One of our memorable trips in the Philippines was when we went to Palawan and among the interesting activities we explore in there is the Palawan Underground River; a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature. Palawan Underground River is located at St. Paul National Park. Most of tourists landing in Palawan are thrilled with this longest accessible underground river in the world but only 780 visitors are allowed to enter the cave each day. To ensure that you'll get in, better to plan your itineraries and book ahead of time.
From our experience, we take the day tour package from the city proper. For 1500php, it includes hotel pick-up, park entrance fees and lunch on the beach. Going to the Underground river, after we were dropped off in Sabang Beach, we walk via the so called Monkey Trail. It is a walk trail wherein you are likely to see monkeys, squirrels, birds, monitor lizards along side the trail. But we were advised then to be more attentive on our belongings for monkeys have this tendency to steal peoples bags especially if it has what they are looking for - food.
After the walking the Monkey Trail, we ride a small outrigger motorized canoe called “bangka” that usually carries six to twelve persons. Since we are on a guided tour, the bangka booking have been pre-arranged for us. The Palawan Underground River is considered as a submarine karst spring. It twists and turns for 8.2-km underground and features a full-mountain-to-sea ecosystem, a sweetwater-to-saltwater ecosystem plus a troglobitic ecosystem typical of underground rivers. This combination of habitats plus the dramatic stalactite and stalagmite formations makes the Palawan Underground River so totally unique that it attracts biologists, ecologists, travelers and tourists from all around the World.