Cagayan, situated on the northern tip of Luzon, typically gives visitors second thoughts due to the 12-hour or longer land journey from Manila. Doubt no more, wanderers; there are daily direct flights from Manila to Tuguegarao, the province's capital city, and the plethora of attractions — natural, cultural, and cultural landmarks — make a long-distance trip to Cagayan well worthwhile for those who choose to drive.

To further convince you of either hopping on a plane to Tuguegarao or taking that half-day road trip, here are some destinations in Cagayan you may want to visit in the near future and a few must-things to do.

Take a Dip at this Blue Lagoon in Baggao

The Blue Lagoon, as the locals baptized it to describe its azure-colored streaming waters, used to be the north's undiscovered gem, but that is no longer the case, much to the delight of travelers.

The Blue Waterfalls, Cave, and Lagoon, located in the forested area of Baggao, Cagayan, is presently managed as a sustainable tourism destination by its local community. Hikers are led by resident guides trained by the Tourism Promotions Board of the Philippines (TPB) to a series of spectacular nature places, including waterfalls, caverns, and natural pools that lead to a blue lagoon straight out of the famous Brooke Shields film.

Set out on a Scenic Trek to Cape Engaño Lighthouse at Palaui Island

If a land trip to Tuguegarao takes at least 12 hours, try adding 2-3 more hours going to Sta. Ana, Cagayan, and another 45 minutes of boat ride to Palaui Island. What arduous traveling you might say but wait till you get a glimpse of what awaits you on top of the hill where the Spanish-era lighthouse Cape Engaño stands.

A breathtaking panorama of the island's lush vegetation, jagged cliffs battered by Pacific Ocean waves, and stunning turquoise ocean water. Let's just say that traveling to Palaui Island is well worth it because it will undoubtedly provide you with amazing core memories.

Chasing Waterfalls and Volcanic Crater at Mt. Cagua

Visit Gonzaga for a double dose of natural wonders. A 3-4-hour climb at a brisk pace will lead you to Mount Cagua's caldera, a really unique natural feature highlighted by a boiling crater lake releasing sulfuric fumes. Wear a face mask to prevent inhalation, but also open your eyes to this incredible spectacle.

An hour-long hike from Mount Cagua's volcanic crater takes you over rugged boulders and into the towering Cagua Falls, where you may take a relaxing plunge.

Explore the Chambers of Callao Cave

Callao Cave is easily accessible from Tuguegarao and by foot from the jump-off point, with an established track leading inside. A sequence of stalactite and stalagmite rock formations will astound you until you reach the main chamber, dubbed "the chapel," because it is a modest church built by the locals. Above the rock altar, a mystical ray of light emerges from the main chamber's aperture.

Witness the Circadian Flight of Bats in Pinacanauan River

Visitors to Callao Cave may enjoy a kayak journey along the serene waters of the Pinacanauan River, which is not far from the entrance to the cave.

Your scenic river cruise will become even more memorable when your guide takes you to an area beneath a massive wall with a large circling hole. Wait until a few moments after dark to see the circadian flight of bats, when tens of thousands of bats emerge from the hole and into the evening skies.

Experience Beltfishing in Sta. Ana

Part of the "Nature and Adventure" tourism circuit penciled by the Department of Tourism Region 2, this experiential activity involves visitors teaming up with a seasoned fisherman to set out more than 20 nautical miles off the coast of Brgy. Diora-Zinungan in Sta. Ana, Cagayan.

Your mission, should you wish to accept it, is to catch a load of beltfish, also known as "espada," utilizing the fishing boat's one-of-a-kind "kariti," a local version of a hydraulic pulley. This is where the angler ties three thin wires with bait before weighing down on the water to entice the beltfish to bite.

Enjoy a fun (and slippery) Hike to Buwacag Falls

The common warning “slippery when wet” can't be any truer when following the trail to this waterfalls. The slick path is just a reminder of how off-the-beaten path Buwacag Fall is. Buwacag's many cascades, nestled among verdant woodland on the Sierra Madre's slopes, provide an ideal environment for a nature retreat.

Just be careful stepping on those dodgy rocks, and we're sure you'll have a fantastic time in this emerging outdoor destination in Sta Ana, Cagayan.

