Cauayan is a city of over 130,000 in Isabela. It is the center of the tobacco industry in Cagayan Valley, and being in the approximate center of the province, it is also an important economic center, mostly concentrated on agriculture and industry.
The city has a population of around 130,000 in 2015.
Originally the ancestral lands of the Gaddang people, Cauayan started in what is now the barangay of Calanusian, along the Cagayan River, around 1740. Flooding along the Cagayan forced the moving of the town into its present location further inland. In 2006, it became a city under law. Most of the city's inhabitants are Ilocano, but there are still some of the indigenous Gaddang living here.
Cauayan is a relatively young city, and is largely a stopover and a commercial center. It does have hotels, an airport, and malls, but little in the way of sights.
Major bus companies serving Cauayan include Dalin Bus Lines, Victory Liner, and G.V. Florida Transport. There are also smaller individually-owned companies that have buses coming from nearby towns.
Buses not terminating at Cauayan stop at the intersection of Maharlika Hwy (Rte 1/AH26), Governor Dy Blvd (Rte 53), and Quezon St, south of SM City Cauayan.
Modern jeepney connect Cauayan with the city of Ilagan to the north, and Roxas to the northwest.
Cauayan is along Asian Highway 26 (also Rte 1, locally, the Maharlika Highway or the Cagayan Valley Road/CVR). It is (375 km away from Manila, 48 km from Santiago City and 35 km from Ilagan.
From Tuguegarao and the north, the main route is through the Santiago-Tuguegarao Rd (Rte 51) and the connecting Cabatuan Road (Rte 53, becomes Governor Dy Boulevard upon entering Cauayan City), through Roxas and Cabatuan.
Tricycles are widely available, especially within downtown and at the commercial district.
2nd-order administrative division
Primary administrative division