The Legend that is Puerto Princesa, Palawan

All too soon, our idyllic time in Palawan came to an end and it was time to head back to metropolitan Cebu. In parting, though, our guide Jowel mentioned something to look forward to in Palawan – about a four hour drive from Puerto Princesa, in the direction of the municipality of San Vicente is the future location of the next Boracay.

I was particularly looking forward to this year’s annual National Conference of the Jaycees since the venue was in Puerto Princesa Palawan, a city known as a nature lover’s paradise and a model for sustainable development. Together with some members from my organization, the Zugbuana Jaycees, we boarded a Cebu Pacific flight from Cebu to Puerto Princesa. Upon landing, we were whisked away to The Legend Hotel, our home for the next few days. After spending four days in Puerto Princesa, here are various things to do, places to go, and restaurants to eat in while in the capital of Palawan:

The Legend Palawan – this hotel, owned by Manila-based businessman Wyden King, is considered to be the accommodation of choice for tourists and business travelers to the capital city.

It was also the official hotel for the 61st Jaycees National Convention. Strategically located in the heart of Puerto Princesa, the hotel is the ideal jump-off for various activities not only within the city but also to the rest of the islands of Palawan, since it is about ten minutes away from the Puerto Princesa airport as well as the seaport and just five minutes away from the city’s main commercial district.

Their coffee shop, Tanglaw, also serves the tastiest dishes for breakfast and lunch such as succulent chorizos, well-marinated lechon manok, and grilled seafood. Another native-inspired restaurant on the second floor, Salo, serves mouth-watering crispy pork sisig and beef tadjang. In general, the food was excellent in this hotel.

Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park – also more popularly known as the Underground River, our first attempt to visit the park was canceled due to rainy weather. Our cave guide, Jowel, mentioned that this is the only Philippine nominee for the 7th Natural Wonders of Nature. The park has the longest underground river in the world and is the most well-managed national park in the Philippines northwest of Puerto Princesa. Getting there was a two hour winding, bumpy van ride, 20 minute boat ride to the beach where the cave is located, and finally, a 100 meter walk to the mouth of the cave. The underground cave tour is a 45 minute paddled boat ride. In terms of length, it is a 1.5 kilometer tour inside the cave for tourists; if you want to go deeper inside the cave, you have to secure a special permit. For the more adventurous, you can do the Monkey or Jungle hiking trail going to the beach, which is an alternative to the boat ride. Since it is a two hour walk, you have to register with their Central Park in case you get lost and park rangers can come searching for you.

Honda Bay – from Legend Hotel, it was a 20 minute ride to the wharf and the waiting ferry (P250/person for a minimum of 5 persons). Once onboard the ferry, it took us 30 minutes to reach Pandan Island, the 1st island. This protected bay has 16 islands, is surrounded by 7 rivers, and its most famous resort is Dos Palmas Araceffi Resort. Honda is derived from the Spanish word “hondu”, meaning deep. It is ideal for diving, snorkeling, and whale shark watching. Tourists can rent water equipment from the wharf; in our case, Legend Hotel brought snorkeling equipment, towels, and snacks for us. This was courtesy of the son-in-law of the owner, Manila Jaycee Rami Villavicencio who was with us.

Firefly watching – this project was spearheaded by the ABS-CBN Foundation to protect the livelihood of the locals. Located in Iwahig River, it is a 25 minute van ride from the city proper and a one hour evening boat tour along the river (a similar concept to Bohol’s Loboc River Cruise). At night, the mangrove trees on the riverbank light up like a natural Christmas tree because of the thousands of fireflies around.

The Seven Caves of Tabon – for the history buffs, the Seven Caves is managed by the National Museum of Puerto Princesa. This is located in Quezon, Palawan, a 4 hour van ride and 45 minute boat ride. You get to explore the different caves, and this area is considered the cradle of Philippine civilization. There are other caves around the area, which is still inhabited by the natives of the place called the Tagbanuas.

Kinabuch Bar and Restaurant – this is the most popular open air bar and restaurant in Puerto Princesa. They are known for their exotic native delicacy, tamilok, which is woodworm derived from rotten mangrove trees. The restaurant is also famous for its fresh seafood dishes, which we had the good fortune of sampling in one dinner.

Kalui – this is another well-known establishment in the city, due to its native ambiance. Also serving succulent seafood dishes, its house specialty is their seafood sisig, with squid, fish, shrimps, and mussels.

El Nido – after exploring Puerto Princesa, our well-informed cave guide, Jowel, suggested that next stop for tourists should be El Nido since it is in the same mainland as Puerto Princesa. From the city, it is a ten hour public bus ride (for rented vans, it is 5-6 hours away). This is the first famous island in Palawan, when the Japanese developer Ten Knots Resort first built their chain of resorts in the 80’s. Its most famous resort at present is Miniloc in Lagen Island Resorts. El Nido is also considered to be one of the best island hopping areas in Palawan, catering to A (lagoons), B (beaches), and C (shrines) destinations.

Coron – after El Nido, the next ideal stop should be Coron, another island part of the Busuanga island group. This is an area known for wreck diving with 12 Japanese war ship wrecks around the island. Last year, Coron and El Nido were voted as one of the 40 Best Islands in the World by the renowned magazine National Geographic. 

All too soon, our idyllic time in Palawan came to an end and it was time to head back to metropolitan Cebu. In parting, though, our guide Jowel mentioned something to look forward to in Palawan – about a four hour drive from Puerto Princesa, in the direction of the municipality of San Vicente is the future location of the next Boracay. This is 14 kilometers of off-white fine sand, with ongoing developments to date. Stay tuned!