Puerto Princesa: The Jewel of Philippine Eco-Tourism

My heart skipped a beat the moment we set foot on the port of Puerto Princesa. It’s like stepping into another world. The view of the mountains from afar looked like they’re from another country. I’ve never seen anything like this in the several provinces I’ve visited in the Philippines.

At the heart of this beautiful island province is its capital, Puerto Princesa City. The Eco-Tourism Capital of the Philippines . . . A City in a Forest . . these are just some of the names this city has been called. It is a haven for nature lovers.

Cleanest and Greenest Hall of Fame

No wonder the City is a Cleanest and Greenest Hall of Fame Awardee for Component City. Everywhere you go in Puerto Princesa, you can always see that ubiquitous green trash can. Even in the forest remotest part of the City! Mind you, Puerto Princesa is a city of 253,982 hectares of land stretched over 106 kilometers but almost every 50 meters away you can find a trash can.

Maintaining the cleanliness is a serious business for Puerto Princesa residents. Just try to throw away a candy wrapper and you’ll find yourself in jail. For every litterer caught, a portion of the fine goes to the whistle blower. Now, how creative is that?

Convention Destination

The Puerto Princesa Coliseum can accommodate up to seven thousand participants and guests. It’s making Puerto Princesa a good convention and conference destination. Good news, it’s air conditioned. Bad news, t

here’s no bad news. Any chance to visit Puerto Princesa will be good news for me.

Need Help? Call 117!

When you’re in Puerto Princesa be rest assured that when you dial 117 somebody’s going to answer you. How do I know this? Because I’ve been inside the Patrol 117 Kilos Agad Action Center located inside the Puerto Princesa Coliseum. The center is manned 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We tried it by

dialing 117 on our cellphone and it is being diverted to the 117 Call Center. Most of the calls they receive are accidents and seldom about crimes.

A warning to prank callers, calls are recorded, they have caller ID and your location is visible on the screen. Oh, and did I tell you that the Crocodile Farm and the Iwahig Prison are located in Puerto Princesa? Make your choice.

Hungry for More

Food is quite cheap in Puerto Princesa, especially seafoods. Vietville in the Vietnamese Village is noted for serving authentic Vietnamese food. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to visit the place so I tried eating Chow Long at a restaurant in the city. I don’t know how close that was to the authentic Vietnamese noodles but I find it too sweet for my Batchoy-accustomed tongue.

Now here’s a really good restaurant, KaLui located in Rizal Avenue. At KaLui one has to go barefoot before getting inside the restaurant which is rather unique in fine dining restaurants. You can even choose a table with regular chairs or one where you sit on pillows on the floor. The service is excellent and they serve Filipino food that are truly superb. The cost is a little expensive but it’s all worth it. Equally as impressive is the ambiance that is unmistakably Pinoy. I was told it’s the owner who did the interiors. There were art collections and regular Pinoy items but arranged in such a way that will really impress you, something only an artist can do. Even the restroom is a must-see.

Explore and Experience

One could not help but marvel at how the city preserved and conserved its natural resources but at the same time making it one of the major tourist destinations in the world. Experts predict that Palawan, with its 1,768 islands, will overtake Boracay as the No. 1 tourist destination in the Philippines in three years. This is not really surprising since the province has so much to offer – pristine waters and beaches, diving sites, diverse flora and fauna, natural sanctuaries and two world heritage sites. Puerto Princesa alone is so big that it would take you several days (and a lot of money) to explore all its interesting places.

• Underground River
  

We went to the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park better known as the Underground River. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site and also nominated in the New Seven Wonders of Nature. If there’s only one place in Puerto Princesa you could visit I’d say it’s the Underground River.

Our trip was supposed to be on Tuesday, May 20, but we were told that the Park will be closed on Tuesday to Wednesday for the Pinoy Big Brother so we went there immediately on the day we arrived, May 19. Sabang beach, the jump-off point to the Underground River, is a 2-hour rough road away form the city proper. Once at Sabang, you get your permit from park office and book your boat for the trip to the river entrance. Ours was a long list since it was also that week that the GACPA National Convention was held. They were likewise informed of the closure of the park thus they flocked to the park on Monday. A lot of people were really disappointed. Imagine if it’s only the Underground River you were visiting and you only have that day available and you found out the park will be closed? Enough said.

At the river entrance you’ll have to again list your name and wait for your turn. Monkeys freely roam the area. We were told not to feed them and be careful of our things since they sometimes take things from visitors. Before entering the cave you’ll have to wear a helmet and lifejacket. I guess the helmet is more for protection from bats’ droppings than from falling rocks.

A guide will accompany you inside and you’ll have a battery operated lamp for lighting. Our guide was the famous Toting. He was highly recommended to us by visitors who came ahead of us. Indeed, he’s a natural comedian. He continually cracked jokes breaking the silence inside the cave making us feel comfortable. He was interviewed by Discovery Channel and local TV networks for their feature on the Underground River. Well, we’re rubbing elbows with a famous personality! So we had our pictures taken with him. He’s quite enjoying our banter.

