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Philippines PhilippinesSulu ArchipelagoIsland

Basilan

1,223 km² of land in the Celebes Sea.

When to go

Basilan seen from space, cut out from the sea (Sentinel-2)
City of IsabelaMalusoAl-BarkaTuburanLamitan CitySanta ClaraSumisip
N 10 km

Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.

In numbers

1,223km²

Area

275km

Coastline

377m

Highest point

259,796

People

29°C

Warmest sea

May

1,495km

To the mainland

When to go to Basilan

Best for the beach from January to May.

The sea is warmest in May (29 °C) and coolest in February (28 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).

Sea temperature (the water level) Air: night low to afternoon high Wet days Best months

Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.

Island in the Philippines and mainland of the province of Basilan

Basilan is an island in Philippines. It belongs to Sulu Archipelago. It covers 1,223 km², with 275 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 377 m. About 259,796 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 1,495 km away.

Read more on Wikipedia

Getting there

  • Zamboanga International Airport (ZAM)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 40 km in a straight lineCar hire at GES airport (General Santos)Discover Cars · Affiliate link
  • FerriesIsabela - Zamboanga, Isabela - Malamawi, Isabela - Hadji Muhtamad
  • 1,495 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
  • From January to Maybest months to go (from 30 years of averages)

Plan the trip

Ferries, stays and things to do

Car hire at GES airport (General Santos)Discover CarsSee 

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

On the island

What you find on Basilan.

  • 1beaches
  • 1lighthousesKulay bato Lighthouse
  • 6ferry terminalsIsabela and 5 more
  • 6named peaksAbong-abong Peak, Mount Mohaji, Mount Matanal and 3 more
  • 3volcanoesBasilan Peak, Mount Sinangcapan, Pangasahan Hill
  • 4waterfallsSanta Clara Waterfalls, Cabunbata Falls, Bulingan Falls and 1 more
  • 4hotels, guesthouses and apartments
  • 5restaurants, cafés and bars

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.

Cross-checked with our atlases

Basilan in our other atlases

Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Basilan, each with its own numbers.

  • 1beachCoastya
  • 11mountainsPeakyas

  • Highest point

    533m

    Abongabong Peak

    according to Peakyas

  • Beach with the warmest sea

    29.1°C

    Bucbuc Cove

    sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya

1 beaches

on Coastya, the beach atlas

  1. Bucbuc Covecove29.1°C

Open Coastya ↗

11 mountains

on Peakyas, the mountain atlas

  1. Abongabong Peak533m
  2. Pangasahan Hill
  3. Mount Mohaji
  4. Buajan Hill
  5. Mount Sining Capan
  6. Mount Mayucas
  7. Mount Matanal
  8. Basilan Peak

3 more on PeakyasOpen Peakyas ↗

The shape of the land.

On average the island stands 212 m above the sea. 56 % of it is below 200 m.

  • 22 %0–50 m
  • 35 %50–200 m
  • 34 %200–500 m
  • 10 %500–1,000 m

Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).

Size, for real

Next to islands you may know.

Basilan1,223 km²
Tenerife2,038 km²
Long Island3,529 km²

50 km

All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).

Towns on the island

  • City of Isabela67,336 people
  • Maluso31,374 people
  • Al-Barka23,736 people
  • Tuburan8,204 people
  • Lamitan City6,114 people
  • Santa Clara4,306 people
  • Sumisip3,735 people
  • Semut3,423 people
  • Tipo-Tipo2,981 people
  • Tairan Camp2,766 people
  • Colonia2,587 people
  • Guiong2,477 people

Month by month

The weather on the island.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Afternoon high (°C)282829292928282828282828
Night low (°C)262627272827272727272727
Sea (°C)282828292929292929292929
Rain (mm)109778389131167184155168193130113
Wet days191516182427272625262523
Sun h/day6.77.37.67.97.16.26.16.66.36.36.86.8
Wind (km/h)1514118912131512111112

Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.

Recent years

Warmer and cooler years at sea.

Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2020+0.7+0.4+0.7+0.5+0.5+0.6+1.0+0.9+0.9+0.8+0.7+0.9
2021+1.0+0.8+1.1+0.5+0.5+0.5+0.5+1.0+0.6+0.9+0.7+0.5
2022+0.2+0.6+0.7+0.3+0.2+0.3+0.5+0.6+0.5+0.3+0.6+0.5
2023+0.2+0.4+0.4+0.5+0.4−0.1−0.1+0.5+0.1+0.4+0.6+0.5
2024+0.7+0.5+0.5+0.5+0.6+0.5+0.3+0.4+0.3+0.2+0.6+0.7
2025+0.7+0.7+0.8+0.5+0.4±0.0+0.2+0.3+0.1+0.3−0.1+0.4

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Photos

Seen by visitors.

View of Basilan Island (Isabela & Lamitan) from Ship, Mar 2026 (2)
Ralff Nestor Nacor · CC BY-SA 4.0
Basilan Island viewed from Zamboanga City
Aldous Mariano Cariño · CC BY-SA 4.0
Basilan Peak
Aldous Mariano Cariño · CC BY-SA 4.0
View of Basilan Island (Isabel & Lamitan) from Basilan Strait, Mar 2026
Ralff Nestor Nacor · CC BY-SA 4.0

Nearby

More islands nearby.

JoloPhilippinesPhilippines810 km²811 m120 km awayLugus IslandPhilippinesPhilippines37 km²68 m166 km awayTawi-Tawi IslandPhilippinesPhilippines568 km²549 m273 km awayMindanaoPhilippinesPhilippines97,530 km²2,954 m342 km awaySibutu IslandPhilippinesPhilippines105 km²23 m345 km awayNegrosPhilippinesPhilippines13,075 km²2,460 m396 km awaySitangkai IslandPhilippinesPhilippines0.08 km²1 m362 km awayPanglao IslandPhilippinesPhilippines90 km²190 m389 km away

About these numbers

Names, area, populationWikidata (Q810053) · CC0
Outline© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
Sea temperatureNOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020
ClimateNASA POWER · 1991–2020
Relief, 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
TownsGeoNames · CC BY 4.0
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfallsCoastya, Peakyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit
lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit
mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit
waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit
islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.You are here
riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit