It is located in the northwest corner of Luzon Island, bordering Cagayan and Apayao to the east, and Abra to the southeast, and Ilocos Sur to the southwest.

[4][5] This includes numerous examples of well-preserved Spanish colonial era architecture, particularly Saint William's Cathedral in Laoag with its sinking bell tower done in the Earthquake Baroque style,[6] the St. Augustine Church in Paoay which is one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites in the Philippines,[7] and the Cape Bojeador Lighthouse.

Famous geographical features include the La Paz Sand Dunes, the beaches of Pagudpud, and the eroded calcarenite Kapurpurawan rock formation in Burgos.

The Austronesian inhabitants of the region called their place samtoy, from sao mi toy, which literally meant "our language".

Vast tracts of land were utilized for churches and bell towers in line with the Spanish mission of bajo las campanas.

In 1807 the sugar cane (basi) brewers of Piddig rose up in arms to protest the government's monopoly of the wine industry.

In 1898, the church excommunicated Gregorio Aglipay for refusing to cut off ties with the revolutionary forces of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo.

After the fall of Corregidor and the subsequent occupation of the Philippines by the Empire of Japan, a number of small guerrilla groups formed in the area of Ilocos Norte, some of which resorted to banditry.

[16][17] The following year, La Union Congressman Manuel T. Cases filed a bill to "limit the importation of foreign leaf tobacco," which was eventually signed by President Elpidio Quirino as Republic Act 698.

[17][19] Ilocos Norte gained additional prominence in December 1965 when Ferdinand Marcos became president, and again when he won a second term in 1969, boosted by debt-driven infrastructure spending that created economic crises and massive social unrest at the beginning of the 1970s.

[30] One of the prominent victims of the Martial Law era who came from Laoag was Catholic layperson and social worker Purificacion Pedro, who volunteered in organizations protesting the Chico River Dam Project in the nearby Cordillera Central mountains.

[31] Wounded while visiting activist friends in Bataan, she was later killed by Marcos administration soldiers while recuperating in the hospital.

[32][33] Another prominent opponent of the martial law regime was human rights advocate and Bombo Radyo Laoag program host David Bueno, who worked with the Free Legal Assistance Group in Ilocos Norte during the later part of the Marcos administration and the early part of the succeeding Aquino administration.

[34] Both Bueno and Pedro were later honored among the first 65 people to have their names inscribed on the Wall of Remembrance of the Philippines' Bantayog ng mga Bayani, which honors the martyrs and heroes who fought the dictatorship,[35] and Pedro was listed among Filipino Catholics nominated to be named Servant of God.

Ilocos Norte was among the provinces affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines, reporting its first three cases of COVID-19 on March 31, 2020, including a male patient each from Batac and Paoay, and former senator Bongbong Marcos, who had arrived from travel to Spain.

[37][38] Ilocos Norte experienced surges in cases in 2021,[39] with the spike reported in August 2021 being attributed to the Delta variant of the virus.

Poverty Incidence of Ilocos Norte Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55] The province specializes in the following products and industries: In 2005, NorthWind Power Development Corp. began commercial operation of the Bangui Wind Farm in the Municipality of Bangui, having initiated and developed the project in response to a 1996 study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) which identified Bangui as one of the viable sites for wind energy sites in the Philippines.

[56] Connected to the Luzon Grid, the project was the first wind farm in Southeast Asia,[57] supplying 40% of Ilocos Norte's electricity needs,[58] and becoming a major tourist site for Bangui.

[60] Ilocos Norte has given birth to numerous artists that have received national acclaim - perhaps the most notable being Philippine Revolution era activist and leader Juan Luna, who was born in Badoc.

[65] Ilocos Norte is a center of the inabel weaving tradition, whose cloths are well known for being soft but sturdy, with a wide range of pattern designs drawn from Ilocano culture and experience[66][67] Filipino culinary historian Doreen Fernandez notes that bitterness as a flavor principle is a uniquely prominent in Ilocano cuisine, quoting fellow food critic Edilberto Alegre saying the bitter "Ilocos Norte mystique" is best represented in papaitan, a meat variant of kilawin characterized by its bitter flavors.

– discuss] Also of note are the La Paz Sand Dunes, Malacañang of the North, Cape Bojeador Lighthouse, Bangui Wind Farm, Saud Beach in Pagudpud and the Early Pliocene calcarenite Kapurpurawan Burgos Formation which was sculpted by wind and waves.