Underground River

One of best places to visit in Palawan is the Underground River or the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park. Tour cost is about Php 1,500/pax and includes the van and boat transfers, entrance fee, buffet lunch, towels, life vests, helmets, and of course the tour inside the cave. It is controlled and managed by Palawan's local government and everyone is very aware of the eco-tourism advocacy of the city.

It takes about 2.5 hours of land travel from puerto princesa city to Sabang, beach. You will have a free "palawan version massage" as about 30% of the road is rough. The local government is continuously paving the road to make it more easier for guests though. Also, you will pass by the narrowest road of Palawan to get to the river - The Bahile road. It is considered as the waistline of Palawan.

Though the road is quite a challenge, the underground river earns an average of Php 5M per year so it definitely shows that the unpaved road is never a hindrance to sell the scenic experience. It actually is not much to complain because your attention will be captured by the mountain ranges and limestone karsts cliffs. You'll find mountains shaped like mc Donald's and sleeping elephants. :) You will also pass by the Viet Village where quite a number Vietnamese has resided after escaping their land because of communism. You can have lunch in one of their authentic restaurant.

You will also have to take a 20 minutes boat ride at Sabang river and about 50 meters walk at the monkey trail where local monkeys will greet you if not grab your food. Monitor lizards are also permanent residents in the area.

The underground river is one of the world's heritage as declared by UNESCO in December 1999 so since then writing/carving on the cave stones is prohibited. You will see 1936 remarks on the caves -those who have visited the cave before it was declared by UNESCO. It is located inside St. Paul's mountain range on the northern part of the island. And it is the world's longest navigable underground river though a special permit is needed to navigate its whole 8.2km length. (Some says it's the second though.) For domestic and foreign tourists, the 1.5km river is enough. A local boatman who is very well familiar with the river also acts as the tourist guide. Inside the caves are different stalagmites and stalactites which takes forms of birds, dinosaurs, vegetables and church images. Your imagination is your only limitation. Imagine, we were able to see a male mushroom inside the cave! The cave also serves as home for the local bats of about 500,000 estimated population.

A distinguishing feature of the river is that it winds through a cave before flowing directly into the South China Sea making the lower portion of the river subject to tidal influences. The salt and brackish water meet at the end of the river.

It is a different experience.

Trivia: The cave also turns to a time warp because everybody exchanges "Good evenings" at 0800H.