Etihad Inflight January 2008 91

A s we sit on the beach on an island

night listening to the waves gently

lapping the shore, the ground

suddenly stirs beside us. A flashlight beam

reveals hundreds of tiny green sea turtles

hatching and emerging from their nests in the

sand. Guided by the moon’s watery reflection,

they courageously flop towards the sea, their

wobbly legs sometimes giving way beneath

them. Only one or two of them will survive

until adulthood when, as generations have

done before them, they will swim hundreds of

miles back here to lay their eggs in the sand

where they were born.

Palawan, the Philippines’ westernmost

province, is a haven for wildlife. It is home to at

least 35 endemic and near endemic species

of mammals and birds including the Palawan

bearcat, Palawan peacock pheasant and

Philippine mouse deer, the world’s smallest

hoofed animal. Made up of over 1,700 islands

scattered between the Sulu and South China

Seas, Palawan – also the name of the largest

of these islands – could be considered a world

in itself; a real-life Narnia.

The Tubbataha Reefs are considered by

many to be the jewels in Palawan’s crown.

Lying around 90 nautical miles east of the

main island, these huge coral atolls rise from

the volcanic depths of the Sulu Sea forming

coral beds in the bright shallows, wide lagoons

where turtles graze on seagrasses and steep

walls drop off to the open sea. The reefs cover

around 81,000 acres and lie at the heart of the

coral triangle, and the centre of global coral

diversity. Since it was declared a national park

in the late 1980s, making any kind of fishing

illegal, Tubbataha has come closer and closer

to its pristine natural state.

Visitors to the park stay on liveaboard

boats from which they dive up to three times

a day, often including once at night. In

Tubbataha’s tranquil mornings, the dawn

ripples through lucid water as parrotfish,

batfish and small reef sharks meander through

the shallows. There are few places in the world

where nature is so untouched; every dive is

an extraordinary experience. Multi-coloured

reef fish dart around corals near the surface

while manta and eagle rays glide over the

drop-off and strangely graceful hammer-

head sharks haunt deeper waters. When

the sea lies flat in the late afternoon, spinner

dolphins jump and play in the fading light.

We move from underwater to underground;

Palawan is the location of the world’s longest

subterranean river. A short hike from the town

of Sabang on Palawan’s west coast lies the

mouth of the river, an eight-kilometre channel

flowing through a mysterious cave network.

The limestone rock formations have been

sculpted by water, in some places carving

huge, imposing chambers while in others,

cavities too small to pass through by boat.

Bats and swiftlets occupy these caves and

can be heard navigating the darkness using

“echolocation” – their calls bouncing off the

walls telling them where they are.

WORDS + IMAGES • KATHERINE JACK

Explore the rich climes of one of the Philippines’ lushest island chains, Palawan, where life is intertwined with nature

Destination • Philippines

90 Etihad Inflight January 2008

Theislandland

worldFrom left to right: Tagbanua boy searches for fish in the shallows; Cuyonon children play bamboo tipano flutes at Baragatan Festival

To the melodic tunes of bamboo flutes, the Palawans act out tales from their richhistory of tribal battles, princesses and fearsome raids by Sulu Sea pirates

Destination • Philippines

These huge coral atolls rise from the volcanic depths of the Sulu Sea forming coral beds in the bright shallows, wide lagoons where turtles graze on seagrasses, and steep walls drop off to the open sea

Palaweños are innately friendly, and their

smiles are quick to rub off on those who visit.

Their lives are not easy – most earn a meagre

living from fishing or subsistence farming – but

on the whole people are genuinely happy with

the gentle pace of life that the islands offer.

Many live scattered in far-flung places but

every year at the end of summer, people of

all cultures, Muslims and Christians, migrants

and indigenous people, travel to Puerto

Princesa to join in the Baragatan, the “coming

together” festival. This lively celebration

encompasses a host of activities from fanciful

float parades and beauty contests to painting

and photography exhibitions. Pista Y Ang

Kageban is a tree-planting festival in the city’s

watershed, also held at this time.

