El Nido...A Haven Far From The Madding Crowd

Perhaps one of the most beautiful place in Palawan is the isolated island of El Nido with its incredibly astonishing seascapes.

El Nido is a secluded group of islands east of Puerto Princesa, Palawan's highly urbanized city, and is virtually cut off from the mainland by three bodies of water - Luzon Sea to the north, the China Sea to the east and the Sulu Sea to the west.

Towering midnight cliffs that jut thousands of feet above mirror flat emerald waters are El Nido's most distinguishing feature. This interplay of somber darkness and ethereal light provide the dramatic backdrop for several luxury resorts and dozens of moderately priced diver lodges on the islands.

The black marble and limestone cliffs contain large caves with whimsical names like Cathedral Cave and Disco Cave because of their formation. Though they look like barren sheets of inhospitable rock, the cliffs actually spawn the swift, or balinsasayaw, which produces the delectable bird's nest for soups. And in some of the rock faces, yucca and talisay trees as well as wild flowering begonias do thrive in the crevices.

The town of El Nido in itself exudes a quaint charm with well-tended homes and clean streets. Many of the islands have hidden lagoons sheltered by limestone crags. Schools of fish swarm in the coral reefs, many of which are visible to the naked eye. When in season, divers often encounter the rare sea cow, or dugong.

Only small chartered planes from Manila fly tourists to the upscale resorts. Everybody else takes the sea ferry to this picturesque fishing town.

The Last Frontier

Unique to Palawan is its megadiversity.

Through the years, this paradise island-province has found a way to keep its natural habitat intact. It is the largest province in the Philippines with a total land area of 1.5 million hectares. The province is composed of a thousand islands and islets and home to a wide range of endangered endemic wildlife species such as the Calamian deer, bearcat, leopard cat, tarsier, wild boar, peacock pheasant, scaly anteater, talking myna, flying squirrel, skunk, porcupine and mouse deer among the few. The mangroves are home to the man-eating Philippine crocodile, while offshore sea grass beds are the habitat of the rare dugong. For a long time, these bountiful resources, abundant wildlife and extraordinary natural beauty are known only to the many ethnic communities that thrive in these islands and a few other daring settlers who wanted to live in unpolluted surroundings.

Palawan first attracted foreign attention in the 1970's when it became a United Nations Vietnamese Refugee Center. At this time, a disturbance in Kenya also saw the transport of endangered animals from its savannas to the plains of Calauit Island in Busuanga north of Palawan. These African species composed of giraffes, impalas, zebras, gazelles, waterbucks and elands, among others.

However, it was only a sea accident in 1979 that eventually led to the opening of Palawan into tourism big time.

As the story goes, a tuna line disabled a dive boat's propeller in the middle of the night forcing it to drop anchor in an inlet. The following morning, the divers woke up to an amazing scenery of skyscraping dark cliffs, thick green forest, white-sand beach, sparkling water and, rising above it, a series of magnificently sculpted jade islands. And thus was how El Nido was discovered.

Ecology awareness is at a high level throughout the province. Puerto Princesa prides itself as the cleanest city in the Philippines. To protect its megadiversity, only eco-friendly programs are adhered to by tourist establishments. And there are strict ordinances against dynamite fishing, with only net and line fishing allowed.

Palawan may have opened itself to tourism but it has also taken serious efforts to preserve this last frontier.

Planning your trip to Palawan

Palawan has become more accessible today than it was many years back. The main entry points are the Puerto Princesa City airport and seaport, but visitors bound for the Calamian Group of Islands in North Palawan and other selected northern destinations may also board small commercial aircrafts from Manila using the YKR Airport in Busuanga and El Nido airstrip. There are jeepney and van shuttles bound for wharfs where speedboats ferry visitors to their island destinations. There are also direct flights from Manila to Taytay landing in the Judge Cesar Lim Rodriguez airport. With the plans of national agovernment to upgrade the capital city’s airport to conform with international standards as well as the expansion and improvement of airstrips in major tourist towns like Coron and El Nido, travel to Palawan will definitely become easier and faster.

The concreting of the Puerto Princesa- Langogan- Roxas road in northern Palawan has tremendously shortened travel time from the City proper to the northern City barangays and the Roxas municipality. The rehabilitation of the 60 km national road between Taytay and El Nido is a big boost to the tourism industry as well as business and trade. Accessibility has also improved tremendously within the municipalities with the increased farm to market road network. Gov. Reyes fast- tracked the opening of 314.024 kms. Of farm to market roads linking about 90,000 hectares of farmlands to centers of trade and benefiting 21,000 farmers. Existing provincial road length is 1,428.193 kms. and there are 2,366.86 linear meters of provincial bridges.

The fastest way to reach Palawan is by plane.

