Earlier this year I spent a few weeks in the Philippines, exploring Manila, Siargao, Cebu, Bohol, and what was once voted the most beautiful island in the world: Palawan. This large island is home to around 1m people and lies on the very western border of the country.

Start with this short clip for an overview of some of the amazing spots around Palawan!

On the way to El Nido

I arrived from Cebu, landing at the airport of Puerta Princesa, which is also the capital and largest city on the island. The plan was to go north towards El Nido, the most well-known area. On the way, a visit to the island’s famous underground river was on the cards - which was cancelled by the coast guard due to high waves. This is not uncommon, keep it in mind and allow enough time to try again - which I managed to do, more on that later. Instead, we stopped in Barton Bay, on the western coast, for a small boat excursion, and got to witness an interesting local event: Racing homemade speed boats.

The Shame

One of the contestants had to be pulled back by the coast guard. From what I observed, this is the biggest shame a participant might possibly have to endure...

Serious Business

The boats are highly tuned, super light, and teams work until the last minute to adjust them according to the current water conditions.

Port Barton is also home to a small sandbank that frequently sees starfish washed on shore, making for some picturesque scenes, especially if - like me - you’re patient enough to await the right moment with no boats and people around.

Star Fish

These are called horned sea star or - my preferred name - chocolate chip sea star. They don't survive outside the water for very long, so generally it's not advisable to pick them up. This one made it back into the waters when the next wave of the rising tide arrived.

Beach Life

Another specimen getting washed onto the sand bank. They are often seen in the tourist trade, where they are sold as dried curio.

Island of Doom

The bay also has a few beautiful islands - one of which became the doom of my drone, which ended up with a low battery in the sea, as the heavy westerly winds didn't allow it to come back in time... Luckily my amazing tour company - more on that later - helped me get a rental for the rest of the trip. Palawan really needs to be seen from the air.

Beach Beach Beach

One of the longest beaches on the island is not too far from here - a small hilltop provides views along the coastline. The totel extent of the white sand here is almost 15km, and it's said to be the second longest in Asia. Your definitions may vary.

Bato ni Ningning

The hill is also home to this little stone, which was made famous by a TV show.

El Nido & The North

Some of the most beautiful land- and seascapes are in the northern parts of the main island, around El Nido. Having researched this area a bit, I knew that most of the very touristy trips follow standard routes, and you can pick A, B, C, or D. Obviously not what I wanted, because that means everyone going to the same places at roughly the same times, and those tours of course also start once people crawl out of their beds rather than at sunrise when the conditions are best and things quiet. So in my usual quest for something a bit more interesting I found a tour company priding themselves in organizing custom trips: Palaweña.

Palawan's landscape is famous for the almost 1800 islands scattered along the coast of the 450km long main island.

El Nido

A local Bankga boat on the shores of Barangay Corong Corong on a cloudy (as were most days when I visited unfortunately) morning.

The private custom tours paid off (and were super well organized), because we reached many of the best spots around Bacuit Bay, such as the Big Lagoon and its beaches pictured above, before any other boats.

Creative Naming

The so-called small lagoon, just across from the big lagoon to the left.

Quiet Times

On a late afternoon after everyone else had gone back to the shores. This place is usually filled with boats and kayaks.

The Hidden Lagoon

Joining the Small and Big Lagoons in the creative naming scheme is this gem - only reachable through a very narrow cave entrance.

Shimizu Island

Another of the beautiful limestone cliff islands with their white sandy beaches. Who wouldn't want to set up their umbrella here?

Matinloc Island

A bit further north-west you’ll find a curious man-made spot: An abandoned shrine, built in 1982 between the cliffs and the beach alongside a small villa, and now mainly used for lunch stops and apparently a yearly pilgrimage by the locals.

The Shrine

While this is a catholic site, its architecture looks more like a greek temple.

Island Statues

A small cave became the Shrine of Santo Nino (the man child) and one is asked to avoid speaking ongodly in its presence, for fear of divine justice coming down on you...

The scale of the limestone formations here is truly amazing, spot the kayak in the second shot!

Flora

The cliffs are home to a variety of plant life, such as these beautiful false yucca.

A Lonely Mushroom

Sometimes sitting in the wide open sea, with not much around.

Seven Commandos Beach

One of the many small beaches dotted along the islands.

Another One

It's difficult to get bored of these places...

Different

Geologically speaking, Palawan is very different from the rest of the country, as its rocky island landscape originated from the Eurasian plate, forming this spectacular karst terrain that isn’t found elsewhere in the Philippines.

Another place I was able to enjoy by myself was the Hidden Beach (again part of the creative naming scheme...) on the east side of Matinloc island.

Out of View

This beach is protected by large limestone formations, and the only way to reach it is with a small kayak.

Stormy

Another reason why I was alone here for a while may have been the somewhat wavy conditions, not ideal for taking a kayak along sharp limestone rocks...

Sunset over Bacuit Bay

El Nido had one signature sunset in store, despite the largely cloudy conditions during my stay. I used it to capture this fisherman returning from the sea in his Bangka.

Waxing Moon

Our celestial companion rising on a clearer evening.

Going Underground
I spent the last day going back to Puerta Princesa for my onward flight, and started very early in El Nido for another attempt to reach and tour the subterranean river. This UNESCO World Heritage Site was once said to be the world’s longest underground river - there seem to be different definitions of this record though.

Forests and Mountains

After all these photos, you’d be forgiven to think Palawan is mainly small karst islands, but in fact its main island is covered in hills with thick forests, reaching up to 2000m in height. As it happens, there is evidence the island was once home to tigers.

River Entrance

The entry point to the river lies directly on the beach with just a short walk through the forest, as the river itself flows into the sea.

The inside of the cave river becomes completely dark once you go a few hundred meters beyond the entrance, with only the light of the boat captain shining onto the amazing limestone formations. It’s over 8km long, although only the first few kilometers are navigable by boat. The cave network itself reaches even further at 24km length.

Formations

One of the many limestone formations - the river caves are home to dozens of incredible shapes, all more or less aptly named by the locals and researchers.

Life

It is also home to large populations of nine different species of bats, often hanging above you. Keep your mouth closed when you look up ;)

Wonder of the World

The sign board celebrating the attraction's inclusion in the 7 New Wonders of the World in a public voting process (that wasn't free of criticism...), while the other one describes the geological history of the area.

Palawan - Gem of the Philippines

Start with this short clip for an overview of some of the amazing spots around Palawan!