Northern Mindanao

Northern Mindanao is a region of the Philippines.

Provinces

Bukidnon Malaybalay, Valencia, and Mount Kitanglad Range Natural Park.

Camiguin Mambajao and Catarman are the main towns.

Misamis Occidental Oroquieta, and Ozamiz

Misamis Oriental Cagayan de Oro, and Gingoog

Lanao Del Norte Iligan

Cities

• 1 Oroquieta — the capital of the province, it has an old Spanish fortress
• 2 Ozamiz — a small city on Iligan Bay
• 3 Iligan — home to many waterfalls, springs, and beach resorts
• 4 Cagayan de Oro — also called CDO, it is famous for its whitewater rafting and kayaking adventures along the Cagayan de Oro River
• 5 Gingoog — the "vacation city of Misamis Oriental"
• 6 Malaybalay — a small unspoiled city, with friendly people and a mild climate
• 7 Valencia — a typical Philippine city near Lake Apo (a crater lake) and the Kasanayan Cave

Other destinations

• 1 Mount Kitanglad Range Natural Park — the Kitanglad mountain range has numerous peaks: the more prominent ones are Mt. Kitanglad, Mt. Kaatuan, Mt. Maagnaw and Mt. Dulang-Dulang

Understand

Northern Mindanao is one of the more peaceful regions of Mindanao. It is a progressive region, with large tracts of land available for agriculture and industry. It is blessed with natural wonders: large, protected forests, white sandy beaches, coral reefs and sheltered bays rich with aquatic life. It is accessible and a strategic location for trade.

Most of Northern Mindanao's inhabitants are Cebuano speakers and have Visayan ancestry. In Lanao del Norte, the Muslim Maranao people form a majority alongside the Christian Visayans. Indigenous ethnic groups are the Bukidnon, Kamigin, and the Subanen.

Get in

By plane

The primary and only airport with commercial service in the region is Laguindingan Airport (CGY ^IATA), served by PAL Express, Cebu Pacific and AirAsia. There are flights from Manila, Clark, Cebu and Davao.

By bus

Orange Rural Transit buses connect the region with Zamboanga Peninsula to the west and Davao to the south, while yellow Bachelor Express buses run from Butuan to the east, both terminating at Cagayan de Oro.

Philtranco also operates a Manila-CDO service, which takes the ferry between Leyte and Surigao.

By car

Three major highways connect Northern Mindanao with other regions.

• Rte 9, the main east-west highway, connects with Butuan in the east and Zamboanga del Sur to the west.
• Sayre Hwy (Rte 10 and AH26) connects with Davao City via Bukidnon.
• Rte 77 from Lanao del Sur

By ferry

Cagayan de Oro has ferry services from the Visayas and Manila. Iligan and Ozamiz also have ferry terminals, and Camiguin is connected to Bohol by RORO ferry.

Get around

Most transportation within Northern Mindanao is by road. Major highways are Rte 9 and Sayre Highway: the former runs along the north coast and the latter from CDO to Bukidnon.

There are plenty of bus service between cities and towns, with the hub at CDO. Major bus companies are Rural Transit, Bachelor Express, Super Five and Pabama Transport. Rural Transit provides most service out of CDO's western bus terminal, while Bachelor Express dominates routes out of the eastbound terminal. Super Five and Pabama meanwhile competes with Rural Transit on services out of CDO to Iligan and Bukidnon, respectively.

Camiguin is connected to the mainland by RORO ferry and pump boat.