Located in Palawan's eastern coast, Puerto Princesa ("port of the princess" in English) is the prime gateway to the island's immaculate beaches and baffling topography. Its tricycle-congested streets, metropolitan hustle and friendly atmosphere give this town coastal town a flavor of its own.
Named in honor of the Spanish Queen Isabella's daughter, Puerto takes pride of its Underground River, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The largest of its kind in the world, this natural canal stretches up to eight kilometers in length, redolent of clean waters and grandiose mineral formations. Word about this subterranean river has reached far and wide, making it a candidate to the Seven Wonders of Nature. From the nearby town of Sabang, cave aficionados can hop on a pump boat and navigate through the river's snaking pathways that lead all the way to the South China Sea.
Claustrophobics needn't look far for an open natural attraction. The local tourism office, as well as the several hotels in Puerto, can arrange island-hopping tours in Honda Bay, located north of town. The neighboring Pandan, Cowrie, and Snake islands teem with sugar-white sand, clean waters, and gentle breezes that seduce tourists to lie out on the beach all afternoon.
Those who prefer to stay in town can wander around for a glimpse of provincial life while shutterbugs can marvel at the impressive architecture and the vibrant blue and white colors of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral. The nearby Palawan Museum transports its visitors to the different periods of the island's history with the relics found in Tabon Cave (said to be the "Cradle of Philippine Civilization"), shards of Chinese pottery from the barter days, and Spanish trinkets dating back to the colonial age.