Underground River, Puerto Princesa, Palawan Philippines

Sabang Pier before heading to Underground River

Waiting Area at Sabang Pier before riding the "bangka," a motorized canoe to the Underground River

A boy riding on his own little boat :-)

Bangkas along the shore waiting for their turns to pick up people

A view from our bangka

Getting off the bangka

A little bit gloomy that day but still a nice view to take a photo

"Bayawak" or Iguana/ Lizard in english

People riding on a bangka heading towards the underground river cave

Another shot

People waiting in line for the bangka ride (including us)

Ready for their turn

Inside the cave, can you see the bats?

Another shot inside the cave

Ready to get out of the cave

Shot right after our bangka came out of the cave

  

Heading back to the pier

The boatman :-)

Another shot of the people on the boat/bangka

Along the pier, this was taken before going to the underground cave, still high tide- see next photo 

Taken during low tide

Underground River, Puerto Princesa, Palawan Philippines

Palawan is an island province of the Philippines and its capital is Puerto Princesa, a popular tourist city with many beaches and seafood restaurants and has been known as the cleanest and greenest city in the Philippines.

Our trip to Palawan was last July 2012 but I never had the chance to post it here.  I will try to post more pictures of our Palawan adventure whenever I get a chance.

We spent only 13 days in the Philippines so we had a hectic schedule, we arrived on July 15 and after a day of rest and chit chat with my relatives we flew right away to Palawan on the 17th and stayed there for 4 days and 3 nights.  

Puerto Princesa Underground River was chosen as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature and from then on there's a lot of people from all walks of life try to visit Palawan.

Exerpt from official website,  http://www.puerto-undergroundriver.com/ :

The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park is one of the most distinguished protected areas of the Philippines. It is located some 360 miles southwest of Manila, the country’s political and economic capital. It was established as a National Park in 1971primarily to protect and preserve the intact old growth forest, interesting wildlife, pristine white sand beaches, unspoiled natural beauty and one of the most impressive caves systems in the world.

The Park features a spectacular limestone or karst mountain landscape. It contains an 8.2 km long underground river that flows directly to the sea. The lower half of the river is brackish and subject to the oceans tide. A subterranean river flowing directly into the sea and the associated tidal influence makes it the most unique natural phenomenon of its type to exist. The presence of 11 minerals, scientifically and aesthetically unique speleothems, and a 20 million year old Serenia fossil embedded in the walls of the cave justifies the declaration of the Puerto Princesa Underground River as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature.

We had so much fun in Palawan and it's better to share our experiences with photos.  This Underground River Trip was actually our second day but I haven't organized our first day photos, so just wait for my next post.