Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, Ugong Rock Cave
From Manila I went to Puerto Princesa, where I was hoping to explore some of the nature in the area. Thinking that it sounds like an interesting and unique activity, I booked a spot on the Puerto Princesa underground river boat tour.
As it turned out, the tour was quite far from the city itself. The morning started by going around the city in a van and collecting all the members of the group. From there it was a long drive all the way to the pier. Along the way we stopped somewhere to take a break, use the bathroom and buy some water and snacks. That ride alone took about two and a half hours.
When we got to the pier, from which we were going to take a motorized boat, we had to wait for quite some time as the groups who arrived before us got in their boats.
It was finally our turn, we got in, wore the life vests, and slowly made our way to the underground cave. Very slowly. So slow, in fact, that other boats overtook ours and waved at us on the way, which was both amusing and frustrating. Although it was nice to be in a boat, that particular ride was not particularly interesting.
Eventually we got to the other end. We got off the boat and walked for a few minutes, before reaching one more stop on the way, to pick up helmets. A couple more minutes of walking, and we finally reached the entrance to the cave, which was quite beautiful. Then, once more, we had to wait for our turn.
Nearly four hours after leaving the hostel, I was finally sitting in the actual boat that would take me into the underground cave. After resetting the audio guide so that everyone would be able to follow along, the tour was one its way.
As we went in, the sun had disappeared behind us and we could only really see what the boat driver was projecting his light on (or what other boat drivers projected their light on), which was synching quite nicely with the audio guide, who talked about the structure of the cave, its ecosystem, and the animals that live there. The sounds of people chatting was replaced by the sounds of animals going about their lives within the cave.
The audio guide also pointed out different rock formations, their names and what they are supposed to look like, but more often than not I was unable to see that. There were some formations I thought were quite unique, but for the most part it was pretty ordinary, with the exception of the tour being in a boat and not on foot.
Although I didn’t pay my full attention to the guide, which at times felt a bit over the top, it was pretty detailed. It was also necessary, as we were trying to keep the noise level to a minimum, as to not disturb or damage anything inside the cave. Unsurprisingly, the wooden bench gradually felt more uncomfortable, and so I was relieved to go back to dry land, even if only for a few minutes before taking the motorized boat back to the pier.
Me, along with most of the group, felt a bit disappointed by the whole thing. The actual tour took less than 40 minutes and didn’t feel particularly special. It would’ve been a nice stop if we were in the area, but it didn’t justify the long drive over.
On the way back we stopped at a nearby restaurant for a launch buffet, which was one of the highlights of the tour. There were quite a few options, and after getting full I went for a little walk in the little park at the back of the restaurant.
After several group members have expressed interest, we made one more stop, as Ugong Rock. We sat down to watch a video about the whole thing, which didn’t look bad at all. The main part of walking around a cave with the hollow limestone inside the cave making sound when being tapped on, like a natural musical instrument. After climbing to the stop, there is the option to go back down on foot, or via zipline.
Some people in our group decided to not take part in this activity. I was handed a helmet and a pair of gloves, put them on, and followed the guide along with the rest of the group. It was quite fun to walk around inside the cave, with some passages being a bit narrow, and tap on the limestone to hear the sounds coming from it.
We didn’t get much explanation about the cave and its history, but it was nice to be active rather than just sit in a boat. Near the top, I was strapped in with a rope, and practically had to give myself a wedgie, as I had to hold on to some ropes along a particularly steep part. There were staff members along the way to help and keep an eye out, just in case.
A few minutes and a couple of tricky maneuvers later, our little group reached the top, where we had a nice view of the area. The climb took around 20 minutes, and by the end of it I felt a lot better.
As I didn’t want to go on the zipline, I watched everyone else have a go before going back down with the guide. It was still quite challenging to go down, and at some point, instead of going down with the ropes we took a different path, which was unexpected and enjoyable. We got down rather quickly, and after resting for a few minutes, I got back in the van along with the other members of the group who didn’t go inside the cave, and then we went on to pick up all those who did go on the zipline.
From there we drove back to the city of Puerto Princesa and that was it. A long day that felt like it should’ve been considerably shorter. I didn’t understand why that underground tour was so popular, and I only wish I would’ve gone island hopping in Honda Bay instead.