VISAYAS

Visayas, or the Visayan Islands, is one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao.  Visayas is located in the central part of the Philippine archipelago. 

Visayas Regions Map

Fast Facts

The Visayas island group consists of seven large and several hundred smaller islands.

Visayas Island Group Map

The seven main islands are: Bohol, Cebu, Guimaras, Leyte, Negros, Panay, and Samar.  These islands, and their smaller neighbouring islands, make up the central group of islands of the Philippine archipelago referred to as Visayas.

Sometimes included in this group are the provinces of Masbate, Romblon, and Palawan whose populations identify as Visayan and whose languages are more closely related to other Visayan languages than to the major languages of Luzon.

The dominant languages spoken in this region are: Hiligaynon, Cebuano, and Waray along with English and Tagalog.

High mountains characterize most of the Visayan Islands with the exception of Samar and Masbate, which are exceedingly hilly. Panay has extensive eastern plains where sugarcane and rice are farmed. Negros has large western plains on which sugarcane is grown. Corn (maize), coconuts, bananas, tobacco, abaca, and root crops also are widely grown, and fishing is also important in the Visayas.

The two major Visayan urban centers are Cebu City on Cebu Island and Iloilo City on Panay Island.  

The major cities and municipalities in Visayas are:

RANKCITYCITYHOODAREA
(km2| mi2)
POPULATIONREGION
1Cebu1937315 km2| 122 mi2922,700Central Visayas
2Bacolod1938163 km2 | 63 mi2561,900Western Visayas
3Iloilo188978 km2 | 30 mi2448,000Western Visayas
4Lapu-Lapu196158 km2 | 22 mi2408,200Central Visayas
5Mandaue1969 35 km2 | 14 mi2362,700Central Visayas
6Tacloban1953202 km2 | 78 mi2242,100Eastern Visayas
7Talisay, Cebu200140 km2 | 15 mi2227,700Central Visayas
8Ormoc1947614 km2 | 237 mi2215,100Eastern Visayas
9Calbayog1948881 km2 | 340mi2183,900Eastern Visayas
10Kabankalan1997697 km2 | 269 mi2290,500Western Visayas
11Bago1966401 km2 | 155 mi2171,000Western Visayas
12Toledo1960216 km2 | 84 mi2170,400Central Visayas
13Roxas 195195 km2 | 37 mi2167,100Western Visayas
14Cadiz1967525 km2 | 203 mi2154,800Western Visayas
15Sagay1996330 km2 | 126 mi2146,300Western Visayas
16Danao, Cebu1961 107 km2 | 41 mi2136,500Central Visayas
17San Carlos, Negros Occidental1960452 km2 | 174 mi2132,600Western Visayas
18Minglanilla TownNA 66 km2 | 25 mi2132,200Central Visayas
19Consolacion TownNA37 km2 | 14 mi2131,600Central Visayas
20Dumaguete194834 km2 | 13 mi2131,400Central Visayas

Visayas accounts for about one-third of the landmass of the Philippines (57,728 km2 | 22,289 mi2),  and more than 20% of its population (approximately 22 Million).

Map

Popular Destinations

DESTINATIONAREA
(km2| mi2)
POPULATIONISLANDPROVINCEMAP
Aklan Province 1,821 km2 | 703 mi2574,900PanayAklanMAP
Antique Province 2,729 km2 | 1,054 mi2582,100PanayAntiqueMAP
Bacolod City 163 km2 | 63 mi2561,900NegrosNegros OccidentalMAP
Bantayan Island 109 km2 | 42 mi2120,500BantayanCebuMAP
Biliran Island536 km2 | 207 mi2171,700BiliranBiliranMAP
Biri Island 25 km2 | 10 mi211,800BiriNorthern SamarMAP
Bohol Island 4,821 km2 | 1,861 mi21,313,600BoholBoholMAP
Boracay Island10 km2 | 4 mi228,400BoracayAklanMAP
Capiz Province 2,594 km2 | 1,002 mi2761,400PanayCapizMAP
Cebu Province 4,944 km2 | 1,909 mi22,939,000CebuCebuMAP
Cebu City315 km2 | 122 mi2922,700CebuCebuMAP
Camotes Islands236 km2 | 91 mi2103,000CamotesCebuMAP
Danjugan Island.43 km2 | .166 mi20DanjuganNegros OccidentalMAP
Dumaguete City34 km2 | 13 mi2131,400NegrosNegros OrientalMAP
Guimaras Island 605 km2 | 233 mi2174,700GuimarasGuimarasMAP
Iloilo City 78 km2 | 30 mi2448,000PanayIloiloMAP
Islas de Gigantes20 km2 | 8 mi212,300GigantesIloiloMAP
Kalanggaman Island.24 km2 | .09 mi20KalanggamanLeyteMAP
Lakawon Island.13 km2 | .05 mi2NALakawonNegros OccidentalMAP
Leyte Island 7,367 km2 | 2,844 mi22,388,600LeyteLeyte, Southern LeyteMAP
Malapascua Island1 km2 | .5 mi24,000MalapascuaCebuMAP
Mararison Island.55 km2 | .21 mi2750MararisonAntiqueMAP
Moalboal Town125 km2 | 48 mi231,200CebuCebuMAP
Oslob Town135 km2 | 52 mi227,900CebuCebuMAP
Roxas City95 km2 | 37 mi2167,100PanayCapizMAP
Sambawan Island.25 km2 | .1 mi20SambawanBiliranMAP
Samar Island 13,429 km2 | 5,185 mi21,751,300SamarEastern Samar, Northern Samar, SamarMAP
Siquijor Island337 km2 | 130 mi296,000SiquijorSiquijorMAP
Sumilon Island.24 km2 | .09 mi2NASumilonCebuMAP
Tibiao Town177 km2 |69 mi226,800PanayAntiqueMAP

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To learn more about popular destinations within each island group, make a selection by clicking on one of the divisions below.

LUZON

Luzon Island Group

VISAYAS

Visayas Island Group

MINDANAO

Mindanao Island Group