Three commercial airlines provide daily flights between Manila and Puerto Princesa namely Philippine Air Lines, Air Philippines and Cebu Pacific. Smaller airlines such as Sea Air, Inter- Island Trans Voyager and Asian Spirit provide chartered and commuter flights to Cuyo, Coron, El Nido, Taytay, and Culion from Manila or Puerto Princesa City.

By Air:

PHILIPPINE AIRLINES
Telephone (632) 855-8888/855-9999
Travel Time Manila - Puerto Princesa City - 55 mins.

AIR PHILIPPINES
Telephone (632) 843-7770
Travel Time Manila - Puerto Princesa City - 55 mins.

CEBU PACIFIC
Telephone (632) 854-6910
Travel Time Manila - Puerto Princesa City - 1 hr & 10 mins.

SEAIR
Telephone (632) 849-0100
Travel Time Manila - Sandoval - 1 hr & 30 mins
Manila - Busuanga - 1 hr & 20 mins

INTER-ISLAND TRANS VOYAGER
Telephone (632) 894-5644
Travel Time Manila - El Nido - 1 hr & 20 mins

ASIAN SPIRIT
Telephone (632) 851-1795
Travel Time Manila - Puerto Princesa - 1 hr & 45 mins
Manila - Busuanga - 1 hr & 20 mins
Manila - Sandoval - 1 hr & 20 mins

Two major domestic shipping lines ferry passengers and cargo regularly from Manila to Puerto Princesa City and vice versa. Both also ply the Manila- Coron- Puerto Princesa City route and vice- versa. Sea travel takes approximately 24 hours, and passengers may choose from economy to luxury accommodations. Another commercial cargo vessel operates in the province, responding to the cargo requirements of business traders from Puerto Princesa City to Manila and vice versa. An inter- island vessel plies the Puerto Princesa- Cuyo- Iloilo route twice a week while another vessel provides a once a week trip to Manila- Coron – Liminangcong and back and weekly trips from Manila to Cuyo and vice versa.

Modest seaports that can accommodate small to medium- sized vessels serve the needs of island municipalities and coastal villages. All towns are accessible by sea; municipal and privately- owned seaports link island and coastal villages with the rest of mainland Palawan.

By Sea:

WG & A SUPERFERRY
Telephone (632) 528-7000/245-3142 to 60/245-4061 to 80

NEGROS NAVIGATION
passage.info@negrosnavigation.ph
Telephone (632) 245-5588/245-4394/245-1091

MONTENEGRO SHIPPING
Telephone (043) 723-6980/723-8294

The Philippines is accessible from the travel capitals of the world. Traveling time to Manila from Hong Kong is an hour and 50 minutes; from Singapore, 3 hours and 10 minutes; from Bangkok, 3 hours and 50 minutes; Tokyo, 4 hours and 15 minutes; Sydney, 10 hours and 20 minutes; London, 20 hours and 45 minutes; Paris, 21 hours and 15 minutes; Frankfurt, 19 hours and 40 minutes; San Francisco, 16 hours and 15 minutes; Los Angeles, 15 hours and 20 minutes; and New York, 25 hours and 20 minutes.

Palawan Island

Ah, the pleasures of being in the island of Palawan are truly fantastic experiences whether you are here as an individual traveler or as a tourist on one of the great Palawan package tours. Palawan is a paradise, a sanctuary to an amazing variety of the majestic creations found nowhere else in the world. It is wrapped in a mantel of rain forests, outstanding dive sites, majestic mountains, primeval caves, and pristine beaches. It is surrounded by a coral shelf that abounds with varied and colorful marine life. It is blessed with incredibly awesome landscapes that astound even the most indifferent of visitors.

What can one expect to see in Palawan? Diving and snorkeling pleasures, inviting resorts to go to, mountain climbing, fully-equipped hotels to stay in...there are too many to mention.

A dreamer's destination and a diver’s paradise, Palawan waters are among the best in the world, not only for diving but also for fishing. It has miles of sub- surface coral and rainbow reef walls which surround the coasts and coves teeming with rich marine life. It is the perfect playground for the adventurous.

Dubbed as the country’s "Last Frontier," Palawan has found a way to keep its natural habitat intact through the years. It is the largest province in the Philippines with a total land area of 1.5 million hectares. The province is composed of a thousand islands and islets and home to a wide range of endangered endemic wildlife species such as the Calamian deer, bearcat, leopard cat, tarsier, wild boar, peacock pheasant, scaly anteater, talking myna, flying squirrel, skunk, porcupine and mouse deer among the few. The mangroves are home to the man-eating Philippine crocodile. while offshore sea grass beds are the habitat of the rare dugong. The province boasts also of possessing African animals like the giraffes, impalas, zebras, gazelles, waterbucks and elands, among others. Safaris can be arranged with the park rangers and modest accommodations are available for overnight stay. Over the years, it has been inhabited by people from various races. Modern day Palaweños is a combination of 81 various cultures.

