Dalton Pass

The idea for establishing a road along the pass originated with Father Juan Villaverde, a Spanish Dominican missionary priest who worked in Nueva Vizcaya and Ifugao during the late 19th century.

[2] The Japanese strategy during the Battle of Luzon was to fight a delaying retreat from Baguio to Bayombong, and then to a final defensive position in Kiangan, Ifugao.

A similar defensive battle was fought at Salacsac Pass, along the Villa Verde Trail joining San Nicolas, Pangasinan and Santa Fe.

[6] During the 1990 Luzon earthquake, the pass, which ran along the Digdig Fault that was the source of the rupture,[7] was closed due to 25 major landslides.

The earthquake displaced two million cubic meters of debris[8] and loosed the area's soil, resulting in more landslides and road closures during heavy rains.

[9] Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo announced on March 26, 2024 that the Department of Public Works and Highways obtained a JPY100 (P37 billion) loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the 23-kilometer four-lane Dalton Pass East Alignment Road Project.

The National Shrine of the Battle of Balete Pass and other monuments and memorials erected by the Chinese and the Japanese honor the war losses.

[5] The shrine is at the highest point at the "Dalton Pass Viewpoint with Shed" provincial project, which offers long vistas of the mountains and forests.

The Dalton Pass area is home to the only critically endangered orchid of Nueva Ecija, Ceratocentron fesselii, which is endemic to the province.