I think it’s high time to go back to my Palawan series before posting some red carpet sightings from the 3rd PMPC Star Awards for Music.
This time around, it’s the iconic Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR), which has been increasingly popular over the years, due to the exposure it’s getting as being part of the ongoing voting for the New 7 Wonders of Nature (kindly cast your vote HERE). While a staggering 1.5 to 2 hours away from the city proper, it is still considered part of the capitol (primarily so its upkeep can be better supported by the local government – that’s bureaucracy at work for you).
The PPUR is located in the midwestern coast of Palawan, and is part of the regular tours offered by the local resorts and government in the city. If I remember correctly, the fee is Php1,200 per head, inclusive of lunch, tour guide, and entrance fees, as well van transfers to and from your accommodations. I’m not sure if the boat ride is included in the initial fee – if it’s not, the additional payment will be minimal.
The whole river is about 8.2 kilometers long, but only about an eighth or so of that length is readily accessible to the public through the tours. Should you want to explore the cave further, you will need to procure a special permit from the local government. The cave is also closed at the other end, so to get back out, you will need to paddle back all 8.2 kilometers the way you came.
Tourists are usually taken in through a 8 to 10-seater paddle boat, with the boatman also serving as the tour guide for the duration of the exploration; and while their spiels were obviously memorized, I liked the whole colloquial character injected into it by the natives who crack memorized jokes in a variety of accents, depending on where they are from.
The inside of the cave is pitch black, with only the halogen lamps from the boats providing the necessary illumination – if you happen to be the person seated in front, you get to be the lightsman, pointing the lamp where the boatman instructs you to. Because of the poor lighting conditions, I have no shots of the inside of the cave. I sorely regret not bringing my external flash, as using the pop-up flash resulted in some horrible images that I had to delete immediately.
The highlight is a section called the ‘cathedral’ due to the enormous shape of the space similar to a huge cathedral, as well as some stalagmite and rock formations that have been chosen to be interpreted as one religious symbol or another. There are also bats inside the cave, and I do not want to know if the drops of liquid that occasionally fell from the ceiling was bat piss or water.
All in all, it was a good experience, the only downside being the long trip to and from the place – that’s 3-4 hours spent just sitting in the van. I hope the local government comes up with a way to make the trip shorter. I also regret not trying out the local delicacy called tamilok which are wood worms found in mangroves. They are traditionally served a’la ceviche, which is a sosyal way of saying kinilaw, or cooked ONLY in the acid from citrus and/or vinegar (which makes them otherwise raw).
A word of warning: if you choose to visit the PPUR during the peak season – which are the summer months – expect to wait for a long time for your turn to ride the boats, as we were told that there are as much as 300 tourists a day. There are also lots of free-roaming monkeys and large monitor lizards in the island where the PPUR is, so that’s an added attraction you can enjoy while there.
I think I have two more Palawan posts up my sleeve – one for the local city tour + wet market trip as well as the one for the Honda Bay (island hopping) tour, so stay tuned for those in the future.