Truly, Palawan is a great place to visit and hangout because of its natural wonder. There is still so much to say about this beautiful and beloved island. But, why not welcome the opportunity to come and visit the place to learn more of its secrets? Precisely, that would be a more interesting venture to look into so that the need to learn more about this place would be greatly appeased.

To give you an overview on what you would be pleasurably viewing in Palawan, we would like to provide you with a brief peek on where you can enjoy numerous resorts, diving spots, and hotels offered on certain areas around the island:

The island of Palawan has nine (9) wonderful areas (filled with beach resorts, hotels, and diving spots) namely the Busuanga or Coron, Central Palawan, Cuyo area, El Nido, Puerto Princesa, Port Barton, Roxas, Sabang, and Taytay.

Let's take some of these areas briefly, and see what wonderful pleasures these places can give.

Busuanga or Coron:

This area has eleven (11) main points of interest. One of these is the Club Paradise which can be found in the Island of Dimakya in Northern Palawan. Aside from what is termed as a Jungle Bar (where your favorite liquor or choice of cocktails are mixed), an entertaining Videoke room, and a hiking activity, a dive center, known as Dugong Dive Center, is also being offered to the guests of the nearby hotels or resorts within the area. Best instructors accommodate the wishes of those who are amateurs in diving.

Central Palawan:

The best resorts are housed in this area. Some of these resorts include the Crystal Paradise, the Dos Palmas Arreceffi, the Princessa Holiday, and the Marina de Bay. All these resorts have their own high quality and friendly accommodations for those who would be visiting and willing to stay for a couple of days. With different structures, these resorts offer various spectacular views of the island.

The Environmental City of Puerto Princesa:

Looking for the best hotels in the island? The place to be then is the Puerto Princesa area where famous hotels such as the Asturias, the Casa Linda Inn, Hotel Fleuris, and Puerto Pension, Skylight Apartelle, and Tarabanan Cottages proudly stand.

But, what about diving? Where can you enjoy this water sport activity? Actually, all the nine areas of the island have numerous diving spots that anyone can enjoy. But, if one would like to have a more specific place to go to, and have the assistance of professional divers, it would be best to check out the local diving spots in El Nido, Puerto Princesa, and Coron.

Palawan is the westernmost island province of the Philippines. It is surrounded by the South China Sea in the north and by the Sulu Sea in the south. There are three major island groups in Palawan. There is the Calamian island group in the northern part. There is the Cuyo island group in the northwest. Finally, in the southwest region, there is the Balabac-Bugsak group. In general there are 1,769 islands belonging to the province.

With such geographical description, there is no doubt why the province named Tourism Capital of the Philippines and considered to be one of the major tourist attractions in the Philippines. Palawan is ideal for nature hopping, water activities such as scuba diving or simply the best place to unwind and relax. However, we fail to mention the true gem of the island province, which are the Palawan people.

Palawan people were good fishermen, divers and seafarers, mainly because of the province's geography. Furthermore, like a typical Filipino, Palawan people are also very friendly and very hospitable. They open their arms to visitors and tour them around the province. This is very inevitable especially if you visit suburban communities. You'll be amazed with different kinds of Palawan people.

To understand further the Palawan people, we must take a glimpse on the province's history. The provine was called Kla-ma-yan, Busuanga, Paragua and Palau-ye before. Palau-ye was changed to Palaw-ye. Eventually, it became Palawan, which is now the official name.

Archaeologists regarded that Palawan people particularly the Tabon Man were the first inhabitants of the Philippines. The name Tabon was taken from the cave, where the relics or fossils of the first settlers were found. As time passes by, Palawan people met migrants from nearby territories such as the Malay and the Indonesian, which later on had acquired their form of living. To some extent some Palawan people still practice their ancestors' way of living.

Then sometime between the 12th – 15th centuries, Palawan people had became trade partners of other Asian countries such as China, Japan, India and Saudi Arabia. Palawan people had close contact with Filipinos from Luzon, Visayas and the Muslim Mindanao. This explains why some of the Palawan People profess the Islam faith nowadays.

When the Spaniards, came in the Philippines, Catholic faith was introduced throughout the archipelago including Palawan. At first, Palawan people resisted to Spanish rule. To win the hearts of the Palawan people, Spaniards send missionaries such as St. Exequiel Moreno. Majority of the Palawan People were converted to Catholic. Others fled to the mountains and others migrated to Mindanao especially the Muslims. Then the Americans and Japanese came respectively after the Spaniards. The rest as they say is history…

With a mixture of influences there is no doubt why Palawan people are amazing to meet.

Palawan is a great place to visit and experience calmness because of its natural wonder. However, the true beauty of the province lies in the hearts of the Palawan People. In order to understand Palawan and Palawan people we must take time-out to know its rich history.