Puerto Princesa Underground River

The subterranean river is nominated as one of the new 7 Wonders of the World. It was once called the St. Paul underground river. 

Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park or PPSRNP They have recently uncovered the fossils of a dugong and some crystal caves!

 It is a core area for the Palawan Biosphere Reserve and is designated as an Important Bird Area (IBA). It was also declared as a National Geological Monument. In recognition of global significance, the PPSRNP has been inscribed to the list of natural World Heritage Sites.

The trip from Puerto Princesa city center takes anywhere from an hour and forty to and almost 2 hours to get to the underground river depending on the weather.

The park has a limestone karst mountain landscape with an 8.2 kilometer navigable underground river. A distinguishing feature of the river is that it winds through a cave before flowing directly into the South China Sea. It includes major formations of stalactites and stalagmites, and several large chambers. The lower portion of the river is subject to tidal influences. Until the 2007 discovery of an underground river in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River was reputed to be the world's longest underground river.










The area also represents a habitat for biodiversity conservation. The site contains a full mountain-to-the-sea ecosystem and has some of the most important forests in Asia. It was inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site on December 4, 1999.

The Park has a range of forest formations representing eight of the thirteen forest types found in tropical Asia, namely forest over ultramafic soils, forest over limestone soils, montane forest, freshwater swamp forest, lowland evergreen tropical rainforest, riverine forest, beach forest, and mangrove forest. Researchers have identified more than 800 plant species from 300 genera and 100 families. These include at least 295 trees dominated by the dipterocarp type of species. In the lowland forest, large trees such as the Dao , Ipil, Dita , Amugis , and Apitong  are common. Beach forest species include Bitaog , and Pongamia pinnata. Other notable plant species include Almaciga , Kamagong  Pandan  Anibong, and Rattan .

Birds comprise the largest group of vertebrates found in the park. Of the 252 bird species known to occur in Palawan, a total of 165 species of birds were recorded in the park. This represents 67% of the total birds and all of the 15 endemic bird species of Palawan. Notable species seen in the park are the blue-naped parrot , Tabon scrub fowl ,  Palawan hornbill .

Palawan Hornbill

Blue-napped Parrot

Tabon Scrub Fowl

There are also some 30 mammal species that have been recorded. Most often observed in the forest canopy and along the shoreline feeding during low tide is the long-tailed macaque, the only primate found in the area. Other mammal species in the park are the bearded pig , and the Palawan porcupine .

Long-tailed Macaque

Bearded Pig

Palawan Porcupine

19 species of reptiles have been identified, eight of which are endemic . Common species in the area include the monitor lizard . One species, Barbourula busuangensis, endemic to Palawan was also observed in the area.

Barbourula busuangensis

Monitor Lizard

Notable are the nine species of bats, and the sea cow (Dugong dugon).

A tour boat inside the Underground River.

A group of tourists prepare to enter the Underground River

International notability

Puerto Princesa Underground River was entered as the Philippine entry - and topped the first round of voting - in the New7Wonders of Nature competition, and on July 28, 2011, after the second round of voting, it was declared 1 of 28 finalists. Mayor Edward S. Hagedorn extended his gratitude to all those who supported and voted for the PPUR.On November 11, 2011 it was provisionally chosen as one of the "New7Wonders of Nature", together with the Amazonia, Halong Bay, Iguazu Falls, Jeju Island, Komodo Island, and Table Mountain.

President Noynoy Aquino (PNoy), voting
for Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR)

The voting was criticized, especially the Philippine voting. Nothing in the New7Wonders voting procedure prohibited repetitive voting, making the results subject to government and tourism industry campaigns to vote often for local sites with the financial incentive of increased tourism. Philippine president Benigno Simeon Aquino III, in his speech during the official proclamation launch of the Puerto Princesa Underground River as one of the 28 finalists, urged the country's 80 million cellphone subscribers to vote PPUR via text: "We send two billion text messages a day, all we need is one billion text votes for the Puerto Princesa Underground River so (we can accomplish) that in half a day," the President said. "I urge everyone to vote to the maximum for the Puerto Princesa Underground River as one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature" he reiterated.

They only allow 1.5km trip from 8.2km of its river length for further research as to not to disturb its natural endemic species living there (and the more further you go,the less oxygen you will take).Guides said La Venta have their exploration study every month.They have this Law to construct less use of concrete materials as to only use of natural woods which is actually nice. They also added that there's a lot of caves and complicated tunnels under this underground river