Places worth the journey

• 01Cotabato CityThe seat of the Bangsamoro government, and the easiest door into the region.15 places to seeGetting thereManila → Awang (Cotabato)By air, about 1h 45mBest timeComfortable year-round; the city is outside the typhoon belt.
• 02Tawi-TawiThe southernmost province in the country — sandbars, stilt towns, and the oldest mosque in the Philippines.21 places to seeGetting thereZamboanga → Bongao (Sanga-Sanga)By air, about 1 hourBest timeMarch to early June is the calmest sea and the best window for the outer islands.
• 03Lanao del SurLake Lanao, the Maranao highlands, and a city being rebuilt.27 places to seeGetting thereManila or Cebu → Laguindingan (CGY)By air, about 1h 30m from ManilaBest timeDry and clear roughly December to April, which is also when the highland nights are coldest — bring something warm, which surprises people.
• 04Maguindanao del NorteThe coast, the highland of Upi, and the road to everywhere else.13 places to seeGetting thereManila → Awang (Cotabato)By air, about 1h 45mBest timeYear-round, with the driest stretch from December to April.
• 05Maguindanao del SurThe pink mosque, the great marsh, and the agricultural heart of the region.17 places to seeGetting thereCotabato City → Datu Saudi-AmpatuanBy road, 2 to 3 hoursBest timeDecember to April is drier and the roads are better for it.
• 06BasilanRubber, Yakan weaving, and the island the advisories are written about.14 places to seeGetting thereZamboanga → BasilanBy sea, 1 to 2 hoursBest timeDrier from March to May, and June for the festival.
• 07Special Geographic AreaEight municipalities constituted in 2024, with nothing yet built for visitors.1 place to seeGetting thereBy road from Cotabato City or from Midsayap and Pikit in North Cotabato.Best timeDrier from December to April; marsh-edge roads are poor after sustained rain.

This guide is written, not an official record: places, food and practicalities described from general knowledge of the region and checked against its sources, with no invented prices, ratings or hours. Several foreign governments advise against travel to parts or all of the Bangsamoro; each place says what applies to it. Check locally before you go. Photographs are free-licence files from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each picture.