One of my best vacations this year was our recent trip to Miniloc Island at El Nido, Palawan. It was a sweet 3 days and 2 nights stay at one of the best island resorts in Palawan, and probably the entire Philippines.

To get there, easily, you might want to take the direct flight (chartered) to El Nido and land straight in the nearest island airport. Then you have to take a speed boat ride to Miniloc for about 45 minutes.

The place is one of the smaller islands in the dozen of islands along the northern end of Palawan. There are close to a hundred rooms. The speed boats will dock about a hundred meters away from the dock to avoid hitting the rich corrals. A smaller banca will fetch the passengers from the speed boat and bring them to the docking station.

The place is amazing from the moment you step off the banca. The staff will welcome you will all smiles and sing festive songs to celebrate your arrival. The entire staff will heard you to the restaurant and serve cold fruit drinks and cold towels for you to relax while you check-in. The relations manager will then orient the visitors of the facilities, activities and some ecological rules and policies around El Nido.

From there on, it’s all relaxing time, buffet meals and a lot of tours around the islands of El Nido You can go snorkeling at the from beach where they’ve made a small lagoon, go kayaking around the island, or scuba diving for the more adventurous and just spending a nice relaxing afternoon bathing under the sun.

El Nido is one of the more popular cluster of islands in Palawan and is home to several top beach resorts in the Philippines. Despite its commercialization, a lot of the areas in El Nido is still heavily protected for natural conservation.

As such, a lot of the smaller islands are either un-inhabited or are in a very pristine condition. This makes island-hopping in El Nido, Palawan a great experience — you personally see and witness it and wonder in amazement.

And while a few of the islands are privately-owned, they have been taken cared of a lot and preserving the beauty of nature.

Just take a look at this picnic island we hopped into which is still part of El Nido resorts.

You don’t get to see places like this very often. Sometimes, just sitting down and looking at the scenery is more than enough.

There are a lot of really nice places to go when looking for beaches and resorts in Palawan. The entire group of islands is practically a huge resort in itself with hundreds of untapped small islands to check out. The most prominent though is Lagen Island in El Nido.

Our recent 3-day trip to El Nido was spent on Miniloc Island. However, we were able to visit Lagen Island on the second day just to check out the place and try their swimming pool.

In an island surrounded by white sands and sparkling waves, the pool is a nice contrast and is a favorite among visitors.

Lagen Island is just awesome and the resort is positioned to give visitors the best view of the sea. Cottages on stilts line the row of a small lagoon and scores of fishes and sea creatures populate the shallow water.

Like its sister resort, Minoloc Island, Lagen is a bit more private and secluded which caters more to couples who want a little lone-time and privacy. Of course, that comes with a price.

Amanpulo is one of the private resorts in Pamalican island in Palawan. It is surrounded by white sand beaches, clear waters and a 2.5km stretch of coastline.

Guests here are flown by a 19-seater private plane from Manila and touches down on the Island’s private airstrip. Estimated cost per head is about Php85k++ for a 3-days, 2-night stay. It is about 360km southwest of Manila and it will take you about 1hour and 10 minutes on its private plane.

The resort has Free internet access available in each room, while mobile phone signal is only available on certain areas.

“This romantically remote island caters for those who wish to ‘hammock’ and beach comb their days in paradise, and for those who seek an active agenda, involving a myriad of maritime adventures as well as tennis, a high-tec air-conditioned gym, and taking languid lengths in the resort’s 30m serene pool.“  – amanresorts.com

There are more photos of the resort here. Feel free to browse and enjoy the experience. Head to their website for more detailed information.

Once a year, the province of Palawan, the Philippines’ last ecological frontier, celebrates its biggest festival, Baragatan sa Palawan, from June 1 to 30, 2010. Baragatan which is derived from the Cuyonon word, bagat, which means “to meet,” is a gathering of people, culture, traditions and resources celebrating the beauty and bounty of the province. It is a grand celebration where one can experience Palawan under one roof, so to speak.

