Batanes

The ancestors of the Ivatan arrived about 4,000 years ago, part of the Austronesian expansion. They lived in fortified hilltop settlements called idjang and traded on the Maritime Jade Road. Their language is closest to Yami on Taiwan's Orchid Island, but it belongs to the Malayo-Polynesian languages, not the Formosan languages of Taiwan. The islands' isolation preserved a distinct culture that Spanish rule only partly changed.

Batanes was placed on the UNESCO World Heritage tentative list in 1993 for its protected landscape and seascape — the combination of stone architecture, traditional land use and the natural environment of the islands.

Ivatan culture is organized around the family, the community, and the management of a difficult environment. The vakul, the traditional headgear worn by Ivatan women while working in the fields, is a sign of Ivatan practical ingenuity. It protects the wearer from both sun and rain.

Stone Architecture

Ivatan stone houses are built of limestone and coral, a method that spread after the Spanish introduced lime production on a large scale. The roof is a deep cogon grass thatch that insulates and sheds water. The design — low profile, small windows, massive walls — is designed to survive the typhoons that regularly hit Batanes. Some old houses, such as those of the Sinadumparan type, are among the oldest buildings in the islands.

Community Labor

Communal labor shared among families for farming, building and other large tasks reflects the practical need for cooperation in a small island community. The tradition has continued into contemporary life, particularly for house construction and agricultural clearing.

Ivatan food is shaped by isolation and weather. The islands cannot import fresh ingredients reliably, and months of rough seas can cut the supply line from Luzon. The traditional diet is built around what can be grown, caught, or preserved on the islands — root crops, fresh fish, and dried or fermented stores for typhoon season.

Ivatan is the language of the Batanes islands. Although the islands are closer to Taiwan than to Luzon, it is not a Formosan language. It belongs to the Batanic (Bashiic) group, possibly a primary branch of the Malayo-Polynesian languages, and its closest relatives are Itbayaten and Yami, spoken by the Tao of Taiwan's Orchid Island. Ilocano is also spoken, brought by settlers who came during the Spanish period.

Filipino and English are taught in schools and used in government. Many Ivatans also speak Ilocano, and Tagalog is widely understood.

Ivatan has two dialects: Ivasay, spoken in Basco and the northern half of Batan, and Isamurung, spoken in the south of Batan (Mahatao, Ivana, Uyugan) and on Sabtang. Where Ivasay speakers say t, Isamurung speakers often say ch. Itbayat, the largest island by area, has its own closely related speech, Itbayaten.

Batanes is one of the most sought-after provincial destinations in the Philippines, with a reputation that exceeds its infrastructure. Getting there requires advance planning, weather flexibility, and a tolerance for cancelled flights. Once arrived, the landscape is unlike anything else in the country.

Sabtang Island

The most traditionally preserved island in Batanes, reached by a 30-minute bangka ride from Batan in good weather. The stone villages of Savidug and Chavayan keep many traditional houses. Overnight homestays in stone houses are available.

Batan Island Coastal Road

The road circling Batan Island passes through Basco, several traditional villages, the Naidi Hills, and along coastal cliffs above the South China Sea. Renting a scooter and doing the circuit at your own pace is the standard way to see the island. Rolling green hills, stone walls, and ocean views throughout.

Vayang Rolling Hills

Grassland hills in the western part of Batan Island, shaped by centuries of grazing and the constant wind. The hills slope toward sea cliffs with the South China Sea below. On clear days, Itbayat Island is visible to the north.

The whole province has been a protected area since 2001, when Republic Act No. 8991 established the Batanes Protected Landscapes and Seascapes and made the surrounding waters a buffer zone. On land, the north of Batan is dominated by Mount Iraya, a 1,009-meter active volcano that last erupted in 1454, and the south by the older Mount Matarem. Grassy hills, stone walls and the payaman (communal pastures) make up much of the landscape. Offshore, the reefs are rich in marine life, and DENR rangers have found several green sea turtle nesting beaches, including a new one on the Sabtang coast in June 2026.

Green Sea Turtle

Chelonia mydas

Endangered

A large sea turtle that grazes on seagrass. It nests on several Batanes beaches, which DENR rangers guard and net off to protect the eggs.

Field note: Keep away from nesting beaches at night and never buy turtle products.

Coconut Crab

Birgus latro

Vulnerable

Considered the largest land crab in the world, it is called tatus in Batanes. It was once a popular local delicacy, but it is now a threatened species in the Philippines.

Field note: Do not order or buy tatus; buying, gathering or transporting it is prohibited.

The Houses That Stay

The stone houses of Batanes are built of limestone and coral, with roofs of thick cogon grass. Their walls are heavy, their windows small and their profile low. The method grew after the Spanish introduced lime production on a large scale, and some of the old houses of the Sinadumparan type are among the oldest buildings in the islands. When a typhoon comes, families add wood to the openings and tie down the roofs with nets and ropes.

The Ivatan read the weather from the land around them. When the cattle leave the communal pasture, the payaman, to find shelter, and when birds take refuge in houses or on the ground, families gather their animals and stay indoors. Life in the islands has long been planned around the storms that cross the Luzon Strait.

Not every village survived. On Batan, the ghost village of Songsong is a cluster of roofless stone shells, abandoned after a tidal wave hit the island in the 1950s. Today, visitors walk among its walls. The houses elsewhere still stand, and many are still lived in.