Highlight * Adventure to the Northernmost Inhabited Island of the Philippines * Wow Philippines! * Itbayat, Batanes (April 2012)

I can never forget our adventure to the northernmost inhabited island of the Philippines, called Itbayat Island, in Batanes.

The weather is cooler than the rest of the Philippines and the surrounding terrain is just so different, I feel like I'm in another country.

First of the adventure was the 3-hour boat ride across the rough seas in a Noah's Ark-like 30 capacity boat. For a moment there, you will feel the vastness of the world enveloping you, and you can just surrender everything to God and Mother Nature. It's definitely not for the weak at heart.

Upon docking, you'd have to time yourself with the waves as you jump off, so as not to fall off into the water. Then a uphill trek along a very narrow pathway of 14 zigzag sections, up the steep mountain to await the open dump truck that served as our transport in the island.

For the night, we stayed in one of the homestays in the island and was taken care of by the locals, who were very friendly and caring people.

At Itbayat, you can really experience the outdoors as you catch your breath with all the beautiful sceneries around you. We started our 3-hour hike to the cave underneath the Torongan Hills (shown in the left middle area of the photo) and emerged into this beautiful sight as we circle our way to see the traditional boat-shaped burial markers (dark gray rocks at the lower left of photo) which were believed to belong to the ancient settlers here called Austronesians.

You can also read my detailed trip report on this adventure:
Itbayat, Batanes: Adventure at Sea

Itbayat, Batanes: Homestay and Beautiful Landscapes

Note:  This highlight also appears in AFAR Website