Anguib Beach

Many people refer to it to as the "Boracay of the North". However, Anguib Beach should be known by its own name, not in comparison to other beaches. It distinguishes itself with its unique blend of elements.

Nearby, there is a mangrove forest to explore, hills to walk, and a long stretch of pristine white sand beach to stroll on. Other destinations that can be combined with Anguib Beach are Crocodile Island and Mapurao Beach.

Meet the Potters of Iguig

In the town of Iguig, the One Town, One Product (OTOP) pottery creations take shape. Here, you can observe the men and women who have continued this backyard industry passed down from generations, create pottery items from slabs of clay.

Looking for a souvenir item? then the town of Iguig is the perfect pit stop for you to shop for some pottery items of various shapes and designs.

Take a Soulful Visita Iglesia

Complete a Visita Iglesia especially if you’re coming to Cagayan during Holy Week by visiting these churches located in the different towns of the province.

There's the St. Peter Metropolitan Cathedral in Tuguegarao, Basilica Minore de Nuestra Senora in Piat, San Antonio de Galicia Church in Iguig, St. Philomene Church in Alcala, San Jacinto de Polonia Church in Camalaniugan, and Sto. Domingo de Guzman Church in Nueva Segovia.

On top of gentle hillsides overlooking the powerful Cagayan River in Iguig is home to the Cavalry Hills, a site with fourteen life-size sculptures of the Stations of the Cross.

Hit your Daily Steps Quota by Going on a Walking Tour of Tuguegarao

In between hunts of the best pancit batil patong stalls, you can set out on a walking tour of Tuguegarao by visiting these places of interests: the 18th-century The Saint Peter the Apostle Metropolitan Cathedral, Cagayan Museum and Historical Research Center, the Buntun Bridge — one of the country's longest bridges, Rizal Park Monument, San Jacinto Church, and the 1907 founded St. Paul University just to name a few.

Oh, and Don’t Forget to Order Pancit Batil Patong

It’s an unwritten rule among tourists in Cagayan to never leave the province without trying the popular local specialty, Pancit Batil Patong. Better come hungry before ordering the Pancit Batil Patong because it is one heavy and satisfying dish. Its name was derived from the word "patil" which means "to whisk or beat" and "patong" referring to putting a topping on the dish such as a poached egg, sautéed vegetables, and minced beef.

Famous Pancit Batil Patong places are Tabing Tulay Panciteria, Jomar's Special Pancit Batil Patong, Ed's Panciteria, Win-Mae Panciteria and the pancit stalls at the night market in Tuguegarao.

How to get to Tuguegarao, Cagayan

Both Cebu Pacific Air and Philippine Airlines have daily Manila - Tuguegarao flights. For commuting via land, bus companies such as Baliwag Transit, GV Florida Bus, Victory Liner and Delta Bus serves Manila, Cubao, Pasay, Kamias and Caloocan routes to Tuguegarao City.

Just as tiny rays of sunlight trail the sky and the fainter stars begin to fade in dawn light, we arrived at the coastal community of Brgy Diora-Zinungan in Sta. Ana, Cagayan. The method behind our madness of waking up early was to time our visit when beltfish, locally referred to as "espada" or "bulung unas", hunt for food in the deep waters of the Philippine Sea in schools.

As we met with the fishermen, we were invited to gather for a brief orientation about what we are about to experience that day. Since beltfishing is the main source of livelihood for the residents, the Department of Tourism Region 2 included it in their newly-laid out "Nature and Adventure" tourism circuit.

We learned from Kuya Wilfredo, the group's lead tour guide, that beltfishing began in Diora-Zinungan in the early 2000s when a fellow fisherman came home with 80 kilos of beltfish catch after venturing more than 20 nautical miles.

In the years since then, they came to understand the beltfish's nature and instincts well enough to realize that they feed during long periods between dusk and dawn. They also pinpointed that beltfishes usually swim at an average depth of 80 fathoms, which is approximately 140 meters.

Using the "Kariti" — a manual and cheaper version of the hydraulic pulleys used by the Taiwanese — the fishermen tie three thin cables with baits to each of the boat's three kariti and then set out on a 12-nautical mile area of fishing grounds. More fluent in Ilocano, Kuya Wilfredo manages to converse with us in Tagalog and narrated how they initially built a Kariti using the crank of a bicycle. "After numerous trials and re-designs, we finally came up with this Kariti design which we have been using for ten years now", he adds.

