Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park

boat ride to park

docking at the entrance to the park

boardwalk that goes to the mouth of the river

mouth of the river

cave entrance

stalagmite formation

stalactites formation

joy, our hilarious poker face boatman/tour guide

boat tours to underground river

bayawak

park ranger

What comes to mind when we think of Palawan?
In the 70' and 80's, it was all about logging...
In the 90's, it was about mining...
Now, its about eco-tourism.

What is eco-tourism?
The keywords are:
responsible travel,
minimum impact on the environment,
ecological conservation,
cultural preservation....

Palawan seems to be at the forefront of this movement.
Referred to as the last frontier...
Hopefully, not...

Many things to experience in Palawan,
eating fresh seafood,
vietnamese culture,
island hopping,
white sand beaches,
cool restaurants.

For me,
the best part is the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park.
About 50 km from Puerto Princesa,
A short board ride,
A brief walk to the entrance of the cave and river.

The park has an 8.2 km navigable subterreanean river
There is an interesting 30 minute boat ride.
We were lucky to have Joy as our tour guide.
He is the poster boy of the tourism office,
You can see his picture in most tourism ads.
He is a hilarious poker faced tour guide.
He says that the cave is stinky,
because it is the bathroom of batman...

Aside from the funny tour,
there are local residents that you need to meet,
the local monitor lizard  called Bayawak,
and the shameless scavenger monkeys.

The best part really,
is seeing the many shades of blue
that the sky and sea cast upon the horizon.