Northern Samar Province, Philippines

By James Barcelona

Tourist Attractions

Biri Island

Biri Island is known for it’s  large number of strange rock formations in the northern beaches, Biri Island is located in Northern Samar, which is a province geographically situated right around the middle of the Philippines.

Biri Island has beautiful and amazing beaches, which is, well… pretty much the case with all the  beaches of the Philippines.

Pinipisakan Falls

Pinipisakan Falls is a tourist destination was formally inaugurated as a new tourist destination last August 18, 2009, with the SINP-DENR came for the groundbreaking and inauguration making the place as an ecotourism destination. Aside from the Pinipisakan Falls, it also has the beautiful lasnavasnon cave located near the 3 km hanging bridge.

Dalupiri Island

Dalupiri Island. A wonderful island with a short distance (20 minutes) from San Isidro ore Victoria Northern
Samar, offers you a real recovery vacation, with a white beach, green palms, blue water, whisk you away from the dreariness of your everyday life. Sunrises over the glittering sea, will give you a warm feeling. The tropical flower garden will raise in you a new vitality to warm your soul.

Northern Samar is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. The provincial capital is Catarman and is located in the northern portion of the island of Samar. Northern Samar is bounded in the north by San Bernardino Strait, in the east by the Pacific Ocean, in the west by the Samar Sea, in the southwest by Western Samar and in the southeast by Eastern Samar. The province is subdivided into 2 congressional districts, 24 municipalities and 569 barangays.

Northern Samar is composed largely of low and extremely rugged hills and lowland areas. It also has small and discontinuous areas along the coasts and its rivers are usually accompanied by alluvial plains and valleys. The province is endowed with relatively rich and fertile soil that can grow most crops. 

Most of the inhabitants of the province speak Norte Samarnon. The language is a variation of Waray-Waray. Norte Samarnon is further sudclassified into Balicuatro, Central and Pacific speakers. Cebuano is also widely understood and spoken in the municipalities of San Isidro, San Antonio and San Vicente. A third language called Inabaknon is also spoken in the island of Capul. 

The province of Northern Samar is among the last frontiers in the country. Its rugged coastline of limestone cliffs along the Pacific Ocean is a historical landmark. During the Spanish colonial era, Samar Island was the first Philippine landfall seen by the galleons as they approached the end of their long voyage from Acapulco. Entering the waters of the Philippine archipelago, the galleons called off at the fortified island of Capul. They offered thanks for a safe crossing at the Jesuit church and then negotiated the rough waters off the narrow San Bernardino Strait towards their final destination which is Manila. Capul also became the last stop in the Philippine soil of the departing galleons before the long and often treacherous trans-Pacific sail to Acapulco in Mexico. 

Northern Samar has a lot of tourism potentials that are still undiscovered and unknown to many tourists. The province has famous old churches, beautiful falls, rivers, caves, virgin forests, beaches and many other secret places. Three of these “secret” places are the islands of Biri, Capul and Dalupiri, all off the coast of Northern Samar. Remote and desolate, and definitely off the normal tourist track. Northern Samar is a province which evokes powerful images and untouched beauty.