Isulan

Isulan is a town of almost 100,000 people (2022). It is also the capital of the province of Sultan Kudarat. Every August 30, the municipality of Isulan conducts the Hamungaya Festival to celebrate its foundation. The festival showcases skills and talents in literary, musical and cultural aspects of the city. It is also an agricultural festival of thanksgiving.

Understand

Isulan houses a large oil palm plantation to the east of the town.

Most of the locals are Hiligaynon-speaking migrants, who settled here in the 1930s, but there are still the native Maguindanao people who originally resided here.

Get in

By bus or minivan

• Isulan Public Transport Terminal, Isulan-Tacurong Road. Buses and UV Express (minivans) all pick up and drop off passengers here. There are nothing much inside the terminal, except for noisy vendors. (updated Jul 2019)

Yellow Bus Lines has trips from Kiamba via General Santos, Koronadal and Tacurong. Husky Transport makes a stop at Isulan on their Cotabato-General Santos route. A trip from Cotabato is risky, as it passes through war-torn Maguindanao, though there are rarely any attacks on buses plying the highways there.

There are plenty of UV Express leaving the terminal to serve other points in Sultan Kudarat, and even into Maguindanao and Cotabato.

See

• Sultan Kudarat Provincial Capitol. (updated Jan 2019)

Buy

• CityMall, Tacurong City Rd. Mall with restaurants and an arcade. (updated Jan 2019)
• Isulan Central Plaza, Senator Ninoy Aquino Avenue (Beside the municipal hall). 8:30AM-7PM. Little two-storey department store and supermarket with a Mang Inasal and Landbank ATM outside. (updated Jul 2019)

Eat

Most local restaurants will generally be certified Halal to accommodate its Muslim Maguindanaoan population.

• Carlito's, Senator Ninoy Aquino Avenue, ☏ +63 64 201-5161. 7AM-9PM. Fine Filipino dining. (updated Jul 2019)
• Namaskar Ji Isulan, Isulan-Tacurong Road (Near the bus and van terminal), ☏ +63 917 710-5994. 9AM-9PM. Indian cuisine. (updated Jul 2019)
• Inko's Grill. 6:30AM-9PM. T-bone steaks, chicken inasal and silog. Serves alcohol. (updated Jul 2019)

Sleep

• Antonia's Hotel, Aujero Street, Kalawag I. Two-storey hotel with A/C rooms, but lacks a restaurant. Food available only by contract. (updated Jan 2019)
• Jovinaj Traveller's Inn, Sen. Ninoy Aquino Avenue. Two storey hotel with A/C rooms, but lacks a restaurant. (updated Jan 2019)

Stay safe

Risks are very high, as Isulan just lies south of the bordering Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. See warning at the Soccsksargen article for information on the security situation.

Go next

• General Santos
• Tacurong