At Baragatan you can buy native products

– intricately woven baskets, colourful floor

mats and textiles from nearby islands. There

are bountiful supplies of exotic fruits including

delectable mangos, wild honey and cashew

nuts. The fiesta’s highlight is on the last day

when dancers cavort through the streets,

their bodies painted indigo or blackened with

and their way of life is connected closely to

their natural surroundings. Over the centuries,

they have accumulated a unique knowledge

of medicinal plants and, because of their

animistic beliefs, they have a special respect

for Palawan’s flora and fauna.

As dusk falls on central Palawan’s remote

hillsides, you may hear Chinese gongs

sounding through the valley. These antiques

have been passed down through generations

of Tagbanuas, coming long ago from their

trade with Chinese junks when they bartered

the gongs for sea cucumbers, honey and

birds’ nests. These days, the tribal people

still scale the islands’ craggy cliffs for the

swiftlets’ nests, sold for a fortune to be made

into birds’ nest soup, a Chinese delicacy. The

Tagbanuas’ intimate local knowledge extends

underwater; they are expert fishermen skilled

at catching lobsters and octopuses.

From the underground river, a jungle trail

leads back to Sabang. Prehistoric-looking

monitor lizards are a common sight along

the path that winds its way through the virgin

forests. A wander down Sabang’s shoreline

brings you to an age-old mangrove swamp.

Huge trees tower here, their tangled roots

lifting out of the water like the stilts of the

fishermen’s houses nearby. Oysters, sea

stars, cowries and young fish live among the

giant roots and the only sounds disturbing the

stillness are the calls of monkeys and birds.

Palawan’s wildlife is so captivating that

many visitors never notice that the cultures

of these islands are equally astonishing.

Etihad Inflight January 2008 93

THE LAST FRONTIER

Until about 50 years ago, Palawan was a heavily forested and little known frontier with

a tiny population mostly consisting of nomadic indigenous people living in relative harmony

with the environment. However, in the years that followed, mining and timber companies

arrived, bringing floods of migrant workers and putting considerable pressure on the island

group’s land, forests and seas.

These developments were recieved with grave concern by local and international

environmentalists who determinedly set about saving Palawan from destruction. In 1991, the

United Nations declared Palawan a “Biosphere Reserve”, a model of how man should live

with nature. The next year, an all-encompassing environmental plan was laid out and laws

were introduced to ban logging on the islands entirely.

Palawan is now heavily armoured with environmental laws but sometimes even these

are not enough to protect it from continuing illegal exploitation. For example, Tubbataha

is a national marine park as well as being a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but it is still

threatened by illegal fishermen who persistently adapt their techniques in order to elude the

park’s rangers. “It’s an ongoing battle,” says Angelique Songco, Tubbataha’s park manager.

“People nowadays seem more and more willing to take risks to get their hands on our

precious marine resources.”

Palaweños are innately friendly, and their smiles are quick to rub off on those who visit

charcoal dust. To the melodic tunes of

bamboo flutes, they act out historic tales

tribal battles, princesses and fearsome raids

by Sulu Sea pirates. Sometimes the dances

tell modern stories such as the plight of

the Palawan hornbill, an endemic species

threatened by habitat loss and hunting.

This fiesta tradition emanates from Cuyo,

a remote island in the Sulu Sea, where during

the last week of August the people colour

themselves blue and dance through the town

to pay tribute to their patron saint, Augustine.

At this time, the usually tranquil island erupts

into a vibrant celebration. Cuyo’s isolated

location means that it receives few visitors, so

those who make the journey to join the fiesta

are assured a hearty welcome, not to mention

a healthy covering of blue powder.

