Underground River

 Sunday, February 1, 2026

Underground River 

One of the New 7 Wonders of Nature!

The next morning began very early.

The night before, we had asked the restaurant at Achievers Airport Hotel to prepare breakfast for us at 4:00 a.m., since we had an early flight. And true to their word, everything was ready.

What a breakfast it was.

They served beef tapa — beautifully seasoned dry beef that was incredibly flavorful — along with scrambled eggs and rice. The beef was the real star. It was rich, savory, and absolutely delicious. Even at that early hour, it felt like a feast.

We packed the breakfast and headed to the airport, where we sat and enjoyed it after we boarded. The airport was already buzzing with travelers, and the line seemed to move slowly.

Poor Mika was extremely sleepy. While I stood in the queue holding our place, she quietly went and sat on a nearby bench, half awake and half dreaming.

 Soon enough we boarded the flight to Puerto Princesa in Palawan Island on the Cebu Pacific flight. We met a bunch of Indian boys in the bus. They came from Chennai on vacation. 

And as always, Mika did what she does best on vacations — make new friends.

An elderly man was sitting next to her, and within minutes they were chatting away like old acquaintances. For the entire two-and-a-half-hour flight, she talked and laughed with him nonstop. It’s her special vacation superpower — she becomes incredibly chatty and somehow gets people to open up completely.

The guy sitting next to me on the flight was an American who was engaged to a Philippino girl. Throughout the entire flight he told me his whole life story about how he grew up and how he ended up living in Philippines with a young lady in a pig farm. He showed me several photos and videos of his lifestyle.

This is his fiance's family preparing to roast a whole pig over the fire. He said that the skin was so crispy and yummy.

By the time the flight was halfway through, the poor man had practically shared his entire life story with her — from childhood memories to everything in between.

It was like watching an episode of an interesting Netflix show!

Meanwhile, I had taken the opportunity to get some proper sleep. Every time I woke up and glanced over, the two of them were still talking… chatting, laughing, exchanging stories as if they had known each other for years. It was honestly quite funny to watch.

Eventually we landed, feeling refreshed and excited.

After we landed, we were waiting for our bags when we caught up with the boys from Chennai. During the chat they mentioned that they were leaving to El Nido the same day without visiting the underground river. Some of them were wondering if they could squeeze that trip too before they head to El Nido!

Waiting outside were the people from our hotel, Dolce Vita. They had arranged a spacious van to pick us up, which felt like such a warm welcome. 

We booked a private tour to the underground river, Ugong caving and zipline and the Hundred caves through our hotel Dolce Vita. Our driver was waiting outside the airport with a board with my name. He helped us with the luggage and took us to the beautiful hotel to refresh.

The ride was comfortable, and soon we arrived at the cozy little hotel.

The place was beautiful — peaceful, charming, and surrounded by nature. It instantly gave us the feeling that we had truly arrived at the start of something special.

We checked into our room called Water Lily. Once we refreshed and ready to go, our guide and driver met with us at the reception. 

                                                     After that, the real adventure began.

We set out to the underground river which is about a 2 hour drive from Puerto Princesa. Our guide was trying to explain the procedures to get into the underground river and she got our passports to arrange for the permits.

 The road was winding and a bit bumpy in some places. It was very green and lush everywhere and it reminded me of the road to Kodaikanal even though it was not that steep. I was starting to feel a little nauseous because of motion sickness. We stopped in a small shop to get some chips and water on the way.

                                   We traveled by road for a while and finally reached a riverbank.

They dropped us off at a waterfront restaurant that served a buffet lunch. The dishes looked yummy and fresh, especially the spring rolls that they fried fresh and dumped on the tray right in front of me. 

I got a little bit of everything on my plate. 

Papu said it tasted good. I really wanted to enjoy it but the smell was actually making me nauseous and I could not imagine taking even a bite of the fried food. The smell of oil was hitting me hard and I kept staring at the plate as we shared the table with some other tourists sitting next to us. 

There was a board that said we will be charged for wasted food on our plate! There is no way I could eat everything I got. I nibbled on the cucumbers.

What ran through my mind was actually alarming...

I was trying to keep a neutral brave face but on the inside I was panicking. I was trying to retrace what I ate and drank in the morning and in the night before. Could it be food poisoning? I did not pack any antibiotics for this trip. Could it be the beginning of a prolonged infection? Would I be able to visit a doctor and get a prescription? Will I be sick in paradise? Would I ever be able to enjoy all the delicacies in Philippines? 

Is this just motion sickness?  If just a 2 hour car drive on these bumpy roads can upset my appetite this bad how will I handle the 6 hour van drive to El Nido on the same roads the next day? How will I stomach the bumpy boat ride scheduled right after the lunch?

In my mind I was desperately praying for the symptoms to go away and I asked my friends to pray for me. 

I didn't want to worry Papu with all my anxieties...

There was no soda available. Papu got me some mango juice. It was a bit tart and it helped a lot with the nausea. It was soothing and calmed down my uneasiness. 

Praise God I felt much better by the time we finished lunch. The nausea vanished and by the time we boarded the boat I was completely fine, back to vacation mode. God is good!

