The main attractions of Palawan and what to see for sure

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Palawan is famous for its natural attractions, including caves, an underground river, magnificent beaches and lagoons, mountains, waterfalls, hot springs. If you love historical sites and temples, then there are very few of them here, and it's better to go to another island for them, or even better to choose another country altogether. In the city of Puerto Princesa, you can visit a large interesting Heritage center museum about the nature, culture and life of the island, a butterfly farm, a crocodile farm, and an Ivahig hold. Many options for exploring the sights are offered by local excursions. The primary ones are, of course, island tours in El Nido or Honda Bay, tours to fireflies, to the underground river in Sabang, whale shark swimming tours, diving and snorkeling, trekking tours with mountain climbing or hiking in the jungle.

We have collected in this article the most interesting places on Palawan that we managed to visit, and which we can definitely recommend for an independent visit:

El Nido Island Tours

El Nido Island Tours

The main tourist calling card and the most popular attraction of El Nido, and possibly the whole of Palawan, is a boat tour of the islands in the bays of Bacuit (Bacuit Bay) and El Nido (El Nido Bay). This is a journey to the beauties of nature, consisting of limestone islands and magnificent beaches, turquoise lagoons and caves. For millions of years, water and wind have formed incredibly beautiful and bizarre shapes of rocks and water grottoes here, which you can see during these excursions. They also include disembarking to relax on the beaches, swimming in lagoons, snorkeling, a great lunch and, of course, hundreds of beautiful landscapes to photograph. There are four options for tours in El Nido, they are simply named with the letters A, B, C and D. There are also individual tours and overnight stays on private islands. Learn more about island tours in El Nido, which one to choose and where to buy here ...

Puerto Princesa Underground River

Puerto Princesa Underground River

The underground river of Puerto Princesa in Sabanga or simply the Subterranean River of Sabanga (Puerto Princesa Subterranean River) is the most famous and grandiose natural attraction of Palawan and one of the most famous in the Philippines, and without exaggeration a must–visit place on Palawan. In 1999, it was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, and in 2012 it earned the title of one of the new seven wonders of the world, along with places such as Iguazu Falls (Aregntina/Brazil), Komodo Island (Indonesia), Ha Long Bay (Vietnam) and others. Today, the river is part of the national park of the same name, which, in addition to the river itself, also includes an eco-trail through the jungle. You can visit the Underground River as a tourist attraction with excursions from Puerto Princesa or other places in Palawan, or you can do it yourself by coming to Sabang village. Read more about the Puerto Princesa underground river here...

Fort Santa Isabel (Santa Isabel Fort)

Fort Santa Isabel

Fort Santa Isabel (Santa Isabel Fort) in the town of Taitai is the main and most famous historical landmark on Palawan. To be honest, Palawan doesn't have a lot of historical places in general, so if you can't imagine your vacation without visiting such places, then we definitely recommend visiting Santa Isabel. The fort was built in the XVIII century by the Spaniards on a small island, protruding into the sea at 100 meters and accessible from the shore only during low tide. In the XIX century, the Spaniards were replaced by Americans who occupied the Philippine lands. Well, today the fort is a historical site and an open-air museum that anyone can visit. Read more about Fort Santa Isabel here...

Heritage center Heritage center

Heritage Center in Puerto Princesa

This is the main museum of Palawan, which we recommend you to visit if you stay in Puerto Princesa. Moreover, it is best to do this first of all before you decide to travel further around the island. There is a really large and informative historical and ethnographic exhibition, which is complemented by an excellent excursion accompaniment (in English), and all this for a nominal fee. Well, there is also an exhibition of contemporary Palawan artists. Learn more about the Heritage center Heritage center here...

Pamuayan Waterfalls

Pamuayan Waterfall

Pamuayan Waterfalls is located on the road between the Port of Barton and San Vicent only four kilometers from the Port of Barton, and therefore it can even be visited from this resort on foot. The waterfall is not very large and not very full-flowing, but at its foot there is a large swimming pool for bathing in refreshing water, and therefore it is popular with holidaymakers in the Port of Barton. Near the waterfall there are remnants of infrastructure: a toilet, a changing cabin and a gazebo with a table. But, unfortunately, all this is abandoned, destroyed by bad weather and requires restoration. Learn more about Pamuayan Waterfall here...

Bigaho falls

Bigaho Waterfall

Bigaho falls is a small beautiful waterfall, which is convenient and pleasant to visit both from the Port of Barton and from San Vicente. It is smaller than its "neighbor" Pamuayan Waterfall, but since it is located further from the popular resort of Port Barton, fewer tourists get here, and accordingly Bigaho is not crowded, and most likely you will even find yourself here all alone. We advise you to combine his visit with a rest on the wonderful deserted beach Mahilamonen Beach, which is just a couple of minutes away from here. Learn more about Bigaho Waterfall here...

