To cut to the chase, here’s the skinny on how to get to one of Palawan’s busiest tourist hubs with the hoi polloi.

How to Get to the Underground River from Puerto Princesa:-

From Rizal Avenue to the San Jose Terminal and New Market:

• By tricycle: Find a tricycle with the Department of Tourism logo (a peacock with his tail feathers spread). Negotiate. Fare is P80 (so if you are two, you need only to pay P40 each). Travel time is around 20 minutes.
• By multi-cab: Take the multi-cab with San Jose Terminal or New Market signage. Fare is (rounded off to) P15. Travel time is around 30 minutes (with loading time and junction stops factored in).

From San Jose Terminal to Sabang:

• By bus. Look for a jeepney or bus with a “Sabang” signage (Sabang is part of Baranggay Cabayugan which in turn is part of Puerto Princesa City). They park on the back end of the terminal. Fare is P100. Seating is first-come, first-served.

A jeepney parked at Sabang Wharf awaiting passengers

*Buses and jeepney schedules are as follows: 7AM, 9AM, 12NN and 2PM. I haven’t confirmed their last trip going back to Puerto Princesa, but I saw a jeepney waiting for passengers at the Sabang Wharf around noon.

• By van. Air-conditioned shuttle vans are fast becoming the preferred mode of transport to the Underground River because of minimal fare difference and maximum comfort. Vans are either parked where the multi-cab passes by, or are parked alongside the Sabang jeepneys and buses on the back end of the terminal. Fare is P150.

Shuttle vans parked at Sabang Wharf wait for their passengers

*Reserve your seats by calling these numbers (for Lexus Shuttle): Landline (for international calls dial 63-48-723-0128); Smart (63-910-4975-610); and Globe (63-917-5859-613). Van schedules may differ from one provider to another. For Lexus Shuttle (they park on the far end of the terminal), the schedule is as follows:

Puerto Princesa to Sabang:

• 7:30AM
• 8:30AM
• 10AM
• 3PM
• 5PM

Sabang to Puerto Princesa

• 7:30AM
• 1PM
• 2PM
• 4PM
• 6PM

From Sabang Wharf, it’s all boat ride to the Underground River if the Jungle Trail is closed: A motorized boat to get to the beach where the welcome area is located, and a paddle boat from the mangrove area into the river.

Click here for next article (Palawan series) – Duchess Pension Palawan Review  >>

Photos by Cherry Vic Patalita

The post How to Get to Puerto Princesa Underground River appeared first on .

In the not-so-distant past, locals claim that there were seldom long lines to contend with and few “fixers” and middlemen to steer clear from. But since its inclusion to the list of the New 7 Wonders of Nature, the small “sitio” (a geographical unit smaller than a ‘baranggay’, the smallest political unit in the Philippines) of Sabang has seen business pick up at a tremendous pace. What used to be a sleepy fishing community is now transformed into a boom town of shipbuilders constructing motor boats for “Park Ferry Service” (and effectively stopped being fishermen as tourism turns full volume).

Getting there and getting out is quite a process even for an independent traveler who lands into Palawan without a fixed itinerary. Daily tourist quotas tend to be filled weeks ahead, so it helps to know how VEPs are issued beforehand should you decide to do it yourself rather than through a travel agent.

1. Apply for a permit to enter the subterranean river at the main office in Puerto Princesa. The Underground River Tourism Office is presently located at the City Coliseum along the National Highway.

The journey to the Underground River starts at Puerto Princesa City Coliseum

2. Decide on the date of your PPUR trip. In the unfortunate event that your travel dates fall on fully-booked days (which are announced in bold letters at the office entrance), decide whether you can rearrange your itinerary or extend your trip a few more days so you put in your application for permit on less busy days.

3. Get a number, wait for your turn, present a valid ID and pay the entrance fee. You will be issued with a printed permit which you will present at the Sabang Tourism Office along with a valid ID.

Getting a permit should be a breeze…if you arrive outside of peak season

4. If you are scheduled for an early tour (say 8:30AM), it pays to stay the night at Sitio Sabang since there are no breaking dawn trips from Puerto Princesa (the earliest jeepney or bus departs at 7AM which arrives at Sabang at around 9AM). If you miss the tour at the designated hour, you will be relegated to the 3:30PM tour which is the last of the day. Should you miss your tour on the designated day, you can “plead” your case before the tourism official in Sabang since the permit is valid until the next day.