Setting out for the Catch

Split into threes, we boarded separate fishing boats, each manned by a pair of highly skilled fishermen, and set out for the ideal fishing grounds for "espada" fish, about 2-4 nautical miles off the coast of Diora-Zinungan. Fortunately for our group, one of our guides was Kuya Wilfredo who continued his lecture about the process of beltfishing as well as the personality traits of the “bulung unas”.

"The beltfish is different from other fish species because it will only pull the bait downward when hooked. This enables us to use three baits in one kariti because the cables won't get entangled if we simultaneously capture three of them" Kuya Wilfredo explained to us in Tagalog.

When we arrived on the area fishing ground, we started hearing cheers from the other boats as they started catching several beltfishes. One boat even caught a total of 12 beltfishes. Since our boat was the last to arrive after escorting another boat that experienced engine problems, we couldn’t catch a single one since the sun was already up.

A Community-run Experiential Nature Tour

Beltfishing has sustained the community of Diora-Zinungan for decades but concerns about its sustainability remains. "Before, any fishermen could easily catch 60-80 kilos a day", Kuya Wilfredo told us in Tagalog. "You'll be the one to give up and call it a day. Nowadays, it's a miracle to get 30 kilos every day", he continues.

In light of the fact that fresh catch is diminishing in coastal areas that depend on fishing, having another source of income provides an attractive alternative for local fishermen. In this case, a community-run tourism business provides a viable substitute.

By offering an experiential beltfishing tour, the fishermen won't have to catch 30 kilos of fish to earn a living. They can guide tourists to catch a few beltfishes and viola, they can earn easily match or even surpass their regular income.

A second advantage of this program is that it will give the beltfish population time to grow as fishing volume will be reduced by a significant amount. The Department of Tourism Region II plan to market this experiential tour combined with a beachfront lunch consisting of their beltfish catch.

For each tour's total catch, a third can be allocated to be prepared and cooked by the community mothers who are part of DOT's "Kulinarya" program, while the other two thirds can be bought from the fishermen and distributed among the community.

This set-up is a win-win scenario for everyone. First, beltfishes will be able to repopulate, second, tourists will get to experience something unique and lastly, the fishermen will earn from their tour-guiding job while the community also benefits from other tourism-related services.

As this program is still in its infancy stages, visitors wishing to experience beltfishing should contact the Department of Tourism Region II to be connected with a tour operator who will coordinate with the community.

Not missing the blustery 7-hour lampitaw ride of my first journey here, I stepped out of the plane—moments after it made a historic first landing on the island—buoyed by a feeling akin to rekindling a tryst with a former lover. Calayan Island has that effect on me. It could be because last time, the place served as a background to my memorable hilltop and beachside frolics with my then girlfriend.

While this second time was for a writing assignment witnessing a historic first: the maiden flight to Calayan Island, I cannot dismiss the fact that a sense of fondness is being revived. Being summoned to once again explore the island’s stunning landscape is like being given a second chance to create a new set of memories in a place that always reminds me of splendid memory reels from four years ago.

After a brief ceremony inaugurating the small airport of Calayan Island, we hit the explore button immediately and boarded a speedboat. Sailing over cerulean-colored waters had me jolting back into a spell of enthrallment. For the second time, I found myself embracing the island’s grand scheme of charms.

It didn’t take long before I gazed at the direction of a drawn-out cove known as Cibang. The same place where four years ago I was almost swept away to the sea by its mighty waves. Beyond that near brush with drowning, it was also the same place I defined to myself as the most beautiful length of oceanfront I’ve ever seen in my entire life.

Knowing full well that memories have a way of exaggerating, I stared at Cibang Cove’s white sandy shoreline as it sparkles like jewelry against the gleam of the sun. Mesmerizing still. I directed my gaze at the forest that fills the surrounding serrated peaks before turning my attention to the lunar-like rock formations jutting out into the volatile ocean. “Yep, this is the Cibang Cove I remember”. Raw, desolate, and tempestuously absorbing.

