Beautiful Batanes Isles is a special destination for eco-tourism. The land’s unique qualities makes it incomparable to any other islands in the Philippines. Batanes is like New Zealand, Ireland and the Scottish Highlands. The climate is semi-tropical. The inhabitants are peace-loving; in fact, it is a crimeless place.They speak Ivatan, English and Filipino.
Going to Batanes for adventure with mother nature is not a luxury, it is rugged, unless you stay at the luxurious Fundacion Pacita Museum Resort that gives the best view of both the emerald hills and the deep blue sea. Other hotels are decent and clean with hot and cold showers.
Mandy Navasero at Tinguian in Sabtang, wearing vakul, Ivatans'
headgear protecting them from heat and rain
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| Fundacion Pacita Abad Museum |
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Valugan Beach covered wuth andesite stones spewed during the
eruption of Mt. Iraya |
Ivatan Delicacies and Natural Attractions
Food in Batanes is native and deliciously prepared. The Batanes Seaside Lodge and Restaurant prepares its own recipes, most of which are not found elsewhere. Batanes is famous for its coconut crabs cooked with coconut milk, paco, and lobsters— much loved Ivatan delicacies. Beef and numerous species of fish and other kinds of seafoods and indigenous harvests are served to complete the visitors’ unique experience in these beautiful isles.
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| At Naiidi Hills, eating corn in colorful outfits |
Batanes’ natural attractions include rolling hills lashed by green meadows and hedged-lined fields where cattles graze and root crops are cultivated.
There are two mountains-- Mt. Iraya, a thickly forested volcano standing at 1,517 meters at its summit that spewed huge rocks when it erupted and covered a beach cove with boulders; and Mt. Matarem, standing at 495 meters. They are the favorites of mountaineers and trekkers.
Batanes boasts of caves and rock formations along the coastlines. Road cuts through high rocky cliffs and passes along sandy beaches, winding at various points, and zig-zagging at every hill it passes.
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| Tukon Chapel |
The architecture of Ivatan house features meter-thick stone and lime walls, as well as foot-thick thatched cogon roofs, which are cool in summer and warm during winter months. Climate from November to February is considered mild winter; while March to July is breezy, cool summer. As a general rule, the best time to visit Batanes is from February to early part of October.
Photo Safari in Batanes
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| Upon arrival of SEAIR at Basco Airport |
My photo safari participants enjoy to the hilt our trekking to the Fountain of Youth, cave exploration of the Japanese Tunnel with a 90 degree drop, spelunking at Gig Crystal Caves in Batan Island, dipping in the cold water in Sabtang’s Morong Beach, and body surfing with waves, the color of turquoise. Tour of the villages in Sabtang like Chavayan and Savidug show stone houses like frozen in time. Photography is done everywhere and anywhere. A stopover at Barrio Tinguian where one has the mountain and the deep blue sea is like being in Court de Azur in France. There, we play with the wind and our shawls, color of the rainbow.
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| Jenni Padernal with light crawling in at San Vicente Ferrer Church in Sabtang |
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| Cynch Bautista doing a tricky stuff with photography |
Photo enthusiasts are given tips on the most successful way to execute architectural, portrait, fashion and glamour, macro and jumpology in Malboro Country and other destinations. Most photo students take surprising photographs-- luminous greens or seascapes framed with a sense of power and beauty. They take portraits under natural lighting , bathing their fellow participants in light, with hair like a glowing halo. Indeed, Batanes is a haven for photographers and nature lovers.
