I was up and ready by 7:30am. I waited for the tour van to come pick me up for today’s tour of the longest underground river in the world, the Sabang Subterranean River (which on November 11 this year, became one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature — based on public votes).
I was the first to be picked up. I was also given a bottle of iced tea and a Palawan souvenir pouch. I don't know if it was because I was the first to be picked up, but I didn't see other passengers get itOne of the members in our tour van had to be picked up from the Microtel Beach HotelWhich gave me the chance to check out the mangrove beach on this side of Puerto PrincesaIt was a bit of a wait, so we all went inMicrotel is one among the few posher accommodation options in Puerto PrincesaThe beach isn't great, but it's all you get near Puerto Princesa citytownWe headed back to our vanThe lobby of the Microtel hotel (Above photos were all taken using my phone)Once everyone was picked up from their respective hotels, we were on our waySince I was sitting at the back, I tried my best to take photos from behind the tinted glassThe hills of Palawan look lovely
To our right was Honda Bay
The smooth roads eventually gave way to bumpy ones
The van stopped at a viewpoint on the way for a break.
Yes mayor, I'm sure you did this with your own salary. Psssh.The locals sell food and other small items here -- and there's a toilet, thus the stopThe South China Sea
We got back in our van
The guide pointed to that big hillThe underground river is beneath that!After one and half hours of driving, we were by the seaAhh, finally! What I came to Palawan for. No, not the boats... crystal clear water!
Sabang beachIt was time for my group to begin our tour
I like these boats, they feel safeThe bamboo poles on either side prevents the boat from flipping over (well, in theory at least)Even though I've seen similar sights in Malaysia and Thailand, I never tire of these limestone rock formations amidst blue waters
We arrived at the Puerto Princesa National Park
Since our tour cost ₱1500 ($34/€25), all our charges were coveredLots of monkeys here too
I walked towards the underground riverThis place is a UNESCO World Heritage Site
The cave... beautiful, isn't it? We had to wait for our turn, as they only allow one boat in at a timeLook at the colour of that water!Yes, finally, a photo of me
When it came time for us to go in, the guide asked which one of us would volunteer to hold the light. When researching, I read that the person who has to hold the light gets to sit in the front, so I ‘volunteered’. Now, I needed to sit in the front if I wanted to take good photographs inside, because as it is, it was going to be dark. On top of that, I didn’t want somebody obstructing my view. Also, holding the light gave my camera a light beam to focus on — and I could only shoot with auto-focus on given my hands were now occupied with two tasks.
So I sat, adjusted my tripod’s height and set the camera’s settings. I was going to hold the light with my left hand and press the camera shutter with my right hand.
Helmets and life-jackets on, we followed suitHere we go! I knew it was going to be tough to shoot inside while moving and shooting in manual mode that too. I didn't want to use flash since I assumed it wouldn't be good for the eyes of the cave's creatures.But other tourists inside the cave were shooting with the flash on and the guides didn't say anything. So I switched my camera to Auto mode and continued shooting.
It was cool inside the caveOther boats were making their way back
Kinda looks like car in the distance doesn't it?
Besides the sounds of the cave dwelling fauna, the only echoes one could hear were the cheers of the tourists
The guide would point to many limestone formations that were moulded over hundreds of years into shapes resembling many things. Like these 'dinosaurs'.Scientists visit the underground river quite often
The 'candle' rockSpot the horse There are a lot of birds flying about insideThis is the only 'land mass' we came acrossThis was something resembling a 'religious' event, but I can't recall what the guide told us
There were many more object-shaped rock formations
We had reached the end point for tourists. Even though the underground river is the 8.2 km (5 miles) long, only a kilometre is allowed to tourists. To go beyond that, you need a special permit.The boat turned aroundBecause I was holding the torch lamp, these big bugs were all over me. I had no idea what they were, but they made my position all the more uncomfortable.This was a 'face' rock
Swallow birds, lots of them inside
Past the candle rock again
I don't remember if I took this shot because the guide told us it resembled Jesus' face
Yes, the boat went in between these rocks
After nearly half an hour inside the cave......"light at the end of the tunnel"
Here we go...
