Puerto Princesa Underground River

New 7 Wonders of Nature

The Puerto Princesa Underground River flows through a limestone mountain and emerges in the South China Sea, one of the few places where a navigable cave river meets the ocean. It lies within the St. Paul Subterranean River National Park on the west coast of Palawan, a protected area that also shelters pristine lowland rainforest, mangroves and a wide range of wildlife, from monitor lizards and macaques to hornbills. The cave system is long, reported at roughly twenty-four kilometres in places, and visitors travel only a small section by paddle boat with a guide, passing high chambers, stalactites, stalagmites and formations that guides name with humour and care. Bats and swiftlets fill the darkness, and the cave is subject to tidal influence near its mouth. UNESCO inscribed the national park as a World Heritage Site, and it later joined the New7Wonders of Nature. The park limits the number of daily visitors and requires a visitor permit, and official guidance warns that staying overnight in Sabang does not guarantee a permit. Plan to reserve through official or licensed channels early, especially in the dry season from December to May. The experience is short, quiet and atmospheric, with audio guides in several languages and an emphasis on silence in the cave. Combine it with a forest trail or a mangrove paddle, and respect posted rules about touching, flash photography and waste.