Philippines - Puerto Princesa, Palawan (Jan 17-18)

Arrived as planned in Puerto Princesa, Palawan on Jan 17. Booked a tour of the Subterranean River, a World Heritage Site and one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature, for Jan 18. First part of the tour was riding a motorized boat for about 20 minutes to the mouth of the underground river, then transferred to a paddle boat for about an hour tour of the river. The river actually flows under a mountain, it is 8.2 kms long however tours only cover about the first 1.5 kms. In the dark, it was hard to avoid the head of the guide in the front of the boat so his head appears in several photos.

Mouth of the Underground River

Ready to enter

One guide sat at the front of the boat and shone a light on the rock formations, stalagmites, stalactites, bats and swiftlets while the other guide at the back of the boat rowed and provided a running commentary. It was very well presented, mixed humour with facts and pointed out numerous fascinating formations that resembled things like a nativity scene, the last supper, the Virgin Mary, Jesus, some fruit, vegetables and animals, etc. The guides repeatedly encouraged us not to look skyward and open our mouths in awe as there were thousands of bats flying and clinging to the roof of the cave and frequently water dripping from the ceiling. From our perspective, the tour was a must see. In some ways it resembled a Disney boat ride except in this case it was a natural phenomenon, well worth doing.

Every black fleck on the ceiling is a bat

Leaving the darkness, into the light