Batanes

Batanes is the northernmost province of the Philippines, an archipelago of ten small islands at the juncture of the Pacific Ocean, the South China Sea, and the Luzon Strait, isolated from the rest of the country by rough seas and frequent typhoons. The islands are inhabited by the Ivatan people, who developed distinctive oval stone houses with thick walls and cogon-grass roofs designed to withstand the strongest typhoons in the region. The rolling pasturelands of Batan Island overlooking the Pacific coast from Marlboro Hills and Vayang Rolling Hills are the most recognizable photographic subjects.