Calayan, Cagayan

The island town of Calayan is midway between Aparri and the Batanes group of islands. It is one of the islands doting the China Sea on the northern coast of Luzon and is known for the white sand and sharp rocks that jut out the sea, making it a potential tourist destination while remaining devoted to the fishing industry. This town is consists of four islands located in the Babuyan Channel, namely Calayan, Camiguin, Dalupiri, and Babuyan Claro.

            People are transported from Aparri or Claveria via motorized boats known locally as “lampitao”. A third class municipality, the town is one of the fastest growing municipalities in terms of its population, from 12,574 in 2001 to 16,324 as seen in the latest census for 2010. It has a total land area of 54,953 hectares and has an estimated annual income of 67.67 million. Calayan is a wildlife protected area with marine resources present, like the rare nude crab (local name, rass), shrimps (udang), large clam (raring), blue crab (daniway), small clam (saitil), squid (posit), octopus (kurita), lobster (binaging), tortoise (bindog/pawikan), and sea cucumber (al aloten).

            The endangered species giant clams, sea turtles, and dolphins are still seen in the Babuyan Channel during trips using the lampitao.