Strong, sturdy, unwavering, and resolute, they stand firmly along the shore of Asluman in Gigantes Norte. I did not find any "real giants" in Islas de Gigantes, but these beautiful mangroves could very well be the giants. For two beautiful mornings I stood among these giants and enjoyed the dawn.


Not so long ago Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) wrecked havoc to northern Iloilo, leaving a trail devastation from the town of Concepcion going up north to the coastal towns of Estancia and Carles. The Higantes Islands, east of Carles, were not spared.

These huge mangroves in the east side of Gigantes Norte dampened the effect of the huge storm surges.  The island sustained damaged (Yolanda was the strongest typhoon to ever make landfall) but most structures are still intact. With a lot of houses just a few meters from the shore, it would have been a different story had there been no wall of mangroves to shield them. But all is better now, well almost, but its on the road to recovery.


Of the two major islands there - Gigantes Norte and Gigantes Sur, only Gigantes Norte's eastern side (in the village of Asluman)  have these huge mangroves (to the best of my knowledge).


Another surreal thing there is the low tide. During the time I was there, the tide started to go down by 4PM. By sunset, the sea simply dried up you can walk almost a kilometer to the smaller islands without getting wet. The tide only starts to go up after sunrise. That's about 12 hours of low tide!

How Islas de Gigantes got its name

Folklore has it that these islands were once inhabited by giants - real giants. These giants are said to be at least 7-9 feet tall. If you are wondering how they were able to estimate the height of these early settlers, the locals said they have discovered skeletal remains and long wooden coffins in a burial cave on Gigantes Norte. One of the supposed wooden coffins in fact is on display in the Gigantes Hideaway resort on that island.

Folklore aside, Gigantes islands is now becoming big in attracting tourist wanting isolated and pristine destinations. [Island destinations in Gigantes will be featured soon!]