Tuguegarao travel guide

Tuguegarao is at the homeland of the Ibanag and the Itawis, both living along the banks of the Cagayan River. Those ethnic groups, along with their native languages, continue to exist today, despite the Ilocano migration from the 1900s displacing them. Tuguegarao's name is shrouded in legend and historical debate, and there is little information about Tuguegarao before the Spaniards arrived, but some land documents specify that it was called Tubigarao, an Ibanag settlement.

Getting in

Tuguegarao is along the Maharlika Highway (Pan-Philippine Highway, Asian Highway 26), and is a key destination for buses heading from Metro Manila. It is also the hub of public transportation leading to other towns of Cagayan and the neighboring provinces of Kalinga and Apayao. It is also the terminus of the Tuguegarao-Roxas-Santiago Road, which runs parallel to Maharlika Highway in western Isabela down to Santiago City. Long distance commutes are handled by buses, while commuters to neighboring provinces and towns usually ride passenger vans.

Getting around

Many tricycles ply around the city which transports passengers to different points within the city. Tuguegarao's tricycle drivers are infamous even among locals for overcharging and haggling way beyond the official P20 minimum rate, with fares running to the hundreds of pesos not unheard of. The calesa (horse-drawn carriage) is also an available mode of transport in the city. Since the 2010s, traffic jams have become a major problem in the city due to inadequate infrastructure and an explosion in the number of vehicles.

Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.