Pangasinan

Pangasinan is a province in Ilocos Region of in northern Luzon, the chief island of the Philippines. The capital of Pangasinan is Lingayen. Being in a somewhat fertile plain, the area is known for agricultural products like corn crops carabao milk, duhat wine, nipa hut roofings, tuba and other products.

Regions

• Western Pangasinan:
• Central Pangasinan:
• Eastern Pangasinan:
• Southern Pangasinan:

Cities and municipalities

Each municipality in Pangasinan has its unique characteristics and contributions to the province's cultural and economic landscape.

• 1 Lingayen – The provincial capital of Pangasinan and famous for its fermented fish sauce or that so-called bagoong.

• 2 Alaminos – Home to the famous Hundred Islands.
• 3 Alcala – Famous for its vibrant agricultural industry, particularly rice and corn production.
• 4 Binalonan – Known for its religious significance and the St. Peter and Paul Parish Church.
• 5 Binmaley – Famous for its freshwater fish production, known as the “Seafood Capital of the North”. They also celebrate their annual Sigay Festival.
• 6 Bolinao – Known for its white sand beaches, Patar beach and its native product binungey, also known as bamboo cake. It is also a renowned tourist destination with stunning beaches and the iconic Cape Bolinao Lighthouse.
• 7 Burgos (Pangasinan) – Offers many beaches and a waterfall.
• 8 Calasiao – Home to the famous Calasiao puto (rice cake) and the St. Peter and Paul Parish Church. They also celebrate their Puto Festival annually.
• 9 Dagupan – home of the tasty Bonuan bangus (milkfish), and the economic hub of the province. Known as the Bangus capital of the country, Bangus Festival is celebrated annually every month of April.
• 10 Dasol – Town facing the coast of West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). Known for Tambobong Beach and white sand islets. It is also known for salt-making with more than 10,000 salt beds.
• 11 Infanta – Known for its coastal charm and beautiful beaches.
• 12 Mabini (Pangasinan) – Known for its caves.
• 13 Malasiqui – Famous for its agricultural products, including rice and vegetables.
• 14 Manaoag – Home to the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag, a major pilgrimage site in the Philippines.
• 15 Mangatarem – An agricultural municipality with an expansive public market. Also known for the Manleluag Spring Protected Landscape.
• 16 San Carlos – The "Mango-Bamboo Capital of the Philippines", and a cultural and historical center of Pangasinan. Site of the Mango-Bamboo Festival every April, an event marked by green and yellow colors, delicious mangoes and durable bamboo handicrafts and the hospitality of San Carlos' people.
• 17 San Manuel – A municipality with a focus on farming and rural life, knowns for its San Roque Multi-Purpose Dam Project, which is the second largest dam in Asia.
• 18 Sison – Site of numerous Cordilleran hills and mountains and waterfalls such as Antong Falls.
• 19 Sual – Renowned for its power plant and coastal attractions.
• 20 Tayug – Known for its agricultural heritage and rural landscapes.
• 21 Umingan – Mostly just interesting for the nearby Diket Falls.
• 22 Urdaneta – The economic center of eastern Pangasinan.

Other destinations

• 1 Umbrella Rocks, near Agno (at the mouth of the Balingcaging River). A nature's masterpiece, these rock formation are mushroom/umbrella shape boulders along the mouth of Balincaguing River, in Sabangan. (updated Oct 2020)
• 2 Sunflower Maze, Tayug. It is a giant maze on a farm. The 2,600-m² sunflower maze consists of more or less 8,000 sunflower plants in its 3-hectare farm. (updated Oct 2020)

Understand

The name "Pangasinan" can be ambiguous; it can refer also to the people and the language.

Pangasinan's name derives from the word for "place of salt", with the root word "asin" (salt). Salt production is the main source of income, but the local economy has since diversified. It is the richest and most populous province among the four in Ilocos Region.

The local people are of the same name, Pangasinan (also called Pangasinense or Panggalatok, the latter they consider to be derogatory), but the province has been heavily settled by Ilocanos from the north, which still some natives resent. Other ethnic groups are the indigenous Sambal peoples, who live in western Pangasinan. The few ethnic Tagalogs are mostly in parts of Pangasinan bordering Tagalog-speaking Nueva Ecija.

While historically, geographically, and culturally linked to Central Luzon, Pangasinan is rather lumped up as part of Ilocos Region as a relic of the Marcos era. As a result, native Pangasinan object to calling Ilocos Region as simply Ilocos.

Talk

The primary language is Pangasinan, though Ilocano and Tagalog are also widely used.

Pangasinan, also called Pangasinense or Panggalatok (the latter considered derogatory), is an Philippine language native to the province. It is a relative of Ilocano, which is spoken across the Ilocos region, but is more closely related to the native languages of Benguet. It is co-official with English and Filipino across the province, and is used in education from kindergarten to grade 3, but it mostly exists as a spoken language. It is spoken by Ilocanos and Sambals as second language.

Ilocano is also widely spoken, but its usage in Pangasinan is somewhat controversial due to it causing the decline in usage of Pangasinan. It is spoken by many Pangasinan people and Sambals as second language.

Other languages are Sambal to the southwest and Bolinao to the west. Tagalog is also spoken in the towns bordering Nueva Ecija.

Get in

By bus

Victory Liner runs buses every hour from Manila to Alaminos, Lingayen or Dagupan (and vice versa), with stopovers at Dau and Tarlac City; some buses continue onward to Baguio through MacArthur Highway/Manila North Road (Route 2). Five Star, Victory's sister bus line, also serve the same destination pairs, but they also have a trip from Santiago in Isabela with an ordinary (non-air-conditioned) bus.

By car

Pangasinan is served by the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway since 2015, shortening travel time from Manila. Taxis can take you to the province, but are expensive

By plane

There is no airport in Pangasinan with commercial flights, and the two only airports, in Lingayen and Binalonan, are mostly used by general aviation and flying schools. The nearest major airport is in Angeles. There are plans to build a new airport at Alaminos, but construction is stalled by political debate.

Get around

The best way to get around Pangasinan is by provincial bus, with frequent connections across key cities and towns. Major operators are Victory Liner and Five Star, Pangasinan Solid North and Dagupan Bus Line.

Highways are of a decent standard, but most will be two- to four-lane roads with homes and businesses at both sides, and lots of slow traffic and obstacles.

Jeepneys are the primary mode of local public transport around Dagupan and surroundings. On most other places, tricycles are more common, and jeepneys primarily used to service nearby towns, but are less comfortable than buses.

See

• Tinakayanan Falls about 10 km west of Lingayen.

Do

• Mountain hiking or picnicking in the mountains of San Nicolas.
• Ziplining, other outdoor activities and a hot spring can be found west of Rosales.
• Go island hopping and snorkelling in Hundred Island National Park.
• Visit the largest dam in the Philippines and 16th largest in the world, the San Roque Dam located near San Manuel.
• Malangsi Fishtival is a yearly agricultural festival in April in the town of Bayambang in the south of Pangasinan.
• Dipalo River scenic area in San Quintin municipality

Beaches

• Patar White Sand Beach
• The beaches near San Fabian in the northeastern part of Pangasinan are worth a visit
• Tondol Beach or often referred to a Little Boracay of the North is a stunning beach near Anda in the far northwest of the region.

Buy

For a fishy experience, try the fish market in Dagupan.

Go next

• La Union