Basilan - A Tour Around Isabela City Proper

We were pushing towards Lamitan to see more rubber plantations. However, when we were about a kilometer away from the city, it started to rain again. The rain is pouring so hard that we decided to take a U-turn and head back to Isabela City. We had few stops to take shelter from the rain. Fortunately, the rain subsided when we reached Isabela City. I took the chance to see the interesting sites within the city proper.


Basilan Provincial Capitol, site of Fort Isabela II. The original fort was bombed and destroyed towards the end of World War II, having been used by the occupying Japanese forces as a munitions dump. A newer Capitol Building was built on the spot where the old Basilan City Hall stood after it was burned in the early 1990s. The new building is a celebration of Muslim and Christian influences which shaped modern-day Basilan, and still occupies the highest point of the city proper. (source)


Isabela City Plaza (formerly Plaza Misericordia) / Plaza Rizal. The twin plazas of the city have remained at the very center of Basilan's socio-political scene to this very day. (source)



Sta. Isabel Cathedral, in the heart of Isabela City's poblacion, is the center of Basilan's thriving Catholic community. An art deco cathedral with a mosaic altar reminiscent of Roman-Byzantine cathedrals, named in honor of the patron saint of Isabela. (source)



After the walking tour around the city proper, I was invited by my host to their home to have lunch. We ate lunch together with his wife and his son. It was so nice to meet them. I was welcomed and made me feel at home.


We had some chit-chat after lunch. After which, I bid goodbye and went to the port for my trip back to Zamboanga City. Sorry to say, I had to rush back as the weather is not so good at that time and it would be very difficult to take the ferry if I stay longer.


I am so grateful to my host Ludwig and his family for big-heartedly accommodating me. Thank you for making me feel at home. Also, many thanks to Dom, if not for him, setting foot in Basilan will still be on my bucket list.

Again, thank you so much for letting me discover and experience Basilan’s exceptional splendor and exquisiteness, a beauty not everyone is lucky to see.

My Basilan trip is one of the most "nerve-wracking" journeys I've had so far. Known as one of the most dangerous provinces in the Philippines, I bravely set foot on this island province last July 2, 2011. This series narrates the experiences I had in pursuing with my goal of setting foot in Basilan, definitely a one hell of an adventure! To date, this is my 5th solo trip and the 29th province on my list.

Maps By: Wikipedia

Enroute to Isabela City The Houses on Stilts Road Trip to the Rubber Plantations A Tour Around Isabela City Proper How To Get There, Ferry Schedules and Fares, Tips, Itinerary and Contact Details

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