It seems as though my nature woes haven’t left me yet. First, the White Volcano exploded in New Zealand, then I arrived in Australia and the whole country is burning at epic proportions, and now the Taal Volcano, just outside of Manila, has erupted. The volcano spewed ash for miles, forcing thousands to evacuate and shutting down the Manila airport indefinitely.
The earth is rumbling on this side of the world.
The only way in or out of this country for me is through Manila, so hopefully, the volcano will calm down in the next few days so that I’m able to move onto my next destination. In the meantime, I made my way to the Underground River, my primary reason for coming to Puerto Princesa.
It took a few hours by van (yet another terrifying and nauseating drive) to the shore in the city of Sabang where we would take a boat to the island where the caves are located.
The process for getting a boat is the same regardless of if you’re booking through a tour company or coming alone—you grab a number and wait for that number to be called. We waited about two hours until it was our turn, which sounds long but when you’re sitting on the beach with a freshly cracked coconut, it’s hard to be upset about the wait.
The boat ride to the subterranean river was as loud as it was beautiful, the small boat roaring as we passed towering limestone islands. After arriving on the beach, it was a fifteen-minute walk through the rainforest, spotting monitor lizards and monkeys looking for handouts from tourists.
We arrived at the entrance to the river and climb into man-powered, fiberglass boats and push into the cave.
The entrance to the Underground River.
It’s nothing short of spectacular.
The first section of the caves contains some light, making it fairly easy to see the formations within the cave. A short ways in, all light ceases. The only sound within the caves is the water splashing against the boat and the hundreds of bats flying overhead. With a flashlight, the boat captain scans along the rock formations, stalagmites, and stalactites throughout the cave.
The river runs through eight km of the cave, but only about four km is available for tourists to visit as much of the river is difficult to navigate. Due to oxygen deprivation deep within the cave system, a large part of the caves have yet to be explored.
The boat ride through the caves was only about an hour. While this is a short amount of time considering the entire trip took around eight hours, it was worth it. The Underground River was by far the highlight of my time in the Philippines.