Ahhhh....
The boat dropped us back to the banks where I collected my bag from the counter. Going inside the subterranean river is my second cave experience on this trip, the first being back in Sagada last week. I truly enjoyed this though! The above photos were just a few of the 140 shots I totally took from inside. 30 minutes went by really quickly and you don’t even realize it took that long until you look at your watch. I wondered what the remaining 7 kilometres must be like.
Walked back towards the boats
Our tour group gathered and headed back to our boat
Everytime I see islands like this, I'm reminded of LOST (man, I miss that TV show!)
Yes, our boat would go through these rocks as wellDon't know if the boat drivers do it as a challenge
I was looking forward to spending some time at the beach and in the waterWe walked back to the shore, where a buffet lunch was prepared for us
I thought of hitting the water before lunch but...... I don't know why it was so
I still went into the water, knee deep.
Panorama comprised of 7 shots
I then decided to check out the accommodation available on Sabang beach in case my readers were looking for information on where to stay on Sabang beach.
There weren't many beach front 'hotels' as suchGot a card from here. Some info: 09196011227/09215492156; e-mail: rebecca_nuevo@yahoo.comPh: 0910-978-4539/0926-701-9246; e-mail: rlenez80@yahoo.com (as mentioned on their card)
The lady at Green Verde curiously asked me where I was from, among a few other questions. I asked her if it was easy to get from Sabang to El Nido and she told the only way it’s ‘easy’ is when there is a group big enough to fit a private van that can be booked in advance. That’s it. Otherwise, its back to the junction at the main highway and wait for a bus to El Nido.
Considering how much time I spent yesterday, going back and forth thinking how to do Sabang and then El Nido, I guess it is far more convenient to do the Underground River tour from Puerto Princesa City itself.
I liked taking panorama shots of these trees (comprised of 6 shots)I had my lunch, which was mostly barbecued tuna and other dry dishes. (Didn't really enjoy it much)We left Sabang past 2pmNo matter how far or how small a village is, you will always find a basketball hoop in Philippines
The journey back was another one and half hours. In the end, I felt I made the right choice by opting to simply do a tour from Puerto Princesa itself, instead of attempting it myself. I mean, I would only suggest going at it alone if you plan on staying on Sabang beach a few days. It would have cost me about the same but had I done it myself, it would have proven to be quite difficult.
I spent the rest of the day back at Banwa Arthouse’s cafe, researching on El Nido, but as I went through my photos, newer guests who had checked in that day said their “hello” and began conversations. First a Japanese surfer, who spent a few months in Canada picking apples (seriously, some of the people I meet on my backpacking journeys) and then spent those earnings traveling throughout India and is now in the Philippines. (Sigh, it’s moments like this I wonder why I spent 8 years working at multi-national corporation back in Bangalore!)
Then a group of young Danes (I believe they told me they were Danish) asked me where I had been today. We spent quite some time talking and then, we decided to go to Baybay for dinner and check out what was happening there tonight.
We walked to Baybay expecting a crowded festival.
Hmmm, not quiteWe all bought some beer cans and decided to snack. We tried fried chicken intestine first.Had this next. Barbecued... something (I don't remember what)Quite a lot of Filipino cuisine is this shade of dark brownWalked around a bit with our beers in hand'Main course' was hamburger
Just as we were walking out, a b-boy dance battle was announced to begin.
Puerto Princesa's finest dance crews (I'm presuming) were on stageSome of the moves were impressiveWe didn't hang around for too long though
Back in the room, the Danes were curious about all the places I had already been to in Philippines and wanted to see my photos. After an hour of that, I paid for my two nights stay at Banwa Arthouse as I was checking out tomorrow early morning. I had to call it an early night. Tomorrow I was going to take the first bus to the final stop on my Philippines tour — El Nido.