Some things to keep in mind in the unfortunate event you cannot make it

5. Show up at the Sabang Tourism Office at least 30 minutes before your scheduled tour. Pay the entrance fee equivalent to US$1 (P40).

Show up 30 minutes early with this printed permit at the Sabang Tourism Office and pay the P40 entrance fee

6. Proceed to the wharf for boat transfer to the Underground River. If you travel alone, you may need to wait for a group who can take you in so you split your boat fee with them. A six-passenger boat charges P700 (US$17.50), and 8-seaters charge P800 (US$20). Boat fee applies for back-and-forth transfer. One-way travel time to the Underground River takes about 20 minutes in choppy waters. Also take note of your boat number since this will be the same boat you will ride back to the wharf.

Waiting area at the Sabang Wharf where Park Ferry Service awaits passengers

7. Arrive at the Underground River beach. (The Visitor Center at the beach has Western toilets so you can take care of nature calls before the tour.)

The oft-photographed limestone cliff at the docking area on the way to the Underground River

8. Walk to the mangrove pre-tour area to put on orange hard hat and PFD (personal flotation device).

The entrance (pre-tour area) to the cave that lures millions of visitors

9. Wait for your turn on the (non-motorized) boat. The boat seats up to 10, and is dispatched to enter the cave in order the passengers arrive. If you are a big group, you will be split into several boats and will enter the cave in intervals. If you are traveling solo, you will be “squeezed” into a boat that could seat a few more.

10. Take a seat away from the front if you want to focus on the tour. People seated at the front “do the honor” of holding the light and taking instruction from the boatman where to focus the light so everyone in the boat can see the marvelous stalagmites and stalactites. (A new acquaintance I shared the boat with reported he was not able to appreciate the tour because of the “massive responsibility” given to him by virtue of his seat.)

Somebody’s got to hold the light and that’s the people at the front!

11. Fasten your hard hat and get your camera ready! The Underground River tour is approximately 45 minutes (up to about 1.5 kilometers in from the entrance), with the able boatman acting as the tour guide. Be quick on your hands! Far into the darkness of the cave, the camera flash may act up, so your fingers have to be agile enough to click as soon as the torchbearer points the light to the cave feature as directed by the boatman.

12. Leave your hard hat and PFD at the exit area and proceed to the beach area for transfer back to Sabang Wharf.

The less-photographed side of the docking area where motorized boats await for passengers returning from the Underground River tour

Click here for next article (Palawan series) – How to Get to Puerto Princesa Underground River >>

Photos by Cherry Vic Patalita

The post A 12-Step Picture Guide on How to Get to Puerto Princesa Underground River appeared first on .

Up close, PPUR is achingly magnificent. How it was formed is equally a marvel, a testament to how geological forces can be astoundingly creative, in the same way that they are destructive.

Below is the author’s attempt to capture in stills one of Palawan’s crown jewels.

Dawn over Sitio Sabang, home to the Underground River

The rocky side of the Sabang Beach (to the left of the viewer when facing the sea)

Budget accommodations on the rocky end of Sabang Beach

The sandy beach to the ‘right’ of the wharf when viewer faces the sea

Upscale resorts on the sandy end of Sabang Beach

Docking area on the way the river

The less photographed (and largely ignored) side of the docking area

The pre-tour area where tourists put on hard hat and orange flotation device

The photogenic entrance to the cave

Breathtaking stalactites hang over the ceiling of the Underground River

Stalactites resemble easily recognizable items and figures (Filipino vegetable ‘okra’ to the far right)

Massive stalagmites (recognizable as a ‘dripping candle’) rise out of the cave floor

Crevices are home to nocturnal residents such as bats

On the way out

Boatload of tourists entering the cave

Unhindered view of the entrance to the Underground River

An elevated view of the mountains that hide a river

Click here for next article (Palawan series) – How to Get to Puerto Princesa Underground River >>

Photos by Cherry Vic Patalita

The post Photo Essay: Puerto Princesa Underground River appeared first on .