Except for our lamp and that of the other visitors’, the cave was in total darkness. Hanging on the caves were different species of bat. Toting pointed a branching out cave which they call the ‘bat cave’ where most of the bats can be found. I’m not sure if it’s true or he’s once again joking about the name.

Flying around the cave is another resident, the Balinsasayaw, the ones whose nests produced from their saliva is used to make the nido soup. I first thought of them as bats when I saw them at the mouth of the cave. Apparently, they fly around the cave by day and at night, it’s the bats turn.

The formations inside the cave are awe-inspiring. All you need is a little imagination and you’ll see different interesting pieces. The cave ceiling is actually the karst mountain outside. The boat trip ended for only 45minutes since tourists are only allowed to navigate 1.5 kilometers of the 8.2 kilometers river.

• City Tour

As I’ve mentioned, Puerto Princesa is a big city so when you say city tour it means hours of travel. First stop was the Crocodile Farm. You’ll see live crocodiles from several weeks old to years older. They’re dangerous even when they’re babies so be careful not to touch them. You’ll be allowed to hold and have your pictures taken for P30. It’s mouth is tied so no need to worry.

Next destination was the Iwahig Prison and Penal Colony. It’s a 34,000 hectares of prison without walls where inmates tend the farms and make handcrafted souvenirs. There you can buy arnis and cane made of kamagong and other souvenirs such as key chains. A portion of the sales are used to buy for their daily needs and the rest kept to be given to them at the end of their sentence.

Rancho Sta. Monica is the ranch of Ramon Mitra which they opened for the public. It’s located on a hill so it has a good view of the sea below.

Bread Hill is known for their ube hopia which is what people are coming here for. You can also buy food at their restaurant which is unfortunately located near the cages of animals in their mini-zoo, so expect some flies. The have a beautiful landscape and they also sell some plants.

Binuatan Creations are known for their loom woven products made from different indigenous grasses. Just so you know how good their products are, even Calvin Klein buys from them. You can buy bags, place mats and table runners at their showroom at a much cheaper price than in Manila. You can also see how they make their handloom products at the factory beside the showroom.

If you’re a nature lover, you should see the Butterfly Garden. There you can see different species of butterfly and they also sell souvenir items. When shopping for souvenirs, only buy from vendors who have IDs to make sure the products are not overpriced. These vendors were trained by the City Tourism Office and its easy to file a complaint if you have the name of the person.

If you’re looking for bargain pearls, you visit the public market. There you’ll find pearls at rock bottom prices. You can also buy there cashew, rain makers, malong, among other handmade souvenirs.

• Honda Bay Island Hopping

Our guide told us the the original name is not Honda Bay but Hunda Bay. Hunda means ‘deep’ in Cuyonon. Apparantly Honda is much easily remembered by foreigners so it was just adopted. Bring your swimsuit with you and rent snorkeling gear at the wharf. You can’t avoid the temptation to swim.

Several islets dotted the bay which have interesting names. Bat Island and Star Fish Island are so named because of these animals that can be found there. Pandan Island, well obviously because of the abundance of pandan. Snake Island got it’s name from it’s shape. There’s also Luli Island for ‘lulubog-lilitaw’ since its sandbar would disappear during high tide.

Interesting enough, there used to be two tall palm trees on Dos Palmas. One already died so maybe they would change its name to Una Palma? It might even be good in order to get rid of the stigma of the Abu Sayyaf abduction. We were told that that incident almost killed the tourism industry of Palawan. A lot of people lost jobs because of declining tourist arrivals. Good thing the province recovered. Dos Palmas management also learned their lesson since there’s already guards watching approaching sea crafts. I saw guys looking over their telescopes and I half expect them to show some firepower when our boat got near. That’s just me being paranoid.

We dropped off at Snake Island where you can swim and feed the fish. They are coral fish, remember Nemo? The island has powdery white sand and crystal clear water so you can really see the fishes. You can buy fresh seafoods on the island and have them grilled for a small fee. They also sell fresh buko and there’s the one and only sari-sari store for chichiria.

You can ask your guide to drop you to the other islands accessible for picture-taking. There are islands which are privately owned such as Dos Palmas. If you’re not a guest and you want to explore, you’ll have to pay an entrance fee.

Other interesting sites in Puerto Princesa City which you can visit anytime if you’re billeted in the city proper are the Immaculate Conception Church, Bay Walk, Provincial Capitol and Palawan Museum. These can be reached via tricycle, the main mode of transportation in the city.

• Pearls

Pealrs in Palawan are really rock-bottom in prices. They are priced 70% less than those you can find in the market. Learn to haggle with the sellers and you can really get a good price. Buy from the market so you can have several choices.

Touring Puerto Princesa is such a memorable experience. In fact, my entire Palawan vacation was one of the best I’ve spent and it’s all worth the money and the travel time. I hope we keep Palawan this way forever.

Tagged as: Palawan, Phillippines, Puerto Princesa, Travel & Tourism