Puerto Princesa Underground River Adventure Part 2: Our Boat Ride to the Underground River

We traveled through the plains and the mountains. We endured the boring stop at Sabang Wharf. Now, we’re on the last part of our journey to the most famous underground river in the world. Riding a flimsy (and noisy) banca, we braved the sea to reach the Puerto Princesa Underground River!

Our boat trip began at Sabang Wharf. The wharf was especially made for boats ferrying people to the Underground River.

This boat trip to Underground River reminded me of one of the scariest sea travel of my life. Somewhere in Davao del Sur, our little banca was pounded by waves as big as a bungalow house. There were times that I thought that the sea will engulf us. Thank God that we had a very skillful boatman thus we survived the ordeal.

Scary waves didn’t appear during boat trip to the Underground River. In fact, the weather is perfect. The sun was up and the wind blew gently. We’re fortunate that the weather was fine that day because the boats will be grounded at the wharf if there’s a storm.

The view was amazing. It was years ago when I saw the same coastal features that I saw during our boat trip. Overhanging cliffs by the sea, unspoilt forest, clear seas; my eyes feasted on them all. I even saw a bird carrying a big fish back to its nest at the cliffs.

The view was beautiful so I decided to take a video of our boat trip, which you can watch below:

The boat is very noisy and it will be annoying to some people but I guess there’s no choice. Motorized banca is the cheapest way to travel to the Underground River.

We finally reached the beach of the National Park after 20-minutes of sea travel. The imposing cliffs that we saw miles away during the boat trip now stand very close and it is quite amazing.

The rock formation made my imagination go wild. Remove the trees and it will look like a mountain in Mordor (a perfect view of desolation). I also thought of the ents and I had an inkling that the tall trees will move.

After taking our selfies (with that beautiful cliffs at the background), our tour guide bid us to finally enter the Puerto Princesa Underground River National Park. We’re happy. We’re all excited! Few more steps and we’ll be seeing the world famous Underground River.

Note: that's not me.

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Check out my next blog post to see the wonders of the Puerto Princesa Underground River.

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Read more about our adventure in Puerto Princesa, Palawan:

First Night in Puerto Princesa: Dinner Date at Haim Chicken Inato
Our Overnight Stay in Balay Inato, Puerto Princesa
Honda Bay Tour (Part 1): A Big Disappointment at Starfish Island
Honda Bay Tour (Part 2): Killing Time at Luli Island
Honda Bay Tour (Part 3): Finale in Cowrie Island
Second Night in Puerto Princesa: Sisig Night at Kinabuch’s
Marianne Home Inn: Our “Home” in Palawan
How We Obtained the Permit to Enter the Puerto Princesa Underground River
Puerto Princesa Underground River Adventure Part 1: Playing the Waiting Game at Sabang Wharf
Puerto Princesa Underground River Part 3: Hidden Wonders of St. Paul Cave

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