As our speedboat capers to the motions of the heavy rollicking of the waves, we each struggled transferring to a small buoyant device that took us to the shore. Finally out of the boat and with my feet planted on the soft, fine sands of Cibang Cove, I took off my shoes and walked barefooted.

Sinking my feet and feeling the scorching sands at every step, I tuned in to the sounds of the battering waves as they collide with the coastline. The blending of the colors all around me: white sands below me, indigo waters behind me, emerald forest-covered crests on my other side, and the blue skies above me, all constitutes a sense that I was inside a postcard image. The lure of taking a dip in the crystal-clear waters was strong. But my craving for big lobsters and curacha crabs was mightier. So I headed straight to the other end of Cibang Cove and into a waiting feast.

After our late lunch shared boodle-fight style, we rested a bit before proceeding to Nagudungan Hill. The short and breezy hike atop this rolling mound overlooking sequences of beguiling scenery of deep ravines, the Philippine Sea and the Pacific Ocean on both sides, and Cibang Cove below, brings back the same captivation Calayan left on me during my first trip here.

This time around, as I separated myself from our group, I lumbered to the different high points of Nagudungan and immersed myself in the exceptional set of bounteous, beautiful nature around me.

While listening to myself think, I saw one of the ladies from the Tourism Promotions Board of the Philippines wandering on her own nearby. I first noticed her during our plane ride to Calayan Island and figured her to be a snob. Here on top of Nagudungan Hill, though, she was all jovial and doing all gamely poses. “Sir Marky, it’s so beautiful here,” as Genesis initiates small talk. Not long after, we were indulged in a conversation centering on the beauty of the island and how rejuvenating it is to leave all worldly worries behind.

Later, as the sun started to set, we joined the others seated over a patch of grass sharing a bottle of a locally made wild berry wine. Together, we watched the sunset slowly sink into the horizon.

As the sky became an image of a scattered Roman candle explosion, I laid on the grass for a few minutes more. Delighted at experiencing the untouched splendor of the island once again, I turned the pages of my first Calayan Island experience into a new chapter: Fascination Redux. And “this is only day one,” I told myself.

The next day, I awoke to a morning sky equal parts blue and a medley of streaks of red and blooming yellows. The rising sun was partly hidden by the clouds, and the waves of the sea kissed the pebble-filled beach with abandon. I took a short walk along the beachfront, eager to continue our exploration of the island. A couple of dogs snooped at the sands as they followed me. The icy daybreak wind then hushed me to sit on a rock and just stare at the endless swirling of the ocean’s whitecaps.

After breakfast, we divided ourselves into three groups, boarded a smaller boat, and cruised over the seas in a maritime convoy. Our first stop was Lusok Cave ('Lusok' is an Ilocano word for 'hole'), where a natural pool is hidden behind twin passageways beneath a mammoth, craggy-rock wall.

Inside, we took turns diving into the refreshing indigo waters—a mixture of the sea and the fresh water dripping from the walls of the cave. Afterwards, we headed back to the island and visited the waterfalls of Bataraw and Caanawan—but not before enjoying another boodle fight feast consisting of fresh seafood and lechon by the roadside near Bataraw falls.

Caanawan falls is located a few kilometers upland and necessitates riding a powerful habal-habal (motorcycle) to get to the jump-off point. From there, another 10-minute hike takes you to the waterfalls.

It was almost nighttime when we got back to Apollo Resort in Dadao Beach—where we’re billeted. Weary from back-to-back days of exploration and still high from the euphoric inauguration of Calayan Island Airport, we spent the night further bonding together. All wholeheartedly supportive of the TPB and the Calayan LGU’s plan to maintain the rawness of the island—despite the new developments, we all feel the excitement at the prospering of sustainable and responsible tourism practices on the island in the coming months.

My return trip to Calayan Island was more than the "second time is a charm" cliché; it is also an eye-opener to the importance of preserving the island against wrong forms of development. As Mayor Al Llopis told us, "We won't let investors use Calayan Island as their playground," I am assured that the island is in good hands for now.

Special thanks to Wakay Tours for arranging all our tours, accommodations, and transportation on Calayan Island. If you have any questions regarding where to stay or what to do on Calayan Island, feel free to send them your inquiries.