It is a festival of Palawan’s natural and cultural heritage showcasing the beauty and bounty of the province in its people, agricultural crops, arts and crafts, tourism destinations, and environment. People from all walks of life including expatriates who have made Palawan their home, tourists and visitors are part of the Baragatan sa Palawan.

According to the Baragatan Executive Committee headed by Ferdinand S. Dilig as Chairman, the festivities will begin on June 1 with a soft opening of month-long fairs such as the Garden Show, featuring Palawan’s greenery, blooms and other exotic plants, collectors’ items; Caraenan sa Baragatan is a food fair offering delicious and delectable meals, and for those searching for native souvenir items there’s the Technology Livelihood and Development Center Trade Fair featuring food products, arts and crafts of local manufacturers.

The grand opening of the festival is on June 21 featuring the colorful Float Parade, Pantiguan sa Baragatan, a dance parade participated in by local officials of different municipalities, showcasing the festival in their respective localities and the officials. Also expected to add color to the grand opening is the streetdancing presentation participated in by officials and employees of the Provincial Government of Palawan.

Cuyonon, the predominant culture in Palawan, will be highlighted on June 22 and 23 with the Cuyonon Day and Cuyono Rock respectively. The Cuyonon Day will feature Cuyono music, songs, poetry, dances and delicacies while Cuyonon Rock will showcase modern versions of Cuyono songs and Cuyonon translations of Pinoy Rock. As Gov. Joel T. Reyes once said, “We have to continue promoting and preserving Cuyono culture because this is our identity and our heritage and our way of manifesting our patriotism and love for Palawan.”

The festival also coincides with the 108th founding anniversary of the establishment of the civil government of Palawan on June 23. The anniversary will be highlighted with a Eucharistic celebration, the Governor’s Award, an award-giving body recognizing outstanding groups, institutions and individuals who have contributed significantly to the development and progress of the province, and The Best of the Best of Palawan Talents.

Baragatan sa Palawan will culminate with the much-awaited Saraotan sa Dalan or streetdancing competition, tribute to former Provincial Government of Palawan officials and employees on June 27 and the Search for Mutya ng Palawan with the talent night on June 28 and the coronation night on June 30.

These are all exciting and colorful events that Palaweños want to share to the country and the rest of the world. So come and visit Palawan and be part of the Baragatan sa Palawan festival.

Baragatan sa Palawan 2010 which will start on June 1, 2010 will be highlighted by the streetdancing competition known in the Cuyonon as Saraotan sa Dalan. This year’s participants will once again regale spectators with the colorful streetdancing competition. Shown in photo is the contingent from the municipality of Coron, 2nd prizewinners in the 2009 Baragatan Saraotan sa Dalan. In full blue bodypaint, the dancers wore costumes made out of native mats and coco shells and carried clay pots whose equivalent term in the native tongue is the origin of the name of the municipality.

Narra, a municipality in southern Palawan considered as the province’s rice granary won the grand prize in the 2009 Baragatan Float Parade. The float is a replica of the rice-field showcasing the agricultural abundance of the place.

Shown in photo is the float of the municipality of Taytay, second prize winner in the Baragatan Float Parade competition in 2009.

One of the highlights of the yearly Baragatan sa Palawan Festival is the employees and officials streetdancing performance. Photo shows Palawan Governor Joel T. Reyes (left) and Vice Governor David Ponce de Leon with Kokkoy Pikoy, the official Baragatan mascot, in last year’s Baragatan employees streetdancing.

Photo shows the contingent of El Nido, the grand prize winner of the 2009 Saraotan sa Dalan, depicting the balinsasayaw or swiftlets that produce the noted egg nest or nido, known for its medicinal and culinary value.

When in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, one of the best you can do on a hot summer day is to check out and do some island-hopping at Honday Bay.

Honda Bay is a collection of several islands including Cannon Island, Bat Island and Starfish Island, with coral reefs, nice white sand beaches and amazing species of fishes and other marine animals.

The bay is to be found in Sta. Lourdes Tagbanua, Puerto Princesa City. It’s about 12 kilometers east of Puerto Princesa City. Pumpboats could be hired to take tourists to the island of their choice or all islands if time permits. Some islands require an entrance fee; others are privately owned, thus, permits from the owners are necessary.

Our day trip from the underground river to Honda Bay costs us a total of Php2,500 per head, all-in. It was a little costly but since there were six of us, I think it was worth it.

There’s this small village-like place in Puerto Princesa where a lot of people, especially kids and high-school students, go to every afternoon. It’s called the Bakers Hill and it literally sits on top of a hill overlooking the city.

The place is really nice and it’s like a small theme park. I think it started out as a bakery at first, then they added a couple more stores and food stalls when students kept on coming back.

Even at the entrance, you will be greeted will a nice smell of freshly baked bread.

The owner of the place built a small mansion on the front of the property and added smaller houses and cottages at the back. The whole area is well maintained with a large garden and more small pockets of garden all around. There are also large human-sized statues and figures that are scattered all over.

Bakers Hill is like a private park but is opened to the public mostly students hang out at the place during break times or week-ends since schools are just nearby the place.

The Underground River in Puerto Princesa Palawan is one of the longest and most visited national park in the Philippines. It is one of the most important protected areas in the Philippines and is designated as a core area of Palawan biosphere reserved.

It was established as the St. Paul Subterranean National Park on March 26, 1971 by virtue of Presidential Proclamation 853. It was created primarily to protect and preserved the outstanding biophysical properties of the area.

However, studies later concluded that the size was not sufficient to ensure the long-term viability of the park. This was resolved by the signing of the Presidential Proclamation 212 on November 12, 1999. The said proclamation amended the park boundary to include community buffer zones and changed its name to Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park to properly identify it with the area.

It is now comprised of 22,202 hectares including the original 3,901 hectares as a core zone and additional 18,301 hectares buffer zones.

The park is best know for the existence of an intensive underground river system. It also protects significant old growth tropicals considered by experts to be among the most biologically diverse ecosystem in the world. So far, more than 800 plant species have been identified including some 295 trees dominated by the dipterocarp type birds, 30 species of mammals, 18 species of reptiles, 10 species of amphibians, and a large number of insect species.

In recognition of its high conservation value, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has inscribed the park to the list of World Heritage Site.

The park is managed by the government of Puerto Princesa under a program of sustainable development centered on environment. It is being managed by the city through multi-sectoral Protected Area Management Board or PAMB.

More photos of our trip to the Crocodile Farm in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.

This week-end, we went to Puerto Princesa, Palawan to check out most of common tourist destination in the island. Among the first stops we made was at the Crocodile Farm which is being managed by the DENR in Puerto Princesa.

The farm is found near the city center of Puerto Princesa, about 20 to 30 minutes by land (usually minicabs or tricycle) down south. It is being maintained by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources as a holding facility so a lot of animals here are also released into the wild or forest after they are rescued.

This skeleton of a huge crocodile is the largest ever that was captured in the 90′s. It has a length of about 5 meters from the nose to the tip of the tail and was discovered to have eaten half a body of a human. It later died in captivity.

The farm has hundreds of baby crocodiles bred in captivity and placed in batches inside a huge tub and fed twice a week. They are then transferred into a bigger pool when they grow up to a mature size.

There are two types of crocodiles in Palawan. The first kind is the freshwater crocodile and the second is the saltwater crocodile. About 80% of the swamps and rivers in Palawan are still infested with crocodiles so people needs to be very careful before going into these areas.

There’s a short tour inside the farm with a small fee of Php25 per person when visiting the place. Visitors are also allowed to have their pictures taken with a baby crocodile (about 1 meter long) with its mouth tied up.