Palawan’s minority indigenous groups – the

Batak, Tagbanua and Pala’wan – have their

own traditions and celebrations. They are

generally shy people living in remote areas

so visitors are unlikely to meet with them

unless they make special arrangements. They

have lived in Palawan for thousands of years

From left to right: A baby turtle makes it to the water; Filipino outrigger canoes; Cuyonon boys at fiesta time; Kayangan LakeFollowing page: Tabon Cave Complex at Quezon in southern Palawan

00 Etihad Inflight Month 200794 Etihad Inflight January 2008

Those who are perhaps not prepared for

a long hike into the islands’ hills and forests

can also experience Palawan’s indigenous

cultures at the Pagdiwata Arts Festival, held

around Easter every year at Kamarikutan

café and gallery in Puerto Princesa City. This

weeklong event involves music workshops,

performance and visual arts during the day

and concerts in the evenings. Around Puerto

Princesa itself, tribal products are sold in great

variety from ubiquitous rattan weavings to

traditional blowguns, still used for hunting.

“It’s fantastic when visitors to Palawan are

able to absorb the islands’ culture as well as

communing with nature,” says Bong Romero,

manager of Club Noah, an inspired resort and

nature sanctuary in northern Palawan. Their

“kelang-banwa” is a new building dedicated

to tribal artefacts and indigenous traditions.

At Palawan’s northern tip lie the Calamianes

– scattered jade islands in a blue topaz sea.

Coron Island, a short boat ride from the main

town (also called Coron) is the ancestral

domain of seafaring Tagbanuas, and it is

they who allow visitors access their sacred

lakes. Kayangan Lake’s waters are impossibly

clear and seem to descend forever. Fantastic

Destination • Philippines

EXPERIENCE PALAWAN

FOR SLEEPING: Club Noah Resort IsabelleTrue to its name, Club Noah is a haven for many kinds of exotic and rare wildlife. Nestled in

a beautiful bay on Apulit Island in the north eastern municipality of Taytay, this secluded and

luxurious resort is the perfect place to unwind. www.clubnoah.com.ph

FOR NATURE: Tubbataha Reefs National Marine ParkThe dive season in Tubbataha usually runs from March until June when the sky tends to

be clear, the sea flat and underwater visibility between 30 and 45 metres. Visitors stay on

liveaboard dive boats for around a week and pay a park conservation fee (around $60) which

goes towards protecting the reefs. www.tubbatahareef.org

FOR CULTURE: Culion IslandOnce upon a time, Culion Island was home to the world’s largest leper colony. Now

a lively and pretty island, Culion is the place where doctors developed a cure for the

stigmatized disease. A new museum charts the fascinating history of the Culion leper colony

and the inspiring and remarkable story of the development of the cure of the disease, with

photographs and intriguing mementos. www.culiontourism.com

FOR HISTORY: Tabon CaveAt Lipuun Point in southern Palawan, archaeologists discovered what is thought to be the

oldest remains of human habitation in Southeast Asia. Their excavations revealed around

55,000 years of Philippine prehistory including ancient burial jars and human fossils.

Although most of the artefacts are now at the National Museum in Manila, these caves

– scattered high on rocky crags overlooking the sea – are well worth exploring.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1860

underwater rock formations are matched

above as forested hillsides rise steeply from

the lakeside. Nearby is Barracuda Lake, so

named for the resident 1.5 metre fish. The

lake is a favourite with divers for its dramatic

thermoclines – its fresh and salt water layers

are clearly visible, and their temperatures

fluctuate between 28 and 38°C. Coron Bay is

also well known for its wreck diving. In 1944,

American aircraft attacked a Japanese fleet

at anchor at the bay. Eighteen vessels were

sunk, nine of which have been discovered;

these eerie wrecks are now inhabited by

fish and corals and offer a truly extraordinary

diving experience.

Palawan is unforgettable. With striking

natural beauty and unique cultures, visitors

return over and over again. Only time will tell

if the delicate reationship between people

and nature can continue on Palawan but, as

the young turtles launch themselves into the

water for the first time, one can surely hope.

E T I H A D A I R W A Y S F L I E S B E T W E E N A B U D H A B I A N D M A N I L A D A I L Y

The limestone rock formations have been sculpted by water, in some places carving huge, imposing chambers and in others, cavities too small to navigate by boat