Cagayan

Camalaniugan, Cagayan: Home of the Oldest Church Bell in Southeast Asia

Posted on March 8, 2017

After dropping by the pottery town of Iguig, we continued northeast of Cagayan province. Just off the national highway en route to the busy trading town of Aparri is the riverside municipality of Camalaniugan, which – as proudly heralded on the town’s welcome arch – is the home of the oldest Catholic church bell not only in the Philippines but also in Southeast Asia! After having seen the largest church bell in Asia at Pan-ay, Capiz, I was looking forwardRead More→

Discovering Iguig, The Pottery Center of Cagayan

Posted on March 6, 2017

Along the highway running north from Tuguegarao City lies a small riverside town that continues to shape its unique heritage. Like many municipalities across the province of Cagayan, Iguig centers around an impressive Spanish church which – unlike others built from adobe or coral stone elsewhere in the country – is otherwise constructed from red bricks. Noted for its flying buttresses, the 18th century San Antonio de Galicia Church sits imposingly on rolling hills with open-air tableaus of the Stations of theRead More→

Scenic Hiking on Palaui Island, Cagayan

Posted on March 3, 2017

With a name echoing that of a Pacific island nation, Palaui Island in Cagayan province is a tropical paradise in its own right. Lush, roughhewn and deserted, it exudes an ends-of-the-earth beauty reminiscent of faraway Batanes, despite being only a swimming distance away from the Luzon mainland. It is refreshingly devoid of commercialization and home to no more than a humble fishing village of 600 people. Here, raw beauty is the major drawcard, especially for those who love hiking andRead More→

Camalaniugan, Cagayan – Home of the Oldest Church Bell in the Far East

Posted on April 21, 2012

Sancta Maria Bell, forged in 1595 From the Spanish church ruins of Pudtol, Apayao, we continued northeast of Cagayan province. Just off the national highway en route to the busy trading town of Aparri is the riverside municipality of Camalaniugan, which – as proudly heralded on the town’s welcome arch – is the home of the oldest Catholic church bell in the Far East. After having seen the largest church bell in Asia at Pan-ay, Capiz, I was looking forwardRead More→

Calayan Island: Seeking the Calayan Rail (Piding) at Longog Wildlife Sanctuary

Posted on April 13, 2012

Calayan Rail. Photo by ISLA Biodiversity Conservation What propelled remote Calayan Island to national attention a few years back were not its stunning coastlines, but an avian discovery in its thick forested interior. The Calayan Rail (Gallirallus calayanensis), locally known as piding, is an island-endemic species of flightless bird found only in the jungles of Calayan. It was discovered by science during a faunal survey only eight years ago, in 2004.  In search for this very rare bird, we hikedRead More→

Calayan Island: Jaw-dropping Chasms of Nagudungan Hill

Posted on April 11, 2012

Nagudungan Hill is one of the most spectacular seascapes in the country! The white-sand coves along the southeast coastline of Calayan Island are fenced in by soaring precipices of volcanic rock. The most stunning cliffs are gouged out by wind and water from Nagudungan Hill stretching out to the sea at the southern end of Caniwara Cove. Casuarina trees sculpted by the harsh weather that frequently pummel the island A narrow pathway leads to its grassy head, where windswept casuarinaRead More→