Bucket lists are essential drivers for motivation to explore the world and they are ever changing. Not sure about yours but my bucket lists are always expanding even though I crossed some items on it. It just keeps getting longer and longer with new destinations and one of them is an old time favorite: Palawan. I came across this beautiful island while browsing on the internet and instantly fell in love with it. First of all, it is intact no tourism destroyed the environment and I hope it stays like this for a while.
Palawan is located in the southwestern part of the Philippines close to Borneo part of Malaysia consisting of 1700 islands. It has crystal clear water with untouched fauna and flora all over the big island including tropical rainforests, coral atolls, rivers and streams and mangroves reminding me of a place called heaven. It is just simply mesmerizing not to mention the abundance of activities it can offer for al type of travelers. Not surprisingly has it the name “ the last ecological frontier”. I believe it has very much to do with having numerous protected areas that preserves the natural habitat of the island.
In the northern part of Palawan, in Calauit there is a Game Reserve and Wildlife Sanctuary offering safaris to those want to see exotic and native species of animals from an open-sided truck. It resembles of an African reserve where zebras, giraffes and antelopes running around free, however you will be able to find species native to the Philippines such as the Grevy’s zebras, Calamian deers and Palawan porcupines. Apparently Calauit island was chosen by a then president of the Philippines due to its isolation reducing poaching and risk of diseases. Another protected place is the El Nido-Taytay Managed Resource Protected Area where gorgeous limestone cliffs are located and the edible bird nests can be found. Palawan is also a top diving destination with many stunning location like the Tubbataha Reefs in the middle of the Sulu Sea, which coral atolls are on the list of the World Heritage Sites due to its various collection of fish and unique marine life or the Apo Reef and Coron’s wreck dive sites.
On the west coast of Palawan there is the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, which is also on the list of World Heritage Sites, where the longest underground rivers of the world situated. Environmentalists and geologists discovered small waterfalls inside the cave, while we can find many cathedral caves, white sand beaches, limestone cliffs, forests and diverse ecosystem. Palawan is home of 232 native species including birds and butterflies, endangered sea turtles and the beautiful sea mammal, the dugong which feeds on seagrass in the surrounding waters.
Palawan’s indigenous tribes are the Bataks, who have a Visitor Center in Puerto Princesa, the Palawans and the Tagbanuas. The latter belong to the oldest original inhabitants of Palawan and its islands celebrating their annual Pagdiwata Ritual Festival held in December on a full moon in Aborlan village.
P.S. – Want to go on a custom designed eco-friendly and sustainable tour anywhere in the world? I’m happy to book your full or partial trip! I’ll be offering you to my favorite hotels or resorts, restaurants, attractions, bars, and natural wonders you won’t find in any guidebook. If you’re interested, subscribe to my newsletter for updates or contact me now.
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