When Traveling to Cagayan Valley

Milk candy products of Lallo and Alcala, Cagayan. The two product's is mainly composed of Carabao milk sweeted and shaped. The alcala milk candy is shaped rectangularly and the Lallo milk candy is shaped Cylindrically.

Pawa, it is mostly sold in Piat, Cagayan near the Basilica Minore of Our Lady of Piat. it is a galapong with sweetened ground peanut filling inside.

Chicha-rabao, it is made from real carabaos unlike the commonly known chicharon baboy, tt is an airy chicharon that melts in your mouth as you digest it and is seasoned with salt and pepper. The delicacy has a variety of flavors.

In Cagayan, we can also try the specialty of Cabagan, Isabela which is the Pansit Cabagan; it is a pansit with round miki and is commonly topped with quail eggs, veggies, igado and many more. Just like the pansit Batil Patong, it also has a lot of versions by different Pansiterias.

When in Cagayan, you must try Tuguegarao city’s specialty, the Pansit Batil Patong. It is a dish of flat miki mainly topped with minced carabeef, and a poached egg served with soup or as we call it,“Batil”; but around Tuguegarao, there are a lot of “Pansiterias” to choose from with each offering their very own version of the Pansit Batil Patong.

Sta. Ana offers a lot of activities such as banana boat rides, jetkis, and snorkling on some beaches. Outside the shores of Sta. Ana you can also do island hopping, Cagayan Valley has a lot of islands, one of which is the famous Cape Engaño of  Palaui island, Palaui has a beautiful scenery of peace and quietness, on the island’s summit is the Cape Engaño lighthouse, an old lighthouse built from the Spanish era of the Philippines.

Trivia: Did you know that Cape Engaño took part in the Battle of Leyte Gulf in World War II

Sta. Ana, Cagayan is a 3-4 hour travel from Tuguegarao city and is found in the nothern most part of Luzon. Found around Sta. Ana is a number of black sand and white sand beaches. The most popular beach found here is the Anguib Beach, it is a white sand beach with a lot of corals under the clear seawaters and it almost has the likeness of Boracay only more quiet and peaceful, a perfect place to relax, swim and unwind even on decembers. Beside the Anguib beach is the Nangaramoan beach and it is also a white sand beach. On your way here, you can stop by the arch of Gattaran, Cagayan if you want to buy some fresh coconuts for refreshment or “Buko Juice”

Just a 2 hour drive and 30 minutes of trekking north of Tuguegarao is the blue water lagoon of Baggao, Cagayan. The lagoon has a 5-10 meter waterfalls and a small beautiful lagoon with chilling blue-like waters where every visitors and tourists can swim in.

 Trivia: The lagoon is also know as “The Hidden Gem of the North”

60 minutes northeast outside of the capital, we can find the Callao caves in Penablañca, Cagayan. The Callao Cave has 7 chambers with a lot of limestone formations inside and a Church in the first chamber. If you have a lot of time, there is a variety of activities that you can do here, like boat riding and swimming in the river. There is also a number of caves and water falls that can be found in the area.

Trivia: Did you know that a new specie of an ancient human was found in the Callao cave, and is named Homo luzonensis.

If you plan to visit the small towns of Cagayan, make sure to stop by it’s capital first, Tuguegarao City. By visiting Tuguegarao, you’ll be able to shop and buy all your necessities for your travel for it has a variety of stores and shops that will aid you in your venture.

Make sure to bring an umbrella and a portable fan, to help cool yourself from the high temperatures of the Afi City (City of fire). If you don’t plan on getting tanned, remember to apply sunblock lotions to protect your skin from the sun.