Cuyaoyao Falls (Cuyaoyao Waterfalls or Kuyawyaw)

Cuyaoyao Waterfalls

This waterfall is located 40 kilometers from El Nido and is considered one of the largest near the resort. It consists of three waterfalls, each of which consists of several levels, which are reached by a well-equipped trail through a beautiful forest in the Cuyaoyao Natural Park. You can swim in the pools at the foot of the largest waterfall.

Unfortunately, the fee for his visit is completely unreasonable, besides you still have to pay for a guide. Therefore, we advise you to go here only if you want to walk through the forest with a guide and learn something new about the local flora and fauna. If you just want to swim in refreshing water and take beautiful photos, it's better to visit some other waterfall in the vicinity of El Nido cheaper. Read more about Kuyaoyao here...

Makinit Hot Springs

Makinit Hot Spring

These are wild and unsettled hot springs, which are a stream of hydrogen sulfide hot water coming straight out of the ground into a field in the remote vicinity of El Nido on Palawan. The spring is completely unsuitable for bathing, but if you really want to, you can do it. However, keep in mind that the water in it is very hot, almost boiling water, and it is better to swim as far as possible from the source. To do this, go along the stream from the source downstream almost to the hut of local farmers, and there you can immerse yourself in the water completely. Learn more about the Makinit hot spring here...

Ille cave and Dewil Valley

Ille Caves in Devil Valley

This is so far a little-visited and little-known natural attraction in the vicinity of El Nido, and a clearly underrated place that is lost in the shadow of popular island tours from El Nido, but definitely worth a visit. A network of caves filled with stalactites, stalagmites, bats and bizarre drawings left by nature is located in the bowels of a low mountain that rises like a tower in the middle of the green Devil Valley. A lot of artifacts and evidence have been found here confirming that Palawan Island was inhabited 12 thousand years ago. Learn more about the Ille caves here...

Honda Bay Island Tours

Honda Bay Island Tours

Almost every traveler on Palawan necessarily tries to visit the famous island tours from El-Nido. This is not surprising, because these boat tours on the islands, beaches and lagoons are perhaps the main business card of the whole of Palawan. However, in addition to them, there are also island tours in Honda Bay from Puerto Princesa. The islands in Honda Bay are quite different from the islands in El Nido. Here the islands and beaches are more sandy, the water is warmer, and, as it seemed to us, even more transparent (but perhaps it's all about the weather at a particular moment). During the tours, you will be taken to several beautiful private islands with rest on magnificent sandy beaches, snorkeling from a floating platform in the sea will also be on the program, and, of course, you will be well fed in a restaurant on one of the islands. Learn more about Honda Bay tours here...

Iwahig Prison

Iwahig Prison - Community Center building

This is a completely unique attraction that will surprise even seasoned tourists and travelers. This is a real prison and correctional farm, where about 4,000 prisoners are kept, and at the same time it can be visited. But you ask, what is all this for tourists and travelers, and why visit it? In fact, this is a unique experience: to visit a real colony and communicate with real prisoners. You can come here, move freely around the territory (excluding administrative and private residential premises, as well as areas marked with prohibition signs), communicate with prisoners. We visited here and talked to one of the prisoners. Convicted of drug trafficking for a very long time, he told about the way of life here, about his family, who visits him, about how he made a mistake and got here. It has its own center, something like a town among the fields of a farm, where administrative buildings and something like an information or community center Recreation Hall are located. It is here that you can communicate with prisoners, of course, mainly in English. Be sure to buy something from souvenirs. Their prices are affordable, from 10 pesos. Read more about Iwahig prison here...

Tunnel of acacias

Tunnel of acacias

Tunnel of acacias (Acacia Tunnel) is just a point where you can take beautiful photos in a tunnel formed by live trees above the road, and nothing more. To be honest, the place to visit is literally for a couple of minutes, and it's obviously worth going here on purpose, but if you ride around the neighborhood of Puerto Princesa on rented transport or with a guide, you can make a stop here for a photo. Read more about the tunnel of acacias here...

Crocodile Farm

Crocodile Farm

In fact, this place is not at all such a crocodile farm as you may have met at other popular resorts in Southeast Asia, where these toothy predators are kept and raised for the amusement of tourists and in order to make purses and bags out of them. This is a research center for the rescue and conservation of the island's wildlife (The Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center). They study and take care here not only of crocodiles, but also of other inhabitants of Palawan. It just so happened that most of the "population" of the center are crocodiles, and therefore this place is popularly called "Crocodile Farm". The visit takes place in the form of a short excursion in 15 minutes, during which you will be shown a small museum of the center, and then guided through the territory along the cage pools filled with local crocodiles. Read more about the Crocodile farm here...

