Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
7,368km²
Area
617km
Coastline
measured on a simplified outline
1,349m
Highest point
Cabalian Volcano
2,388,518
People
30°C
Warmest sea
June
1,519km
To the mainland
When to go to Leyte
Best for the beach from January to May.
The sea is warmest in June (30 °C) and coolest in February (27 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
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
Leyte is an island in Philippines. It covers 7,368 km², with 617 km of coastline. Its highest point, Cabalian Volcano, rises to 1,349 m. About 2,388,518 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 1,519 km away.
Getting there
- Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport (TAC)airport on the island, with scheduled flightsCar hire at CEB airport (Cebu City/Lapu-Lapu City)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesCebu - Ormoc (Super Shuttle Ferry), Cebu - Ormoc (Roble Shipping), Maya - San Isidro, Padre Burgos - Triana
- 1,519 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
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 Leyte.
- 38beachesSabang Cabatuan, Sabang Cabutan, Cat-iwing Beach and 35 more
- 25viewpointsSulfur Springs, Lake Danao Viewdeck, Fatima Hill and 22 more
- 15lighthousesOrmoc Lighthouse, Malitbog Lighthouse, Carigara Lighthouse and 12 more
- 18ferry terminalsOrmoc, Tacloban Pumboat Ferry Terminal, Port of Tacloban City and 15 more
- 77named peaksMount Aminduen, Mount Tabaan, Mount Tinagan and 74 more
- 11volcanoesJanagdan, Proto-labi, Mount Lobi and 8 more
- 24waterfallsSeven Falls, Uban Falls, Hindag-an Falls and 21 more
- 6ruins and archaeological sitesHouse of Congressman Dominador M. Tan, Fiel family ancestral home, Japanese Bunker and 3 more
- 3dive centresPeter's Dive Resort, Leyte Dive Resort, Southern Leyte Divers
- 1waymarked walking routesUban Falls Hike
- 15campsitesSinapdan Beach Site, 7/17, BOUNDARY KAHUPIAN - ABUYOG and 12 more
- 238hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 475restaurants, 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
Leyte in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Leyte, each with its own numbers.
5beaches and covesCoastya
112mountainsPeakyas
1lakeLakeyas
Highest point
1,150m
Mount Pangasugan
according to Peakyas
Largest lake
1.2km²
Lake Bito
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
31.1°C
Lake Bito
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
30.2°C
Sogod Cove
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
5 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Hinundayan Covecove29.3°C
- Sogod Covecove30.2°C
- Manabo Covecove30.1°C
- Bonbongon Covecove30.1°C
- Toledo Covecove30.1°C
112 mountains
on Peakyas, the mountain atlas
- Mount Pangasugan1,150m
- Cabalian Volcanoprominence 945 m945m
- Cancajanag900m
- Mahagnao Volcano860m
- Mount Abunug
- Mount Capinajan
- Prominent Hill
- Mount Tinagan
104 more on PeakyasOpen Peakyas ↗
1 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Lake Bito1.2km²
Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 195 m above the sea. 64 % of it is below 200 m.
- 34 %0–50 m
- 31 %50–200 m
- 25 %200–500 m
- 10 %500–1,000 m
- <1 %1,000–2,000 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.
100 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Tacloban259,353 people
- Ormoc238,545 people
- Panalanoy189,090 people
- Burauen54,635 people
- Baybay17,668 people
- Palo17,534 people
- Carigara17,495 people
- Tanauan16,567 people
- Abuyog15,632 people
- Dulag10,151 people
- Bato9,952 people
- Capoocan8,473 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 27 | 28 | 28 | 30 | 30 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 28 |
| Night low (°C) | 24 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| Sea (°C) | 27 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 |
| Rain (mm) | 428 | 286 | 226 | 132 | 158 | 223 | 228 | 169 | 200 | 254 | 314 | 447 |
| Wet days | 26 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 20 | 24 | 25 | 21 | 23 | 27 | 27 | 28 |
| Sun h/day | 4.1 | 5.5 | 6.7 | 7.7 | 7.6 | 6.5 | 5.7 | 5.9 | 5.7 | 5.8 | 5.2 | 4.6 |
| Wind (km/h) | 19 | 18 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 17 |
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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.8 | +0.4 | +0.8 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.9 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +1.0 |
| 2021 | +0.9 | +1.3 | +1.1 | +0.1 | +0.1 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.3 |
| 2022 | +0.2 | +0.6 | +0.7 | +0.1 | −0.2 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +0.4 | +0.8 | +0.8 |
| 2023 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +0.6 |
| 2024 | +1.0 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +1.0 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.7 |
| 2025 | +0.9 | +1.0 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.7 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Biliran
Philippines500 km²1,301 m90 km away
Dinagat IslandPhilippines761 km²96 m109 km away
BoholPhilippines3,821 km²191 m134 km away
Samar IslandPhilippines13,429 km²850 m141 km away
MactanPhilippines59 km²6 m116 km away
LimasawaPhilippines6.8 km²136 m98 km away
CebuPhilippines4,454 km²999 m142 km away
Maripipi IslandPhilippines29 km²663 m126 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q211377) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | Natural Earth · public domain |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
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.
beaches
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Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit 
waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.You are here
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit