The underground river of Puerto Princesa in Sabang

This article has been translated from Russian language using an artificial intelligence-based translation algorithm. We apologize for any inconvenience caused by the quality of the translation. You can read the original of this article in Russian here, and ask questions on the topic of our travel forum in English here.

Description and is it worth a visit

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. But we will tell you about how to visit it below, and to begin with, a little bit about the history of the river and why it is so interesting and unique.

Entrance to the underground river

The history of the discovery of the land river Puerto Princesa

As it is not surprising, but until recently the underground river was not a very well-known and little-visited tourist destination. But in 201, a group of ecologists and geologists discovered that the underground river has a second level, which meant that there must be waterfalls inside the cave. Going deeper into the cave, they found a huge cave dome 300 meters high, a large number of bizarre rock formations, a colony of large bats, several branches filled with water and another deep cave. Also, a very deep depression was discovered on the river, which has not yet been explored, and its depth is unknown. Scuba divers simply cannot get down to its bottom due to lack of oxygen.

After these discoveries were published, on November 11, 2011, the underground river was pre-selected as one of the 7 new wonders of nature. This choice was officially confirmed on January 28, 2012 by the results of voting.

Underground River Cave
Underground River Cave
Underground River Cave

What is interesting about the underground river and the National Park

The underground river has a length of more than 24 kilometers! Some sources on the Internet call it the longest underground river in the world, but this is not the case at all. In fact, the title of the longest underground river belongs to the Sak-Actun cave system in Mexico, the total length of which is 376.7 km!!!

The river flows into the West Philippine Sea directly from the cave on the shore near the village of Sabang in the national park, and this place is the main entrance to it for a tourist visit. Although the term "entrance" may not be entirely correct, since it is impossible to enter the cave here, you can only go out by boat. From here, the length of the passages available for boats is 4.3 kilometers. But, of course, tourists are not taken to such a depth, only its researchers get so far. Tourist boats are limited to the first kilometer only.

In addition to the underground river itself, there is a mangrove forest and impenetrable jungle inhabited by a large number of inhabitants on the territory of the national park. These are at least 165 species of birds, of which 15 are endemic, i.e. found only here. There are also at least 30 species of mammals, for example: crab-eating macaque (Macaca fascicularis), bearded pig (Sus barbatus), Palawan binturong (Arctictis binturong), etc. Among the 19 species of local reptiles, 8 species are endemic. The local flora is no less rich, it is at least 800 species of plants.

But all this diversity of flora and fauna, of course, is not represented in the caves of the underground river, but on the surface, and is inaccessible to most tourists, since the public tourist route runs along the underground river, and the rest of the park is closed to visitors.

But there is enough about the beauties and features of the cave and the national park, because you will hear all this for yourself during the excursion. And now we will tell you how to visit this place.

How to visit the underground river in Sabang

So, the Puerto Princesa underground river and the Underground River National Park in general are available for tourist visits, of course, for a fee. To do this, the national park is equipped with two tourist routes: one by boat directly through the cave of the underground river; the other on the surface along the path through the jungle, known as the Jungle Trail or Monkey Trail. Ie, so that you understand even more precisely: you can't just come here and go for a walk on your own the way you want, it's it is prohibited as well as in nature reserves, everything is strictly along the routes.

The most popular of these two routes is, of course, a boat trip on an underground river. And a walk through the jungle is much less popular, because there are quite a lot of similar places in the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries, and there is only one such river. We will tell you more about the visit procedure itself, and at the very end of the article we will tell you more about how to get here.:

  • Underground river route

    This route is a completely water walk, organized as an excursion by the national park. The route starts from the marina in the village of Sabang, it is 70 kilometers from the city of Puerto Princesa and from the airport. Near the pier there is an information center of the national park, in fact it is a ticket office where you need to get permission to visit.

    Bloggers on the Internet say that it is difficult to get permission to visit an underground river, that this should be done only at the National Park office in Puerto Princesa in advance, and therefore already go here. And that in general it is possible to get to the underground river only with an excursion, which you need to buy at local travel agencies. In fact, this is not the case. We know from our own experience that you can just come to the marina in Sabang and buy everything at the box office, i.e. you don't need to do anything in advance.

    Information center and ticket office for the underground river in Sabang

    Getting permission is not difficult, it's like buying regular tickets. There are no special requirements and restrictions on the number of visitors, but still the cave has a physical capacity limit, so sometimes a queue is formed at the ticket office, you have to wait a little. A particularly large queue gathers after 10 o'clock and before lunch, when groups of tourists with excursions from Puerto Princesa are brought by bus. There are a lot of Chinese and Koreans among them, there is noise and screeching like in an amusement park. So if possible, it is better to come to the cashier early in the morning for the opening at 07:00, or after 15:00.

    In general, several different receipts are paid here at once, such as a visit permit, a fee for pier services, the cost of transportation by boat, rental of an audio guide, and possibly something else. But you shouldn't care. Just tell us your name and the number of people at the checkout (we were asked for a passport to fill out the papers, so take it just in case), they will fill out all the papers there themselves, and you will only have to pay the total amount, now it's 750 pesos (12.93 rubles). This price includes the rental of an audio guide, a life jacket and a helmet, a rowing boat ride on the river itself, and a guide. No one needs to pay extra except for the boat fee in order to get from this pier to the entrance to the cave.

    Looking ahead a little, we will tell you that visiting the cave itself takes place in complete darkness and silence. You will be sailing on a rowing boat with a guide who will not tell you anything, but only use a flashlight to highlight in the dark those interesting places about which the audio guide will tell you through headphones. In audio guides there is, among other things, Russian, it can be selected in the settings. Flashlights are not available for rent here, so if you want to see something for yourself, it's worth taking your own headlamp.

    Another important point that may concern you: do you need protection from water? by and large, it is not necessary, because you will be in boats all the time. But just in case of emergency, you can take a hermetic bag or even just a sealed bag where you put your documents and phones. But once again, this is not necessary.

    But back to the pier. After registration and payment of the permit, you still need to get to the starting point of the water route through the cave on rowing boats. This place is located five kilometers from here, and for some reason this part of the tour is not included in the price. There are two options: to get there like everyone else by boat, or to walk along the Jungle Trail hiking trail, which in itself is an attraction. We will tell you about the passage along the Jungle Trail below, but the main way is motor boats from the pier.

    Boarding a motor boat before entering the cave

    To board a motorboat from the ticket office, you need to go to the boarding area marked with the inscription Dispatching Area. Here another person collects the payment and distributes the tourists to the boats. Here you can pay for the boat in full for 1100 pesos (18.96 rub.) and then only you will be in it, or sailing with other tourists from 140 pesos per person, this is the price in both directions. When there are very few tourists, it happens at the very beginning or at the end of the working day, sometimes you have to wait a little while until a full boat is gathered. Well, or you can divide the cost into four, five, or how many tourists there will be, so as not to wait. The person who collects money for the boat organizes all this himself and calculates the payment, you just need to tell him what you prefer: private boat or joint boat.

    It takes 10 minutes by boat from the pier to the entrance to the caves. There you will moor to the shore (remember your boat so that you can return to it later), cross a little over the ground to the landing place on the rowboats, they will seat you there and instruct you (they are immediately given helmets to save them.vests), and on the road.

    It takes 10 minutes to swim to the beach at the entrance to the underground river
    Then transfer to these rowing boats
    And through this entrance we get into the cave

    The rowing boat tour lasts about 40 minutes. At the end of it, you get along the pier to the center of Sabang in reverse order, you do not need to pay for the return trip.

    If you are confused, then here is once again the entire route of the visit by points:

    • Buy permission to visit the national park (tickets) at the ticket office at the pier, 750 pesos.
    • Take a motor boat at the pier, which takes you to the cave entrance for 130 pesos/person or 1100 for the whole boat in both directions.
    • Transfer from a motor boat to a rowing excursion boat directly through the cave with a guide (included in the price). Helmets and life jackets will be issued here.
    • Swim around the cave and listen to the story of the audio guide for about 40 minutes.
    • At the end of the excursion on the shore, you hand over your life jackets and helmets, find the boat on which you arrived here, and return back to the pier in the center of Sabang (without payment, everything has already been paid in both directions).
    • You return to the hotel or Puerto Princesa satisfied and with a lot of impressions.
  • Hiking trail Jungle Trail or Monkey Trail

    The Jungle Trail hiking trail runs along the trail from the outskirts of Sabang to the very point at the entrance to the cave, where they transfer to rowing boats and go swimming along the underground river. The length of the trail is 5 kilometers. You can walk along it in one direction, visit the underground river by boat and return on foot, or return to the pier in the center of Sabang on the very boats that bring other tourists. Well, or vice versa, there by boat, and back on foot. The route can be completed with a guide from the national Park, permits are issued at the same ticket office at the pier.

    Unfortunately, we were not able to walk the hiking route during our trip to Sabang in 2023, as the trail was closed due to damage after a powerful typhoon. Whether it has been restored and the route has been launched again is now unknown for sure. But if you have any up-to-date information on this subject, please let us know in the comments.

    Hiking trail on the national.the park, but we did not manage to pass through it

Our video of the Puerto Princesa Underground River

🕐 Working hours

The underground river is open to the public from 08:00 to 17:00 all year round, except July 1-3. The ticket office is open from 07:00 to 14:00. In fact, during our visit, the ticket office opened even earlier for half an hour, and we boarded the boat already at 07:30.

💵Entrance fee / ticket price

Permission to visit the underground river at the ticket office at the marina of Sabanga costs 750 pesos (12.93 rub.), includes an audio guide, rental of the necessary equipment, boating in the cave and accompanying a guide. In addition, a motor boat is paid to get from the Sabanga pier to the cave entrance for 1100 pesos the whole boat (18.96 RUB), or 140 pesos/person (2.41 rubles). But all this on the condition that you get to the pier in Sabang yourself. Ready-made excursions with delivery in a group from the hotel from Puerto Princesa, a visit to the underground river and lunch cost from 2200 to 2500 pesos (37.91-43.08 You can buy them in street travel agencies, in hotels and online on sites like Klook, GetYourGuide, etc., but Russian cards are not accepted there.

🚶 How to get there

The Puerto Princesa Underground River is located in the village of Sabang, 70 kilometers from the capital of Palawan, Puerto Princesa, and the airport (underground river on the map (entrance)). From El Nido is 270 kilometers here, it's almost 5 hours one way, and therefore the river is usually visited from Puerto Princesa. At least, we have not come across such excursions in El Nido travel agencies, but perhaps they are, just individually.

In general, there are two main options to get here: buy an excursion from travel agencies or hotels in Puerto Princesa (from 2200 pesos), and then they will take you here from the hotel door, show you everything, feed you and take you back, or come to Sabang on your own during the day or overnight.

  • With a guided tour

    The advantages of the excursion are that it is really convenient and simple, saves you time and the price is quite profitable compared to driving here yourself by taxi or rented car or coming with an overnight stay at the hotel. However, the disadvantage of the excursion is that you will be in a large group in the middle of the day, when the boats are simply not crowded in the cave.

  • Independently

    If you decide to go here on your own, then perhaps it will cost you more than a ready-made excursion, but you will avoid tourist crowds. We visited the cave early in the morning (there were generally the first ones near the ticket office) and did not regret the time and money spent at all, but it's up to you, of course.

    The most convenient and time–saving option is to rent a car or motorbike in Puerto Princesa, leave early in the morning to arrive here at the opening of the ticket office at 07:00 or even earlier. It will take 1-2 hours on the road, so plan to leave at 5-6 o'clock. You need to go to the marina in Sabang (marina in Sabang on the map), there is ample free parking nearby.

    Another option is to come here overnight. There are many guest houses in Sabang and even hotels from 600 pesos to several thousand per room. We found a room for 600 for two at Blue Bamboo Resort on the spot, although this place is not for everyone, because it is in a neglected state (but it may have already been repaired). Other accommodation options were requested from 1500 pesos. You can book accommodation here in advance on Trip.com (with payment by Mir cards) or Booking.com (it doesn't accept Russian cards, but you can find options without prepayment).

    To visit an underground river with this approach, one night is enough: arrive the day before, spend the night, visit the river early in the morning, check out before 12 o'clock and go on. But you can stay for a couple of days, because there is quite a tolerable beach holiday and a few more attractions and entertainment.

    To spend the night in Sabang, you can get there not only by rented transport, but also by bus. Unfortunately, we do not have accurate information about regular buses from the new Irawan bus station in Puerto Princesa to Sabang, but judging by the information from the reviews, jeepneys or minivans worth 300 pesos go along this route a couple of times a day. But there is no schedule as such, they are sent as local residents gather. There are also private minivans that carry 500 pesos/person or 3500 pesos for the entire minivan. Tickets for them are sold in travel agencies and hotels, there is no schedule as such, you need to check on the spot.

    That's all, if you still have any questions or have something to share, tell us in the comments below or in 💬 chat in the Philippines here...

We also recommend to see the possible options for other excursions on Palawan, which can be booked online:

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