Puerto Princesa Underground River

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As I sit here right after our final island hopping tour in El Nido, I realize that the three whole days allotted for our tour was not enough. We'll have to skip the city tour in Puerto Princesa.

Let me start at the beginning. We arrived at 5 pm in Puerto Princesa airport and was picked up by the shuttle service of Ysabelle Mansion, where we would be staying.

Ysabelle Mansion

Since it was too late to do anything else, we opted to walk along Rizal Street before having dinner at the famous Kinabuch Bar and Restaurant. We tried the crocodile sisig and found it delicious! Unfortunately, they were out of tamilok (woodworm), which was the exotic delicacy of the region. Still, we enjoyed dinner and were very excited to start the real tour the next day.

Puerto Princesa Tourist Map

Around 7:30 am, we left Ysabelle Mansion to do the Underground River Tour. We were joined by an elderly couple, balikbayans from California, who were full of energy and regaled us with stories of their travels. Our tour guide was Jake (09096641705), from Hadefe Travel and Tours. He was great, and made us laugh all the way to the port. He explained a lot of things about Palawan in general and pointed out interesting sights, and also let us stop to take pictures. He took care of us and attended to all our needs.

There were huge waves when we arrived at Sabang Port, some two hours later, but it didn't hinder us from going ahead with the tour.

So we boarded the small boat that would take us 1.5 km inside the underground river. The total length of the river was 8.2 km but for tourists, only 1.5 km is the allowable length to explore. Researchers could go as far as 4 km, but they need to secure a permit. The whole activity took about 45 minutes.

Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park

Since the Underground River (official name is Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park) was chosen as one of the 7 New Natural Wonders of the World, Jake informed us that tourism has tripled. I wonder how long it takes until Palawan becomes the commercialized center that is Boracay.

Our boat guide had names for the different rock formations found in the cave. A dinosaur's head, the Nativity, a mushroom, even Sharon Stone's butt. Lol.

Bat Cave

Jake invited us to take photos near the mouth of the cave, and also led us to see the 2 meter long monitor lizards.

We had a buffet lunch in Taraw Restaurant. Jake was thoughtful enough to ask if we wanted to try tamilok. We gave a resounding yes, given that we missed this dish in Kinabuch. In Sabang, tamilok costs Php 100 for a small bowl.

What're you staring at?

It tasted like oysters but since I don't like oysters, I didn't care for tamilok, either. My boyfriend liked it, though.

Then Jake informed us that we had to switch vans because we were going to El Nido, but the elderly couple we were with were returning to Puerto Princesa.

So we went with Fred, our new driver. We made a stopover to Ugong Rock, where we had another experience. See next post.