Surigao del Norte

At the Strait

The Surigao Strait — the body of water between Surigao del Norte and Leyte — was one of the major maritime passages of the pre-colonial Philippines, used by traders moving between Mindanao and the Visayas. The communities at the narrowest point of the strait controlled the passage and profited from it. Spanish colonization brought the parish system and the galleon route but did not fundamentally change the maritime character of the Surigao communities.

Surigao del Norte's culture is shaped by the sea. The Mamanwa people — among the oldest continuous inhabitants of Mindanao, classified as Negrito — maintain communities in the interior of the mainland. The coastal communities, predominantly Surigaonon-speaking, have a fishing and trading culture shaped by the strait and the archipelago.

Siargao Island Culture

Before surfing, Siargao was a coconut-farming island with fishing communities on its lagoon shores. The surf tourism of the past three decades has transformed the economy — surf camps, international restaurants, and accommodation along General Luna's beach road coexist with the fishing barangays and the coconut palms. The island navigates this coexistence with varying degrees of ease.

Bonok-Bonok Mananagat Festival

Surigao City's major festival — Bonok-Bonok Mananagat — celebrates the fishing tradition of the Surigaonon people with street dancing, boat parades, and cultural presentations. Mananagat means fisherman. The festival, held in August, is the province's largest annual event and a celebration of the maritime identity that has defined the Surigao coast for centuries.

The food of Surigao del Norte is built around what the sea provides — the Surigao Strait and the reef-studded waters around Siargao produce an extraordinary variety of fish, shellfish, and sea vegetables. The Surigaonon cooking tradition shares the Visayan and northern Mindanao approach: grilled fish, coconut milk preparations, and the kinilaw technique of vinegar-curing raw seafood.

Surigaonon — the language of the Surigao coastal communities — is the primary language of the province. It belongs to the Visayan branch of the Philippine language family and is closely related to Cebuano, though distinct enough that speakers identify it as their own language rather than a dialect. Cebuano is widely understood and used in commerce.

Surigaonon Identity

The Surigaonon linguistic and cultural identity is distinct from the Cebuano mainstream of the Visayas — the communities of the Surigao strait see themselves as northern Mindanao people, not Cebuanos, even though their language belongs to the same branch. The distinct intonation and vocabulary of Surigaonon mark a speaker immediately to Cebuano ears.

Surigao del Norte is accessible from Manila or Cebu — either by air to Surigao City or by the newer direct flights to Siargao's Del Carmen airport. Surigao City functions as the provincial gateway; Siargao Island is a 45-minute ferry ride from the city's port.

Cloud 9, Siargao

The reef break at Cloud 9 in General Luna is the centrepiece of Philippine surfing — a powerful barrelling wave that breaks over a shallow reef and produces the kind of ride that attracts competitive surfers from Australia, the Americas, and Europe. The Siargao Cup competition has been held here annually since the 1990s. The wooden walkway over the reef offers views of the break for non-surfers.

Mangroves line much of Surigao del Norte's coast. On Siargao, the Del Carmen Mangrove Reserve covers about 4,871 hectares, more than half of the island's mangrove forest, and became a Ramsar wetland of international importance on 8 January 2024. Seagrass beds and coral reefs around the islands are still in relatively good condition. Sohoton Cove on Bucas Grande, entered through caves that are half-submerged most of the time and passable only at low tide, is one of the province's best-known natural sites.

Philippine Tarsier

Carlito syrichta

Near Threatened

A tiny, night-active primate whose range includes Siargao and the Dinagat Islands as well as mainland Mindanao.

Field note: Do not handle tarsiers or use flash. They are easily stressed.

Philippine Duck

Anas luzonica

Least Concern

The Philippines' only endemic duck. It is recorded in the Del Carmen mangroves, along with the southern rufous hornbill and the Mindanao hornbill.

Field note: Hunting it is illegal. Keep boats slow and quiet in the mangrove channels.

The Last Battleship Engagement

On the night of October 24 to 25, 1944, the last battleship engagement in the history of naval warfare was fought in the Surigao Strait between Surigao del Norte and Leyte. The Japanese Southern Force — two battleships, a heavy cruiser, and four destroyers — attempted to pass through the strait to reach the American landing fleet at Leyte Gulf. The American Seventh Fleet was waiting for them.

The battle lasted a few hours. American PT boats and destroyers attacked first; then the battleships. The Japanese force was destroyed — the battleships Yamashiro and Fuso sunk, along with three destroyers. Only one Japanese ship escaped. Rear Admiral Masami Ban survived the sinking of his destroyer and was captured. The wreck of the Yamashiro lies approximately 170 meters beneath the surface of the strait.

The fishermen of Surigao today cross the strait daily on their bangkas. The water above the wrecks is the same water their grandfathers crossed when the guns were firing. On a clear morning, with the mountains of Leyte visible on the far side, it is a strait that looks exactly like what it was: a passage between islands that people have been crossing for thousands of years, and that one night became something else.