Puerto Princesa Underground River, Palawan

Last March, I had a school trip in Palawan, which is in the southwest of Metro Manila and  approximately one hour flight by air. It was not cloudy and fine weather on that day so I had a great view of Palawan and its islets from above.

The islands of Palawan

Palawan is an island province and considered as the "last frontier" in the Philippines. Rich in rainforest, world class beaches, variety of flora and fauna, unique marine life and amazing mountain landscape which attracts many tourists around the world. According to our tour guide, Palawan is the safest haven in the Philippines because the island is not prone to earthquakes and very few typhoons cross due to its low altitude. Furthermore, Palawan has a low population density and low crime rate.

One of the top destination in Palawan is the Puerto Princesa Underground River. Known also as Puerto  Princesa Subterrenean River National Park, is a long mountain landscape with 8.2 km long subterranean river which emerges directly into South China Sea. Located in St. Paul Mountain Range, 50 km north west of Puerto Princesa. The underground river (Cabayugan River) is one of the longest navigable tunnels in the world and reputed as the world's longest underground river before the discovery of Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico in 2007.

PPUR was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999 because of the area's significant habitat for biodiversity conservation. It also includes the stunning mineral formation of gigantic stalactites and stalagmites. This year, it was official declared as one of the new seven wonders of nature by the New7Wonders site.

My friends and I at the beach of Puerto Princesa Underground River.

When I first step on the beach to PPUR, all I could say was WOW! It was like I was in the paradise. I love everything, the mountains, the sea, the scenery. Truly one of the wonders of nature and thank God for this wonderful creation!

Entrance of the Underground River

As the place gets more popular, it surely increase the visitors in the underground river. Each day, they only allowed 700 visitors to accommodate. So if you plan to visit also, better plan it ahead by a month before. Because there are lots of tourist on that day, we had to wait for one hour before entering the cave. It was not a problem with us because we had a chance to take more pictures around the area.

Before boarding on the paddle boat, a person is required to wear a life vest and helmet for safety measures. It was chilling dark inside the cave and even the water is so cold and freshy. Thousands of different species of bats and birds lives in this cave. Taking photo with digital cameras is really difficult especially it is really extremely dark and the only source of light is from a flashlight. So, I recommend that you should bring an extra one so you can have your better view of the cave.

Some people doesn't find the tour guide or the one who paddles the boat interesting. He will give you information about the underground river and makes you use your imagination with the formation of the stalactites and stalagmites like there is a giant mushroom, sharon stone, etc. Well they think of it as a crappy joke.

The tour took 45 minutes although we only reach 1.5km of the cave  I had a lot of fun. It was an amazing adventure that I will never forget.

Please visit the Puerto Princesa Underground River too. For more infos, check out the official page http://www.puerto-undergroundriver.com/  Thank you so much.

blogging with a smile,

lalalove, xiaree.