Leyte

Leyte was among the earliest Visayan islands encountered by European explorers. Ferdinand Magellan's expedition reached Leyte waters in 1521, and the island was absorbed into the Spanish colonial system by the late 16th century. The province participated in the 1898 Philippine Revolution and then endured American pacification campaigns in the early 1900s.

The recovery from Yolanda took years. Tacloban's coastal districts, flattened by the storm surge, were rebuilt — some in the same locations, some relocated inland per government resettlement plans. The city today shows the mix of new construction, repaired structures, and still-vacant lots that characterizes disaster recovery at this scale.

The Waray people of Leyte and Samar have a reputation throughout the Philippines as fierce, proud, and fiercely loyal to their own. The name Waray comes from waray, the word for 'none' or 'nothing', and the 1950s song "Waray-Waray" spread the image of Waray women who fear no one. This self-image was tested and reinforced by Yolanda's devastation and the community's rebuilding.

The Pintados

Spanish colonizers called the Visayan peoples 'Pintados' — the painted ones — for the extensive tattoo traditions they observed. Leyte's pre-colonial inhabitants tattooed their bodies as markers of status, courage, and spiritual protection. The tradition faded under Spanish colonial rule, but it has been studied by historians and is a source of cultural pride in the Eastern Visayas.

The MacArthur Landing Memorial in Palo is a central site of historical memory in Leyte. Seven larger-than-life bronze statues of MacArthur, President Osmeña and the party that waded ashore with them stand in a pool at Red Beach. Each year on October 20, the anniversary of the landing is commemorated there. The landing is woven into Leyte's civic identity.

Leyte's food reflects Visayan coastal cooking with Eastern influences from Samar and the Pacific-facing shores. Coconut is ubiquitous — in curries, stews, desserts, and vinegar. Fish from the Visayan Sea, Leyte Gulf, and inland fishponds are the protein staple. Waray cooking tends toward stronger flavors and larger portions compared to Cebuano cooking.

Waray (also called Waray-Waray or Lineyte-Samarnon) is the primary language of Leyte and Samar. It is an Austronesian language in the Bisayan branch, related to Cebuano and Hiligaynon but distinct enough that speakers of those languages require separate learning. Waray is one of the major regional languages of the Philippines.

Cebuano is the main language of western Leyte, from Ormoc and Baybay to Palompon and Hilongos, where many people also speak Waray as a second language; Waray speakers call Cebuanos Kana, after their often-heard word kana, 'that'. Filipino and English are used in education, government, and commerce throughout the province.

The disaster of Yolanda generated a large literature in English and Filipino about the experience of Tacloban and Leyte — journalism, memoir, poetry.

Tacloban City is served by a domestic airport with regular flights from Manila and Cebu. Ormoc and other ports have ferries to Cebu and other Visayan islands. The San Juanico Bridge, part of the Pan-Philippine Highway, links Leyte to Samar, and from there roads and a ferry crossing lead north to Luzon, though the journey is long.

Leyte's mountainous spine still holds pockets of forest. The best known is the Lake Danao Natural Park in the uplands northeast of Ormoc: its guitar-shaped lake of volcanic origin covers 148 hectares within a 2,193-hectare park that includes the Amandiwin Mountains. It was declared a national park in 1972, as Lake Imelda, and renamed Lake Danao National Park in 1998 under Proclamation No. 1155; it is now protected under the National Integrated Protected Areas System. Studies of its birds found that hunting, mostly of hornbills, doves and pigeons and often by outsiders, is the main threat, along with slash-and-burn farming and illegal logging. The island's forests are also home to the Philippine tarsier, and the Philippine eagle, whose last Leyte records came before Typhoon Yolanda, is the focus of a reintroduction project.

Philippine Eagle

Pithecophaga jefferyi

Critically Endangered

The national bird, found only on Luzon, Samar, Leyte and Mindanao. Leyte had perhaps two breeding pairs, with no sightings after Typhoon Yolanda in 2013; in June 2024 two rescued eagles from Mindanao were released on the island in a reintroduction attempt.

Field note: Report sightings to the Philippine Eagle Foundation or the DENR; killing an eagle is punishable by up to 12 years in prison.

Philippine Tarsier

Carlito syrichta

Near Threatened

A palm-sized nocturnal primate with huge eyes. The subspecies Carlito syrichta syrichta lives on Leyte and Samar, and habitat loss and poaching for the pet trade are its main threats.

Field note: Never buy or keep a tarsier; watch them only at licensed sanctuaries.

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The Eagles of Leyte

Leyte once had its own Philippine eagles, but only about two pairs were thought to survive, and after Typhoon Yolanda tore through the forests in 2013 there were no more sightings. In June 2024 the Philippine Eagle Foundation tried to bring them back: two rescued eagles from Mindanao, fitted with trackers, were released in Leyte in the hope that they would pair. The male, named Uswag, was later found dead at sea, probably blown off course by the wind. The female, Carlito, was still alive and hunting for herself in October 2024.