A trip to the Philippines yield wonderful showcase of nature including pristine tropical forests, islands blessed with lagoons, rich coral reefs, and quirky endemic mammals-plus a surprising herd of African animals. All you can imagine in the Calamian Islands of Palawan. There’s a lot more to enjoy when you’re travelling in one of the prettiest vacation holiday destination of everyone, nature lovers find their way in this beautiful, untouched sanctuary of the Calamian Island.
Giraffes, Gazelles and Zebras in the Philippines wild? Nope, we are not putting you on. Right here at the Calauit Nature Reserve, a 3,700-hectare free-ranging islands, is a haven for non-carnivorous animals such as giraffes, eland, waterbuck, zebra, impala and gazelle with no predators.
Established in 1976, Calauit Nature Reserve Holds the single distinction of being the first successful wildlife translocation experiment in Asia and the second in the World. Yet for serious Naturalist, the island is more than an accessible African Safari since the project has successfully bred the endangered Calamian deer, Philippine crocodile and Philippine Mouse deer in captivity.
The protected forests and grasslands of the area are also home to the Palawan bearcat, Palawan peacock pheasant, leopard cat, tarsier, scaly anteater, porcupine, monitor lizard, wild chicken and wild boar. For birdwatchers, the island reserve-located off the northwestern coast of Busuanga Island, the largest in the Calamian Group-hosts over 120 species, including the green pigeon, Palawan hornbill, knock pitta, pompadour green pigeon, serpent eagle, and the Philippine falconet.
An area of 200 square kilometers surrounding the island is also a marine preserve so visitors could expect to see spectacular reefs. Indeed, with all the animals both the African and local varieties and all the birds, Calauit is practically a protected tropical “ Garden of Eden” only without the forbidden fruit. The Natural Wildlife Sanctuary keepers see to it that no harm is done to any wild life and the environment as well.
To get there, you can ride a small airplane either from Manila or Puerto Princesa to Busuanga Island’s Yulo King Ranch makeshift airport. The flight from any of these two points is one hour. Upon landing, you take a 30-minute public utility jeepney to the Decalachao Wharf. From there, Calauit Island is just a three-hour ferry ride. Try booking with Club Paradise Resort on Dikmaya Island because they also offer Calauit safari tours and can save you the trouble of applying for a permit from the Conservation and Resources Management. The resort is also known as a good base to observe manatees or “sea cows” which are locally called dugong.
One of the best ways to enjoy the Calamian Island is to gear up for snorkeling. A plunge into the clear waters of the lake will unfold the rich marine life and the picturesque islet after another. Another way to explore is to hire a pump boat for you to discover the magnificent mangrove estuaries full of wild life, desolate white sand coves, and abundant marine creatures.
Prehistoric Past
With a vast tract of virgin rainforest and preserved marine wilderness, the 1,700-island province of Palawan is known as the Philippines last Frontier. Also in Palawan is the site of the Tabon Cave, now dubbed as “The Cradle of Philippine Civilization” because archeological findings revealed that man occupied the cave in different periods for 40,000 years. Fossils found of “The Tabon Man” are dated to be 22,000 to 23,000 years back and together with other prehistoric mammals, they were theorized to come to Palawan through the quaternary land bridges that connected Palawan to Borneo.
The Calamians- which include Busuanga, and Culion, plus 90 other small islands-once connected to Palawan nearby islands Mindoro and Luzon. The Tagbanuas, the semi-nomadic indigenous people who live mostly in Coron Islands, their protected ancestral domain at present, are said to be the descendants of the Tabon Man.
Today, you only need to see the wedge-shaped Coron Island’s 70-meter stretch of limestone spires, similar to those found in China’s Guilin and Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay, to believe that Palawan was part of the Eurasian Plate some 40 million years ago. Rock climbers may be tempted to scale these 30-to 50-meter Swiss cheese-like karsts but be warned; the rocks can be razor-sharp. It is also recommended to ask the permission of the Tagbanuas or the Nido’s bird nest collector’s, as the sight might be licensed by the Municipality to a particular individual.
Sea and Lake Wonders
Although there are no accommodations in Coron Island, visitors can always spend whole day swimming, snorkeling, kayaking, and diving around it. For a truly enchanting experience, take a short hike over to steep rocky rise to find Cayangan Lake, framed in splendid rock walls adorned with hanging plants and Bonsai Trees. With crystal clear waters that reveals the bottom, Cayangan Lake is reputed to be the cleanest in the Country so don’t pass up the chance to Swim and snorkel. You can bring your own snorkeling gear or you can rent one ( starts from 250 pesos a day). Divers go to Coron for a dozen of reasons: There are 12 accessible shipwrecks of the Japanese Imperial Navy in Sheltered locations in the waters surrounding the numerous islands between Busuanga and lion Island. All the wreck are intact, extremely photogenic and overgrown with hard and soft corals. Several dive shops now operate out the town and provide you with expert guides.
The Olympia Maru has immense plate corals, rug sized anemones and clownfish. It is a favorite among photographers because of the better lighting since it’s portside is only 12 meters from the surface. They also enjoy inspecting the exterior of the 185 –meter long Taiei Maru. Sitting almost upright, divers can swim through walkways which are festooned with Orange Black Coral trees while the main deck is covered with soft and hard corals. You are sure to see shoals of yellow snappers throughout the dive.
In all of the wrecks, expect to find lion and scorpion fishes, fusiliers and batfishes. Lurking underneath in the ships’ twisted metal remains are large groupers. If you’re planning to have a dive adventure, then make sure you chose Barracuda Lake. It’s underwater topography mimics the pinnacles found above ground. Overlooked, but no less breathtaking, the reefs around the islands are lush with soft and hard corals-and sea fans that easily dwarf a diver.
Another wonder is the nearby Barracuda Lake, named after a strange solitary barracuda that seems to have taken the role of being the Lake’s guardian and greeter ( loves to swim across divers). You will be surprised to find crayfish, rabbitfish, garoupa swimming together with catfish since this freshwater lake has a halocline, a division between fresh water and salt water 14 meters beneath the surface. This is probably the cause farther south, be careful not to tread on the bigger Cabugao since the lake and the inner part of the island are off-limits to outsiders. There are very few parts in the world that still remain relatively untouched and offer so much natural beauty as Palawan.

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