Pagudpud was formerly Barangay Tongotong, a part of the neighboring municipality of Bangui in the years before World War II.
According to a folk tale, the name Pagudpud came from a merchant traveling from Batangas, who had asked if he could rest in one of the houses in the barangay. The merchant, who could not speak nor understand a single word of Ilocano, would only say “Ako'y pagud na pagod at ang sapatos ko'y pudpod” (I am very tired and my shoes are worn out) when asked by the villagers about his purpose. Despite not being able understand Tagalog, the villagers adopted the phrase.
A few months later, a Tagalog-speaking Bicolano man, who was looking for a certain logging company in the province, stopped in the barangay to ask for its name. Since the villagers did not understand his question, they simply replied with the only Tagalog phrase that they knew: “Ako'y pagud na pagod at ang sapatos ko'y pudpod,” which the Bicolano interpreted as a barangay named Pagudpod. The name eventually became Pagudpud.
Other folk tales claim that Pagudpud is actually an old Ilocano word, meaning “soft sandy soil,” or the name of a variety of green grass which grew near the coast.
The windmills are considered as Southeast Asia’s biggest wind turbines.They are located in Ilocos Norte are 20 beautiful windmills or wind turbines which resemble giant electric fans. Each wind turbine has the capacity to generate electricity up to a maximum of 1.65 Megawatts for a total of 24.75 Megawatts. The 20 turbines are lined up along an arc manner following the shoreline of Bangui Bay facing the West Philippine Sea at the northwest tip of Luzon island.
The windmills or wind farm is part of the Ilocos Norte wind power project which erected the turbines in a single row, 326 meters apart. The turbine hub height from ground level to center of nacelle reaches 70 meters high. Each blade is 41 meters long with a rotor diameter of 82 meters and wind swept area of 5281 square meters.40 % of the generated electricity is sold and used by the residents in the area.
Everyone is welcome to see and go near the windmills so as to closely appreciate the beauty of the wind turbines and the Pagudpud.
The fascinating windmills are considered the biggest wind turbines in Southeast Asia. We, Filipinos are proud for having a fascinating site while utilizing renewable energy resources to reduce greenhouse effect that causes global warming.
The Bangui Windmills can be reached from the city of Laoag, Ilocos Norte by taking the Laoag-Cagayan route. A directional marker provided at the left side of the road about 5 minutes from Burgos town proper will guide you to Bangui Bay. This leads to a gravel road with a downward slope leading to the beach. You will be amazed by the sight of the windmills right after the initial turn.
Pagudpud's most popular beach, it was named one of Asia's top beaches by John Borthwick of the Australian Sunday Herald Sun in 2007. Until today, the beach's entire two-kilometer stretch of white sand is uncrowded and still pristine, a stark contrast to the beaches of Boracay. This is because most beachfront resorts in the area are run as family businesses and not by commercial developers.
Another white sand beach can be found at Maira-ira Point in Sitio Malingay, considered the northernmost tip of the whole island of Luzon. Also called Blue Lagoon or simply Maira-ira Beach, it is even said to be better than Saud Beach because of its blue waters.
An alternative to the white beaches is Pagudpud's 80-foot Kabigan Falls. Accessible via a 30-minute, 1.8-kilometer hike from the national highway through a forest trail, the falls drop into a natural pool suitable for swimming.
