The Underground River - Palawan

The Puerto Princesa Subterranean National Park, more popularly known as the Underground River is purported to be the longest underground river in the world. It is also often times called the St. Paul's Subterranean River National Park, or the St. Paul Underground River because it is located in the Saint Paul Mountain Range on the northern coast of the island of Palawan.

Recognizing the park's representation as a significant habitat for biodiversity conservation, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization or UNESCO named the Underground River a World Heritage Site on December 2, 1999. It is also nominated for the New 7 Wonders of Nature competition.

The park is almost two hours from Puerto Princesa City. When we arrived there, there were many tourists waiting their turn to traverse the Underground River. To kill time, I snapped some photos and ate some chips. My iPod was also a great help. The waiting was terrible. I did not keep track of the time but it was maybe about an hour.

The color of the water is amazing. It's green! And it looks so clean.

Our turn finally came. We eagerly rode the kayak and while it traverses the river, I happily snapped pics. Hmm, what's to expect inside?

There's graffitti as detailed above.

And stalactites and stalagmites. There were cool formations like the Holy Family and some that looked like vegetables. Sadly, I wasn't able to take any clear pics as it was too dark.It was cold too. And boy, the place reeked of bat shit I was doing my best to not sneeze lest I disturb any bats and they would come flying at us.

While the boatman gave jokes and explained what this and that formation is, I just listened to my iPod. It's a cool tour but seeing the same thing over and over again eventually took the novelty off it. Would you believe I was even able to take a nap for a few minutes?

Then we were on our way out. I snapped out of my sleepiness and forced myself to stay awake. To do so, I just looked forward to going out. Is this what people mean when they see "the light at the end of the tunnel?"

And finally we were out. Hurray!