Cuyo Island (Igabas)

 island, invisible

Cuyo is a 4th class municipality in the province of Palawan, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 18,257 people in 3,609 households.
During the Spanish colonization of the Philippines, Cuyo became the second capital of Palawan from 1873 to 1903.

Cuyo Island is a group of 45 islets with a total land area of 50 square metres. It lies south of Mindoro and between Northern Palawan and Panay. The biggest island in this group is Cuyo with an area of 22 square miles and is about 9 miles long. Cuyo is divided in three municipalities, namely Cuyo, Agutaya, and Magsaysay. Cuyo is the oldest town in Palawan. Cuyo has a culture of its own which was preserved since more than 350 years. In the year 2008, the total population of the Cuyo Island is almost 25’000. Cuyo is divided into two island groups. Up north is the Quiniluban group to which Pamalican island is part and where the 89-hectare, ultra-exclusive Amanpulo Resort belongs. To the south are the Cuyo islands, where the three municipalities, namely Cuyo, Agutaya, and Magsaysay are located. Magsaysay is the location of the Quijano Windsurfing Retreat, also exclusive but in another sense.

Chinese traders where the first to discover Cuyo island and introduced the trade and barter system in the locality.

Cuyo is known to be the oldest town in Palawan. From the sea, Cuyo Island's first visible landmark is a lighthouse by the pier. Many of the streets leading to the town have already been cemented but the town has preserved the Hispanic plaza-iglesia structures. Dominating the town centre is Cuyo's 1860 church, convent, and fort built by the Spanish and finished in 1680. Nearby stands a schoolhouse, and a monument of national hero Jose Rizal.

Cuyo is a place blessed with nature’s beauty. Secluded and quiet, it is covered with cashew and coconut trees that gracefully sway to the wind. Thick clumps of bamboo abound. And of course, the vast blue seas – home to a myriad of corals and sea creatures