Originally our Day 4 itinerary should be going back to Puerto Princesa and spending the rest of the day on a city tour. There are a lot of beautiful places worth visiting within the city of Puerto Princesa.
But then someone suggested, instead of City Tour how about the Underground River. It's the face of Palawan, it's a UNESCO world heritage site. The New Seven Wonders of Nature. And when in Palawan if you are a first-timer - paying a visit to the Underground River is mandatory. It's like taking selfies whenever you are in a new place. Lol. It's everyone's bucket list when in Palawan.
In the end, only three people opted to push going on a City Tour, instead of Underground River.
We left El Nido at exactly 6 AM, it will be a 5-hour drive from El Nido to Sabang where the Underground River is located. By eleven, we're already at Sabang Wharf for lunch. Accommodation includes a meal and a boat ride going to the underground river.
While walk-ins customer is allowed from time to time, it is best to book accommodation prior to your visit. There are lots of permits to settle, like environmental fees, parking fees and etc. And they are strict, everyone needs to present an ID.
The price per head is P2500 but you can sweet-talk your agent to make it P2000 which is what happened in our case.
At 8km in length, Sabang's famous underground river is one of the longest navigable river-traversed caves in the world and draws scores of tourists. Trips aboard unmotorised paddle boats proceed about 1.5km upstream into the cave (45 minutes return) and now include audioguide headsets.
Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, also known as Puerto Princesa Underground River, is located around 76 km northwest of Puerto Princesa in the Saint Paul Mountain Range. Named a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it houses a “mountain to sea” ecosystem with some of the most significant and intact old-growth forests in Asia, featuring the spectacular limestone karst landscape and the globally significant habitat for biodiversity conservation and threatened species of wildlife.
There are eight intact forest formations found in Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park: the beach forest, forest on ultramafic soil, forest on limestone soil, freshwater swamp forest, lowland evergreen tropical rainforest, mangrove forest, montane forest, and riverine forest. The Palawan Moist Forest, recognized by the WWF's Global Report, is outstanding biodiversity containing the richest tree flora with high levels of regional and local endemism. A day tour of this breathtaking location will take you through what is now named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.
A guided paddle boat will take you across the spectacular cave system of the underground river to see the pristine natural beauty of rock formations. From stalagmites and stalactites shaped like vegetables, dinosaurs, Jesus, and more, to the thousands of swallows and bats that swoop about the tunnels, you're sure to be in awe of these natural resources throughout the trip.
A trip to the underground river is the highlight of my Palawan trip. Another one for the book moment.
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