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.