pacific Ocean merges with the South China Sea, near important sea lanes between the Philippines and the southern parts of Japan, China, Hongkong, and Taiwan.
Batanes Province is bounded on the north by the Bashi Channel, on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the west by the South China Sea, and on the south by the Balintang Channel. It is characterized by gently rolling hills, cliffs, and black and white sand beaches. Basco, the capital of the province, is about 280 kilometers north of Aparri. The province has six municipalities, 29 barangays, and one congressional district. The six municipalities are Ivana, Uyugan, Mahatao, Basco (the capital), and the island municipalities of Sabtang and Itbayat.
Batanes was nominated to be a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1993. According to UNESCO: “Characterized by a complex of terrestrial, wetland and marine ecosystem, the Batanes group of islands consist of 10 small islands bounded by the Eashi Channel on the north, by the Pacific Ocean on the east, by the South China Sea on the west and the Balintang Channel on the south. It is one of the last remaining areas in the Philippines having unique natural physiographic features (wave-cut cliffs, cave-like outcrops, secluded white sand beaches) resulting from its position where strong winds and fast currents have etched out its distinct morphology. It is an important flyaway for many migratory bird species, and the deper portions of the marine environment are the few remaining sites where pink and red corals (Corallum sp.) are found. The site is the only area in the Philippines where traditional architecture is of stone in response to the wind and monsoon stresses rather than of the more typical, tropical, impermanent materials (wood, bamboo, thatch) cxommonly used in village architecture. Due to its isolation from the rest of the country, the traditional culture of the area has likewise remained intact.” [Source: UNESCO]
The province is home to the famous Ivatans who are nationally acclaimed as the “True Insulares.” The Ivatans are of Malay stock, tracing their roots to early immigrants from Formosa, Taiwan as well as Spaniards who came to the island in the 16th century. Being an insular people, the Ivatans have kept the purity of their gene pool through time. The mother tongue of Batanes is Ivatan, spoken by 93.94 percent of all households. The Ilocano dialect is also spoken while Filipino and English are generally spoken and understood.
The Batanes weather is rather pleasant. Compared to the rest of the country, Batanes is blessed with a cooler, balmier climate. It enjoys practically four seasons, the best one being summer which is from March to June. Average monthly rainfall is 450 mm. The province has a total agricultural land area of 5,438 hectares and has a wide area open for agricultural expansion. Due to its terrain, it is a major livestock producer with cattle as its main stock. Carabaos and goats are raised. Another major industry is fishing which reaches its peak during the summer months, from March to June, when the seawater is relatively calm.
Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons
Text Sources: Philippines Tourism websites, Philippines government websites, UNESCO, Wikipedia, Lonely Planet guides, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, National Geographic, The New Yorker, Bloomberg, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Japan News, Yomiuri Shimbun, Compton's Encyclopedia and various books and other publications.
Last Updated March 2026