House of Dakay

The House of Dakay at Ivana dates from 1887 and is the oldest Ivatan stone house still standing, one of the few in Batanes to survive the earthquake of 1918 that flattened much of the island group. It is a single-storey building of lime-and-stone walls close to a metre thick, with a cogon thatch roof lashed down against typhoons, small windows and a low door - the vernacular that developed here over centuries of storms and which is now protected, with the surrounding houses in the same idiom. It is still a private home rather than a museum: the family who own it welcome visitors at the door in exchange for a donation, and the interior is a lived-in room, not a display. That is the point of the visit, and it asks for the manners you would use entering anyone's house. Ivana also has the San José church and the old Honesty Coffee Shop, an unstaffed store where customers pay into a box.

What you actually see

• The thatched roof - cogon lashed against the wind.
• The metre-thick walls - lime and stone Ivatan construction.
• The lived-in interior - a home, not a museum room.
• The Ivana streets - neighbouring houses in the same style.

When to go

March to June for settled weather. Daytime, and preferably not at meal times - this is a household, and visits depend on the family being willing.

Honest expectations

It is a private home. There is no ticket desk, no interpretation and no guarantee of entry; a donation is expected and photographs should be asked for. The visit takes twenty minutes.

Nearby

Ivana church and the Honesty Coffee Shop are in the same town; the Tayid lighthouse and Racuh a Payaman are north.