Itbayat Island is located at the north of Batan Island. Shaped like a giant bowl, it is surrounded by massive boulders and cliffs rising from 20-70 feet above sea level and has no shoreline. The major products of the island are garlic, pineapple, and coconut trees, which are home to coconut crabs.
What can you see?
• Siayan Island is an island at the north of Itbayat featuring beautiful beaches.
• Di'nem Island is an island made of towering cliffs with boulder beaches. This place is good for mountain climbing.
• Rapang Cliff is a natural park with a ringing mushroom-like rock, which was believed to have been used to call the ancient settlers to a meeting.
• Mount Riposed, one of the two volcanoes that have been the foundation of Itbayat Island, holds a panoramic view of the island.
• Mount Karaboboan, the other pair of Mount Riposed that created Itbayat. It is also an old settlement for the early dwellers of Itbayat.
• Torongan Cave is the most ancient dwelling place and on top of it is a burial ground.
• Nahini Votox has its own ijang and boat-shaped burial grounds. It is also an ancient settlement with plenty of broken clay pots. Its ijang has a spectacular view of Dinem and the Easter Coast of Itbayat Island.
• Underground Stream in Kumayasakas flows to the sea; it can be found northwest of Itbayat.
• Itbayat Caves have a majestic feature of stalagmites and stalagtites. The caves are named Northern Sarokan, Eastern Sarokan, Do'tboran Cave, and Pevangan Cave.
• Agosan Rock is a rock formation in the north of Itbayat. It is a breeding site for endangered birds.
• Vernacular houses are the traditional houses in Batanes. They are made of stones and built low to protect people from harsh weathers.
• Port Mauyen is an alternative port south of Itbayat with 14 zigzag roads.
Visiting the place
The only way to reach Itbayat in a direct route from Manila is by plane. SkyPasada is a commercial carrier that service flights to Itbayat from Basco, the capital of Batanes. Southeast Asian Airlines also offers a direct flight from Manila to Basco, Batanes. A regular ferry runs the Batan-Itbayat route. Travel time is about four hours on falowa from Basco Seaport or Radiwan Port in Ivana.