 From there, we had to get onto a boat to continue the journey. The boat itself looked quite unique — it had these large wing-like structures on the sides, almost like something out of an old adventure movie. It immediately felt like we were heading somewhere special.

                                                The boat ride was absolutely wonderful.

The wind rushed past us, and every now and then the water splashed onto my face. Instead of bothering me, it made the ride even more enjoyable. The cool water, the open sky, and the excitement of what lay ahead made every moment feel refreshing and alive. I truly loved every bit of that ride.

The boats usually don’t come all the way up to the shore. They stop a little distance away, and you have to step down into the water and walk the rest of the way to the beach. It looked simple enough.

So I carefully got ready to step down.

But just as I did, a big wave rolled in out of nowhere — almost like the sea had been waiting for the perfect moment. It splashed right into me and soaked me halfway through. My pants were completely wet in seconds.

For a moment I just stood there, shocked… and then started laughing.

It felt like the ocean had played a little prank on me — welcoming me with a splash before the rest of the adventure even began.

When I got down the wave was receding and the water was barely up to my ankle. So I was able to walk away from the boat dry.

I still think Papu went peepee in her pants while getting down :))

Soon we reached the entrance to the famous underground river cave.

When I looked up "what kinds of wild life is common in Philippines", it said monkeys, monitor lizards and snakes. Obviously we didn't want to see any snakes. While getting ready to visit the underground river we saw both a monkey and a monitor lizard casually hanging out.

Before entering, they gave us helmets and earphones. 

We walked down a small path through a dense forest to reach the underground river

The thought of going into a dark cave filled with deep waters in a small boat was a bit intimidating but the life jacket gave a sense of security

The emerald colored water was very still and made the scene very serene like in Psalm 23. 

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

Our guide stayed on the shore as we got on the boat and headed towards the rocky opening on the side of the mountain. 

The underground river is a unique, multi-level ecosystem, and a massive cave system. The river itself is 8.2 km long, with a 4.3 km navigable section, though we are allowed to explore only the first 1.5 km.

 The river flows through a 20-million-year-old limestone karst cave system that includes massive, high-ceilinged chambers.

Through the headphones, the guide explained different formations and interesting facts as we slowly moved through the cave in a small paddle boat.

 The audio guide is designed to minimize noise inside the cave and to respect the cave's environment.

As we entered, they warned us with a funny but serious instruction:
“Don’t look up… and don’t open your mouth.”

Why?

Because the cave was full of bats.

Somewhere above us, thousands of bats were hanging, and occasionally something would fall from the ceiling. 

Our guide told us that if something wet falls on us, this is how we can tell the difference. If it is cold it is "holy water" dripping from the ceiling. If it is warm it is "holy shit" from the bats :)

At one point, something dropped onto my helmet and I had no idea whether it was water… or bat droppings! That made the experience even more thrilling.

The cave is home to large colonies of bats (over 80,000) and swallows, as well as specialized, blind fish and creatures adapted to total darkness.

Inside, the cave was breathtaking.

Massive rock formations surrounded us — stalactites hanging from the ceiling and stalagmites rising from the ground. Over thousands of years, these shapes had formed incredible natural sculptures. The guide even pointed out formations that resembled familiar scenes. 

Some looked like religious images — a manger scene, the Last Supper, and other figures that people had imagined in the rock patterns.

It was so good to hear about scenes and characters conjured up from the Bible. All sculptured by Mother Nature... carved by the hands of God.

Even the small dents on the rock made by splashing water looked fascinating.

At one point, the guide switched off his helmet light to show us what complete darkness inside the cave felt like. Instantly, everything disappeared. It was pitch black — the kind of darkness you almost never experience in daily life. For a few seconds, we were surrounded by nothing but silence and darkness.

It was both eerie and amazing at the same time.

This is actual footage from the dark cave...pitch black!

The underground river flows directly into the sea. The lower half of the river is brackish and is subject to ocean tide. The tidal influence on the river makes this a significant natural phenomenon.

Eventually, we made our way back out of the cave, still soaking in the wonder of what we had just seen.

First day in paradise and Philippines did not disappoint!

Soggy bottom girl!!!

On the way back to the shore I got to sit on the front of the boat and enjoy the sprays.

Wind in my hair and occasional splashes on my feet...it was fun gliding on the surface of the ocean.

Here is the list of the New 7 Natural Wonders of the World

*Amazon Rainforest & River (South America): The world's largest tropical rainforest and river system, spanning nine nations.

*Hạ Long Bay (Vietnam): Famous for thousands of towering limestone karsts and isles in emerald waters.

*Iguazu Falls (Argentina/Brazil): A massive, powerful system of 275 waterfalls.

*Jeju Island (South Korea): A volcanic island featuring Hallasan mountain and unique lava tubes.

*Komodo Island (Indonesia): A rugged habitat for the world's largest lizard, the Komodo Dragon.

*Puerto Princesa Underground River (Philippines): A navigable underground river through spectacular cave formations.

*Table Mountain (South Africa): An iconic, flat-topped mountain overlooking Cape Town. 

3 done, 4 to go!!!