Fort Santa Isabel

Fort Santa Isabel sits on the shore at Taytay, built by the Spanish in the eighteenth century when this was the capital of Palawan, to defend the settlement against raids from the sea. It is made of coral stone quarried locally, laid in thick walls with bastions at the corners, a chapel inside and cannon positions facing the water, and it survives more completely than any other colonial fortification in the province - restored rather than ruined, with the walls walkable and the sea directly below. Taytay itself was the provincial capital until the nineteenth century and has kept very little else from the period, so the fort carries the whole weight of that history. Most travellers pass through on the van run between Puerto Princesa and El Nido; the fort is a short walk from where those vans stop, and an hour is enough. Boats from Taytay also serve the islands of Malampaya Sound and the Icadambanauan group.

History

The fort was first built in 1667 as a wooden palisade under the Augustinian Recollect priests, and through the efforts of Governor General Fernando Manuel de Bustillo it was replaced in 1738 by a fort of coral limestone. The town and the National Historical Commission restored it from 2018, in a project led by the heritage architect Joel Rico (Wikipedia, Fort Santa Isabel).

Highlights

• The coral-stone walls - thick ramparts with corner bastions.
• The seafront position - cannon lines facing the water.
• The interior chapel - the small building inside the walls.
• The Taytay bay view - islands offshore from the ramparts.

When to go

November to May for dry weather. Late afternoon for light on the walls and the bay; the fort is fully exposed at midday.

What to expect

It is small - an hour covers it. There is minimal interpretation. The van stop is a short walk away, but few travellers build the town into an itinerary beyond the break in the journey.

Nearby

El Nido is about two hours north; Malampaya Sound and the Taytay bay islands are offshore.

Key facts