Palawan: The Philippines' Last Frontier

Palawan is the westernmost province of the Philippines — a long, narrow island that stretches 450 kilometres from the northern tip of Borneo to the main Philippine archipelago, flanked by the South China Sea to the west and the Sulu Sea to the east. It is the least developed of the major Philippine islands, and the combination of its extraordinary natural beauty and its relative inaccessibility has preserved a landscape that the rest of the Philippines has largely lost to development.

El Nido, at the northern tip of Palawan, is the finest island-hopping destination in the Philippines — a town surrounded by 45 islands and islets of dramatic limestone karst, with hidden lagoons, white sand beaches, and coral reefs of extraordinary quality. The island-hopping tours (Tour A, B, C, and D) cover different combinations of islands and are the best way to explore the area, though hiring a private boat gives the freedom to spend more time at the places that matter most.

The Big Lagoon and the Small Lagoon, accessible only by kayak through a narrow opening in the limestone cliff, are the finest natural features in El Nido — enclosed bodies of water of extraordinary turquoise colour, surrounded by vertical karst walls that rise 200 metres from the water. The Small Lagoon, in particular, has a quality of light and colour that makes it feel like the inside of a jewel.

The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, contains one of the longest navigable underground rivers in the world — 8.2 kilometres of river flowing through a cave system of extraordinary scale, with stalactites and stalagmites of every shape and size. The boat tour through the cave takes about 45 minutes and is one of the finest natural experiences in Southeast Asia.

Coron, in northern Palawan, is the finest wreck diving destination in Asia — a bay containing 12 Japanese warships sunk by American aircraft in 1944, now covered in coral and inhabited by an extraordinary variety of marine life. The Okikawa Maru, a 160-metre tanker lying at 30 metres, and the Irako, a refrigeration ship at 42 metres, are the finest dives, but all 12 wrecks are worth exploring.

The Tubbataha Reef Natural Park, 150 kilometres southeast of Puerto Princesa in the Sulu Sea, is one of the finest dive destinations in the world — a UNESCO World Heritage Site of two atolls with walls that drop 100 metres into the deep sea, inhabited by hammerhead sharks, manta rays, whale sharks, and an extraordinary variety of reef fish. Access is only possible by liveaboard from Puerto Princesa, and the season runs from March to June.

The best time to visit Palawan is from November to May, during the dry season, when the seas are calm and the visibility underwater is at its best. The southwest monsoon (June to October) brings rough seas and heavy rain that make island-hopping difficult and diving impossible in some areas. El Nido and Coron are best visited in the dry season; the Puerto Princesa Underground River is accessible year-round.

The Bacuit Archipelago around El Nido contains some of the finest snorkelling in the Philippines — coral reefs of extraordinary health and variety, with sea turtles, reef sharks, and the enormous Napoleon wrasse that are increasingly rare elsewhere in Southeast Asia. The reefs around the Cadlao Island and the Matinloc Shrine are the finest in the archipelago, and the combination of the karst scenery above the water and the coral gardens below it makes El Nido one of the most complete natural experiences in Asia.

Port Barton, midway between Puerto Princesa and El Nido on the west coast of Palawan, is the most relaxed and least developed of the island's beach destinations — a small village with a handful of guesthouses, excellent snorkelling on the nearby reefs, and a pace of life that is entirely different from the increasingly busy El Nido. The boat trips to the islands around Port Barton — Exotic Island, German Island, and the reef at Capsalay — are among the finest in Palawan and cost a fraction of the equivalent tours in El Nido.

Getting around Palawan: the main road between Puerto Princesa and El Nido (240 kilometres) is served by vans that take about five hours and cost around 600 pesos. The road is paved but narrow, and the journey is long enough to make the flight from Puerto Princesa to El Nido (30 minutes, operated by Air Swift) worth considering for those with limited time. The bangka (outrigger boat) is the primary means of transport between islands, and the island-hopping tours are the most practical way to reach the best beaches and lagoons.

The Calauit Safari Park, on the island of Calauit in northern Palawan, is one of the most unusual wildlife destinations in Asia — a game reserve established in 1976 by Ferdinand Marcos, who imported African animals (giraffes, zebras, impalas, waterbuck) to the island and allowed them to coexist with the endemic Philippine wildlife (Calamian deer, Palawan bearcat, Palawan peacock-pheasant). The result is a landscape of African savanna animals grazing alongside Philippine endemic species, which is entirely surreal and entirely fascinating.