Palawan 2016: Underground River Tour

After the Mangrove Paddle Boat Tour, it's time to visit Palawan's most famous tourist site, the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, also know as the "Underground River". It is one of the places i've been excited to visit because it is the country's pride for being recognized as one of the New 7 Wonders of the Natural World last November 11, 2011 (11.11.11).



Our tour guide got a reservation number before we went to the mangrove tour. We arrived at the port where we will be transported by a pump boat which can carry up to 10 persons. From the port, we travelled to the sea and got to see the beautiful mountains from afar. After 10-15 minutes ride, we arrived at the shore nearest to the underground rive and took some photos with the huge karstic limestone near the beach.


Sabang port with the St. Pauls mountain at the background.


These boats line up to load and unload their assigned group of tourists.


On our way to the underground river.

The limestone karst landscape at Sabang, which is where the world-famous underground river is located. The area represents a habitat for biodiversity conservation. The site contains a full mountain-to-the-sea ecosystem and has some of the most important forests in Asia. #travelPh #AsiaTravel #Palawan #mountain #nature #tourism #adventure #VisitPhAgain2016 #wanderlust

A photo posted by Ced Zabala 👑 (@cedzabala) on Jul 10, 2016 at 4:14pm PDT

Jump shot!


I like how their signages are made.


Marker of the New 7 Wonders of Nature.


Amazing infos about the underground river.


Almost there. But first, our tour guide, Mich, explains about the wildlife that can be found in the area. We saw a bayawak (monitor lizard) and a monkey.

✔1 out of 7 Wonders of the Natural World visited. What a spiritual tour at the Sub-terranean river of Puerto Princesa, Palawan. I wish we could go farther deep coz those formations are just amazing! #travelph #Palawan #VisitPhAgain2016 #7wonders #unescoworldheritage #bucketlist #adventure #tourism #wanderlust

A photo posted by Ced Zabala 👑 (@cedzabala) on Jul 8, 2016 at 11:25pm PDT

The magnificent doorway to the cave..


To avoid noise inside the cave, we were asked to wear these headset in which we can hear beautiful voices narrating stories and giving information and instructions which corresponds to the area where we're at. It felt like I was inside Discover Channel.


It's getting darker..


Amazing limestone formations which are created for thousands of years. A flashlight held by our bangkero guides the light so we can see what the narrator is talking about.

When you try to goPro in darkness 😂#GoProNoob #GoProLand #travelPh #Palawan #UndergroundRiver #7wonders #VisitPhAgain2016 #tourism #wanderlust

A photo posted by Ced Zabala 👑 (@cedzabala) on Jul 9, 2016 at 4:25pm PDT

Epic Fail! I set the GoPro to night mode and got these photos instead.hahaha


Pretty cool though! This is the St. Paul's Cathedral gallery. This photo looks like a surreal abstract painting.


I swear it looks better in reality. This portion has rock formations that look like religious icons.


There's water dripping from the ceiling!


I'm on fire!

The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park is located in the Saint Paul Mountain Range on the western coast of the island. It is bordered by St. Paul Bay to the north and the Babuyan River to the east. The City Government of Puerto Princesa has managed the National Park since 1992. The entrance to the subterranean river is a short hike or boat ride from the town Sabang. (Ref:wiki)

A photo posted by Ced Zabala 👑 (@cedzabala) on Jul 8, 2016 at 11:32pm PDT

Done! It was an awesome tour!


Going back to the port. I'm so ready to eat!

The limestone karst landscape at Sabang, which is where the world-famous underground river is located. The area represents a habitat for biodiversity conservation. The site contains a full mountain-to-the-sea ecosystem and has some of the most important forests in Asia. #travelPh #AsiaTravel #Palawan #mountain #nature #tourism #adventure #VisitPhAgain2016 #wanderlust

A photo posted by Ced Zabala 👑 (@cedzabala) on Jul 10, 2016 at 4:14pm PDT

The Underground River tour was truly worth the wait. It's a gem of nature and God's gift to us. It's truly our country's pride, being listed as one of the new 7 wonders of nature. Check out my other tours in this series: El Nido, Mangrove Paddle Boat Tour and and Honda Bay Tour.