BY JIMMY C. CALAPATI

Zininaga—an old Ybanag term for heritage—is rich in Cagayan North.

Now being introduced as the spelunker’s, trekker’s, and gamefisher’s paradise rolled into one, Cagayan provides a never-ending adventure in ecotourism

Caves of different classifications dot the province, making it a spelunker’s paradise.

The Peñablanca Protected Landscape, the northern corridor to the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park, is home to some 300 caves—including the more popular Callao Caves.

The province’s unspoiled mountains and forests are well recommended for outdoor activities like trekking, mountain climbing and exploration, camping, among others.

Clean rivers and seas make the province ideal for swimming, boating and fishing.

Kayaking and white river rafting at the Cagayan River, the longest and widest river in the country, is now also becoming popular.

But these are not what lured the Filipino Heritage Foundation, Inc. and the National Commission for the Culture and Arts to Cagayan North for the culminating events of the 2007 Philippine Heritage Month.

Cagayanons take pride in their rich history dating from 1581. In fact, Cagayan North is where the fourth city in the Philippines was founded, Nueva Segovia, now Lal-lo.

Cagayan’s rich heritage is shown in numerous century-old churches—some in ruins but most are being used.

Perhaps the most-visited church in Cagayan is the Basilica Minore of Our Lady of Piat. Although not an old church, it is a favorite destination of pilgrims seeking favors, healing, and other special graces to the canonically-crowned Our Lady of Piat.

The Lady of the Visitation was originally called the Lady of the Holy Rosary, perhaps because it was supposedly brought from Macau to the Philippines in 1604 by devotees of the Rosary, the Dominican friars.

This almost four-centuries old image of Mary was first enshrined in Nueva Segovia of Lal-lo but was brought to Piat to convert the Itawes people to Christianity. On June 20, 1954, the Church was declared a National Shrine for Catholic Philippines. The image is famous in the country and abroad as the Black Mary, thus making Piat the pilgrimage center of the Northeast. Pilgrims are drawn to the shrine every year, especially on the Lady’s feast day on July 2.

The Sts. Peter and Paul Metropolitan Cathedral is the seat of the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao. The church with belfry is the biggest Spanish-built church in Cagayan Valley, constructed under the supervision of Fr. Antonio Lobato, OP on June 17, 1761 to 1767.

The cathedral suffered massive destruction in WW II and was rebuilt by Msgr. Bishop Constance Jurgens. It is considered as one of the most beautiful works of art in the country and the world today. Its picture appears at Rome Basilica.

The St. Hyacinth Church or San Jacinto Chapel in Tuguegarao is an elevated chapel built in 1604 and blessed on 1724. It was used as headquarters by American soldiers during the Filipino-American War in 1899. It is 100 years older than the Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral.

Farther north is the town of Alcala where one can visit the St. Philomene Church. Completed in 1881 by Fr. Casimiro Gonzalez when he became the vicar of Alcala.

It is the biggest and widest brick church in the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao. Located along the Maharlika Highway, it stands as a mute witness to the several regimes that have enriched the province’s cultural heritage.

One can also see the oldest bell in the Far East at Camalaniugan’s San Jacinto de Polonia Parish. Forged in 1595, it was brought to Manila in 1937 as part of the attractions during the 33rd International Eucharistic Congress.

Another religious attraction in Cagayan is the Iguig Calvary Hills & Parish of St. James the Greater.

Located about 16 kilometers from Tuguegarao City, in the 11-hectare rolling hills are the larger-than-life-size concrete 14 Stations of the Cross depicting Jesus Christ’s suffering before his death at Mount Calvary.