Butterfly farm and ethnic village

Butterfly Farm

In our opinion, this is a rather controversial place to visit, and to be honest, it somewhat resembled a typical "tourist trap". But maybe we are wrong, and it's better for you to visit the farm and the village yourself, especially since visiting it costs purely symbolic money. The butterfly farm and the ethnic village are actually two attractions in one. Both places are visited by the same ticket, although they are located in different territories across the street. The main entrance and ticket payment is from the butterfly farm. After buying tickets, you will be taken to the territory of a small butterfly farm, where you will be met by the staff, quickly guided and demonstrated something from the theme of butterflies. A performance is shown on the territory of the tribal village. In a couple of minutes, half-naked people representing local tribes demonstrated how they produce fire, hunt and play musical instruments. This is accompanied by a story about how hard it is for local tribes that they cannot hunt because of prohibitions, and therefore tourists should give them money, take pictures with them for 250 pesos, or at least buy something from souvenirs. Learn more about the Butterfly Farm and the ethnic village here...

Kay's Hotspring

Kai Hot Springs

These are equipped with natural hydrogen sulfide hot springs near Puerto Princesa, 12 kilometers from the center. This is a fairly large complex of several individual baths and communal pools, there is a playground, a recreation area, a restaurant and a hotel. But to be honest, when we were here, we saw everything far from in the best condition, everything seemed to be abandoned. To begin with, at least with the fact that the territory is unkempt, the garbage is simply not cleaned up, and there is a broken swing on the playground. The water in the communal pools was dirty and slightly warm, and some of the pools were empty at all. And at the same time, we were asked 150 pesos per person for swimming in communal pools (much less from locals). Learn more about the Hot springs of Kai here...

Santa Lucia Hot Springs

A sign with a schedule of working hours

The natural hot spring Santa Lucia Hot Springs in the vicinity of Puerto Princesa is completely free to visit, even for foreigners. There is one large swimming pool with hot water for swimming. It is divided into four sections, the water in each is slightly different in temperature. There is also a pool with ordinary water, changing cabins, gazebos, and all this can be used for free. Learn more about free hot springs here...

City Promenade City Baywalk

Puerto Princesa City Promenade

This is the only place in Puerto Princesa where you can walk in the evening and where the few tourists who stay in the city flock. It is not very beautiful and clean, and there is no entertainment except for bicycle rental and children's cars, but at least there is at least some kind of evening "party" going on here. You can chat with friendly locals and other travelers, sit in a cafe and eat unusual local fast food. seeing off the sun at sunset. And over the embankment, planes land at the local airport. Learn more about the city embankment here...

Firefly Tour

Firefly Tour

One of the cool tourist attractions in Puerto Princesa is firefly tours. You will be taken by boat along the river in places where there are a lot of fireflies in the thickets along the banks. Tours take place in the late evening in the dark, last about an hour directly by boat + transfer time to and from the hotel, if you have it included. Some excursions also include dinner, but it depends on the program and needs to be specified when buying. However, it is worth noting that a large number of fireflies are not guaranteed here. Their number may be less due to bad weather, especially strongly affected by the wind. They are also poorly visible during the full moon.

Cathedral of Puerto Princesa

Cathedral of Puerto Princesa

This is the main Catholic cathedral, a place with a history. Large and beautiful, made in neo-Gothic style. Available for tourists to visit. It dates back to 1872, when the first mass was held at this place in Puerto Princesa by the Augustinian friar Ezequiel Moreno, who later became a saint. This happened six days after the Spanish expedition arrived in the area. Since that moment, the church has been rebuilt many times, it was even partially destroyed during the Second World War, until finally in 1961 the construction was finally completed and the cathedral acquired its present appearance. Learn more about the cathedral here...

Plaza Cuartel Memorial Park

Monument on Plaza Quartel

This is one of the few, or rather even the only historical attractions in Puerto Princesa. And if you look more broadly, this is even one of the very few historical places in the whole of Palawan, because apart from it, only fortress in Taytai comes to mind , and nothing else. To be honest, there's not much to see here, he'll spend 5 minutes here. It's just something like a square or a memorial park, and not very well maintained, like almost everything in Puerto Princesa. However, it is difficult to overestimate the importance of this place and the drama of the events that took place here. On December 14, 1944, 139 American prisoners of war were burned alive by soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army at the site of this memorial, only 11 managed to escape. The brutal massacre was committed so that the prisoners of war would not be saved by the advancing Allied forces. Learn more about Plaza Cuartel here...