One of the main reason why I picked Puerto Prinsesa as our Anniversary getaway was because of the famous Subterranean River National Park or Puerto Prinsesa Underground River. It is one of the most important biodiversity conservation areas of the Philippines. The famous Underground River is located in the St. Paul mountain range at the North part of the city and is about an hour away from the city proper.
For our day 2 in Puerto Princesa, our itinerary was Sabang Beach and Underground River.
Kuya Egay our tour guide fetch us at the hotel around 8.00am and travel around 2 hours going to Sabang port. Kuya Egay checked our scheduled boat ride from a list found with the pier management. We were informed that our turn to ride the banca will be at 3pm.
So Kuya Egay brought us to Sabang Beach.
we walked Sabang Beach while enjoying the sand and sea water on our feet.
Sabang beach has nice fine sand and clear water. I enjoyed my 3 hours here.
At around 12 noon, I got tired of swimming and got hungry. We then had lunch at Taraw Resort. The lunch buffet is included in the package that I picked at the hotel.
At 2pm, we were asked by Kuya Egay to get ready for to get back at the port for our boat ride to Underground River. 
We rode the boat and were immediately given lifejackets. They are very strict in the use of lifejackets while onboard the boat.
A boat ride to the Underground river is consist of 10-11 person per boat including the boatman slash tour guide. Life vest and hard hats are required to wear for safety measures.
It was raining that time by the way…
The entrance to the Underground River.
a paddle boat will take the tourists inside for a 40 minute round trip up to the designated stretch and back to the cave mouth.
Nothing is heard inside the cave but light splashes of water, the low murmurs of each tourist and the voice of the boatman who also serves as the guide. he would point to us different rock formations like the holy images, some vegetables and animal shapes. and he would constantly remind us not to raise our heads and open our mouths lest droppings from numerous bats on the ceiling would find it’s way to it.
We have seen only the first 1.5 km of the cave even though it is navigable up to 8.2 km. Why only 1.5km ride? Anything more than that would require to secure permit. The boatman said, researchers and experts usually navigate the whole stretch of the river.
Puerto Princesa’s Underground River is on the shortlist of 28 places competing to become the new 7 wonders of the natural world. After finishing the 1.5km tour I believed that it has a great chance in grabbing a slot.
Let’s help PPS Underground River to grab a slot this year. If you haven’t voted yet, here is the link.
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