Cagayan

Cagayan has been inhabited since prehistoric times, through anthropological and archaeological finds such as the Callao Man, and the Lal-lo and Gattaran Shell Middens. The first inhabitants are hunter-gatherers specialized in hunting mollusks; they were believed to be Negritos (Atta) based on anthropological evidence. Migrations of Austronesians (or Malays), the ancestors of most of the native groups such as the Ibanag, Gaddang, Itawes and some Igorot tribes, have driven the Negritos into the mountains at the eastern coast.

Civilizations have thrived long in the province before Spanish colonization. Locals have traded with the Chinese and Japanese, and there are also records of a Japanese pirate kingdom in Cagayan, which lasted until 1582.

The Spaniards first came in 1581, on an expedition to explore the areas north of the Caraballo mountain range and east of the Cordillera Central, and convert the locals to Catholicism. Conquistador Juan de Salcedo, sent to explore the coast of northern Luzon, also landed at the areas now occupied by the towns of Pamplona and Aparri.

Cagayan used to cover all of the Cagayan Valley region during Spanish times. Founded in 1583 by royal decree, it included all of present-day Cagayan Valley, Batanes, and parts of the provinces of Ifugao, Kalinga and Apayao, until the new provinces were carved out from 1839 afterwards, which are Isabela & Nueva Vizcaya. The original capital was in Lal-lo, then the town of Nueva Segovia, also the namesake of the Roman Catholic archdiocese which now has its seat in Vigan and includes the provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Abra, and Benguet.

Cagayan has all of the three tropical climate regimes of the Philippines, but the two most prominent are the tropical monsoon and the tropical savanna regimes.

• The tropical savanna climate zone mostly occupies the basin of the eponymous Cagayan River (except at its estuary), which includes the capital at Tuguegarao. There is a dry season from January to April, and temperatures can hit the 40 °C (104 °F) mark.
• Most of the province have a tropical monsoon climate, which has a shorter dry season, and low possibility of extreme daytime highs.
• Mountains at the eastern coast have a rainforest climate, which transitions into temperate oceanic at about 1,000 m (3,300 ft) above sea level.

The province is at the heart of the typhoon belt, and has weather stations that are vital for typhoon tracking. Typhoons generally strike the province during the rainiest months, from August to October.

Cagayan's overall climate is rainy, with a short dry season lasting from either January or February to April. The northeast monsoon (amihan) from Siberia and moist air masses from the Pacific brings much of the rain, and the province generally gets 85 rainy days a year.

Buses connect the province with Manila and Ilocos Region, mostly terminating at the capital at Tuguegarao, but there are also buses that head to major towns such as Aparri and Santa Ana.

Asian Highway 26 (AH26) provides the main road link with Manila, though it is possible to take the Santiago-Tuguegarao Road as a shorter alternative. The same highway also provides the main access from Ilocos Region.

From the Cordilleras, the main land route goes through the province of Kalinga.

Tuguegarao (TUG ^IATA) is served by domestic flights from Manila. There is another airport at Lal-lo (LLC ^IATA), which is only served by occasional charter flights.