Apayao, officially the Province of Apayao, is a landlocked province in the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Kabugao serves as its capital. The provincial capitol and its associated offices are located at the New Government Center in Luna. It borders Cagayan to the north and east, Abra and Ilocos Norte to the west, and Kalinga to the south. Prior to 1995, Kalinga and Apayao were a single province named Kalinga-Apayao.

History

Apayao has been historically inhabited by the Isneg people, mainly in Kabugao and Calanasan. During the Spanish era, Dominican friars established missions in Pudtol (1610) and Kabugao (1684). In 1891, Spain organized the comandancias of Apayao and Cabugaoan but failed to exert full control. Under American rule, Apayao was established as a sub-province of Cagayan in 1907, and later incorporated into Mountain Province in 1908. It underwent several territorial changes before becoming a separate province after the partition of Kalinga-Apayao in 1995.