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9 Comments
Daryll
17/11/2011
Wow! I’m a Filipino and I’d like to visit Palawan someday… maybe on my summer vacation I will go there. Do you have a budget breakdown of the accomodations/transportation? I’d really appreciate it!
Mithun Divakaran Reply: November 17th, 2011 at 5:22 PM
Hey Daryll, I mention how much I spent everyday in each individual post. Please check out the older posts and you’ll get the numbers. I still have two more posts from Palawan, both from El Nido, so please wait for those.
Vanda
30/01/2012
Hello, Mithun
I am a Brazilian professor, and I am writing a book about world heritage sites. I am wondering if you could give me permission to use some of your pictures of Puerto Princesa subterranean river in my book. All the credits would be given.
I thank you very much the kindness of an answer. Could it be to my e-mail, please? Thanks!!!
Thank you for taking me on the underground river trip with you. That’s what your narration and photographs made me feel
Mithun Divakaran Reply: February 14th, 2012 at 12:36 AM
Glad you enjoyed your experience!
stephane
28/08/2012
Hi, i like to know to visite the water cave can we just go alone with are own boat or its always just with a tour?? thanx
Mithun Divakaran Reply: August 28th, 2012 at 9:08 PM
You need to get a permit before entering the cave if you wish to explore on your own. Most people just do the tours as its the most convenient – especially since the tourists are majorly from Puerto Princesa and other resorts.
fe
04/02/2016
HI
do you think you can just go to sabang beach then cross going to the cave but not entering it? would u stillpay the same amount?
When it came time for us to go in, the guide asked which one of us would volunteer to hold the light. When researching, I read that the person who has to hold the light gets to sit in the front, so I ‘volunteered’. Now, I needed to sit in the front if I wanted to take good photographs inside, because as it is, it was going to be dark. On top of that, I didn’t want somebody obstructing my view. Also, holding the light gave my camera a light beam to focus on — and I could only shoot with auto-focus on given my hands were now occupied with two tasks.
The journey back was another one and half hours. In the end, I felt I made the right choice by opting to simply do a tour from Puerto Princesa itself, instead of attempting it myself. I mean, I would only suggest going at it alone if you plan on staying on Sabang beach a few days. It would have cost me about the same but had I done it myself, it would have proven to be quite difficult.
Daryll
17/11/2011Wow! I’m a Filipino and I’d like to visit Palawan someday… maybe on my summer vacation I will go there. Do you have a budget breakdown of the accomodations/transportation? I’d really appreciate it!
Mithun Divakaran Reply:
November 17th, 2011 at 5:22 PM
Hey Daryll, I mention how much I spent everyday in each individual post. Please check out the older posts and you’ll get the numbers. I still have two more posts from Palawan, both from El Nido, so please wait for those.
Vanda
30/01/2012Hello, Mithun
I am a Brazilian professor, and I am writing a book about world heritage sites. I am wondering if you could give me permission to use some of your pictures of Puerto Princesa subterranean river in my book. All the credits would be given.
I thank you very much the kindness of an answer. Could it be to my e-mail, please? Thanks!!!
All the best,
Vanda
Sudhagee
13/02/2012Thank you for taking me on the underground river trip with you. That’s what your narration and photographs made me feel
Mithun Divakaran Reply:
February 14th, 2012 at 12:36 AM
Glad you enjoyed your experience!
stephane
28/08/2012Hi, i like to know to visite the water cave can we just go alone with are own boat or its always just with a tour?? thanx
Mithun Divakaran Reply:
August 28th, 2012 at 9:08 PM
You need to get a permit before entering the cave if you wish to explore on your own. Most people just do the tours as its the most convenient – especially since the tourists are majorly from Puerto Princesa and other resorts.
fe
04/02/2016HI
do you think you can just go to sabang beach then cross going to the cave but not entering it? would u stillpay the same amount?
thanks
Mithun Divakaran Reply:
February 4th, 2016 at 2:02 PM
I’m not sure. Most likely yes.