Fort Cuyo is a stone citadel on Cuyo Island built in 1680 by the Recollect Augustinians, after Muslim raiders had looted the town in 1636. Its walls, about 10 metres high and 2 metres thick, enclose roughly one hectare in a square plan with four corner bastions.
Inside the walls stands Saint Augustine Church, built in 1622 and generally regarded as the oldest church in Palawan, along with a belfry and watchtowers that once stood lookout over the surrounding sea.
The National Historical Commission of the Philippines declared the fort a historical landmark in 1939, and it remains the centerpiece of Cuyo town today, still used as the parish church and a gathering point for the town's fiesta.
- Best time
- November to May, dry season, and ideally during the February Cuyo town fiesta
- Getting there
- By ferry or flight from Puerto Princesa to Cuyo town; the fort stands in the town center
- Nearest gateway
- Cuyo Airport
- Where
- 10.855° N, 121.008° EOpen in Google Maps
Fort Cuyo and Cuyo
Keep scrolling and they travel past. Press one to see it whole.
Cuyo, the town
Cuyo holds the western half of Cuyo Island, the largest island of the Cuyo Archipelago in the Sulu Sea, about 13 km long and 7.5 km wide, together with Bisucay, Manamoc, Pamalican, Pandan and several other small islands.
The town centre is built around a Spanish fort, finished in 1680, whose high stone walls enclose the church, the convent and a chapel. Cuyo was the capital of Palawan from 1873 to 1903.
Getting to Cuyo
- From Puerto Princesa
- Montenegro Shipping Lines runs a weekly ferry between Puerto Princesa and Iloilo that calls at Cuyo; schedules change with the weather. Cuyo Airport is in Magsaysay, on the same island.
The local government
- Mayor
- Andoy Ong
- Vice mayor
- Ed Timbancaya
- Municipality of
- Cuyo
- PSGC code
- 1705310000
- Barangays
- 17
- Land area
- 85 km²
Elected on 12 May 2025 for the term to 30 June 2028, named as on the ballot, from the count COMELEC released (via Rappler); checked 9 November 2026. An official can be suspended or replaced during a term, so the town hall has the last word.
In an emergency
Call 911Cuyo’s disaster office (MDRRMO): 0946-745-6403, 0975-842-0041
From the provincial emergency page, checked 8 November 2026. Every emergency number
Its people and its past
Cuyonon, the language and culture of the islands, spread from here across much of Palawan. Cuyonon music, the courting songs of the post-harvest season and the Mazurka de Cuyo, a social dance with mazurka steps, are part of the town's heritage.
Each year on 28 August Cuyo celebrates the feast of Saint Augustine, now called the Purongitan Festival, the town's main celebration.
Cuyo was the capital of Paragua, present-day Palawan, from 1873 to 1903. Cuyo, Palawan - Wikipedia
Cuyo holds the feast of San Agustin every August 28, now celebrated as the Purongitan Festival. Cuyo, Palawan - Wikipedia
Also around Cuyo
mountain
Mount Aguado
A mountain in Cuyo lined with life-size Stations of the Cross from foot to peak, climbed by pilgrims in Holy Week penitential rites.
Cuyo, Palawan - Wikipediabeach
Capusan Beach
A beach in Cuyo that stretches into a sandbar, forming a broad, shallow sand flat suited to kiteboarding.
Cuyo town proposed to be 'Kiteboarding Capital' of Palawan - Palawan Newsisland
Manamoc Island
An island-barangay of Cuyo in the northwestern Cuyo Islands, surrounded by coral reefs, with a lagoon in its southwest and Mt. English open for trekking.
Manamoc - Wikipediaresort
Pamalican Island
A private island in Cuyo municipality, home to the Amanpulo resort.
Amanpulo gains recognition from World Spa Awards 2020 - Palawan Newstown-site
Cuyo Lighthouse
A lighthouse near the pier, described as the first landmark of Cuyo Island visible from the sea.
Cuyo, Palawan - Wikipedia
