Underground River Experience

Palawan's top attraction is the St. Paul Subterranean National Park. This underground river is a short 2 hour land trip from Puerto Princesa on good roads and a pleasant 15 minute boat ride. Traveling to the Park is made easy with the numerous tours being offered priced reasonably at P1500 (US$35.00) per person. The price already includes admission fees to the park, air con van and boat transfers, and native buffet lunch.

However during peak season you have to wait at least 2 hours to be able to board the boat that will take you to the underground river. The tour inside the cave lasts only for an hour so the wait may be longer than the actual tour. The navigable area inside the underground river is 8 kilometers and you will see interesting forms and shapes of stalactites and stalagmites. Lighting inside the cave is provided by a battery operated flashlight which the person at the first row of the boat will be asked to operate to spotlight the interesting features of the cave.

The underground river is one of leading contenders for the new 7 wonders of nature. It is good to do it for the experience of doing an underground river boat trip but the sights inside are not really impressive. Nevertheless, the beautiful seascapes and landscapes that you will see along the way makes the entire tour a worthwhile experience.