Palawan, in the southwest of the Philippines, is 400km long but only 40 km wide, and separates the Sulu Sea from the South China Sea. Beautiful empty beaches, untouched natural scenery and friendly inhabitants make this a very attractive island. Several islands make up Palawan province, the most important being are Busuanga, Culion, Coron, Cuyo, Damaran, Bugsuk and Balabac. Most of Palawan consists of mountainous jungle. Mt. Mantalingajan is the highest maintain at 2086m.

The El Nido cliffs and the limestone caves of Coron and Pabellones islands, off Taytay, are home to countless swallow nests. Hotels and Chinese restaurants all over the country get their supplies from these places to make that oriental delicacy birds' nest soup. If you like fish you will think that this is paradise, as the fruit of the sea are really plentiful here. You can try a different ocean meal every day, choosing from mussels, sea urchins, lobsters and many others.

Palawan has no tourist sights worth talking about. On the other hand, what makes the island so attractive and pleasant to visit is the friendly inhabitants, unspoiled nature and the outstanding deserted beaches. Palawan also has a wide variety of activities for the more adventurous visitor. You can try jungle expeditions, searching for gold, cave exploring, diving, hiking, searching for shipwrecks, or living like Robinson Crusoe.

Only a few coastal regions can be used for agriculture. Their main crops are rice, coconuts, banana, groundnuts and cashew nuts. Fishing is the most important activity. The richest fishing grounds in the Philippines are off Palawan's northern coast. Since the discovery of oil off Palawan's northwest coast, the development of that industry looks promising.

PUERTO PRINCESA is the central Palawan. It is a relatively new city with 120,000 inhabitants. Although more houses are being built, You can still find the traditional style. The main buildings are the cathedral and the Provincial Capitol. It is the second biggest city in the Philippines after Davao, in terms of area.

Remarkable for its cleanliness, the mayor managed to enthuse the locals with the idea of keeping their city clean. Refuse disposal and street cleaning both function immaculately, and throwing away cigarette butts on the streets will bring a fine.

Puerto Princesa Bay also has some interesting places for diving. For $P300 you can hire an outrigger boat for a few hours and sail, swim, dive and fish in the bay.

Irawan halfway between Puerto Princess and Iwahig, is the location of the Irawan Crocodile Farming Institute, which was founded in 1987. The goal of this project, financed by Japanese money, is to protect threatened species of the Philippines crocodile from extinction. A visit to the 10-hectare farm will give you a good idea of what crocodiles are all about. Some of the reptiles here are up to five meters long. It also has examples of young animals belonging to different species of crocodile, provide information on the biology and habits of the various crocodiles and collection. Apart from the crocodile pens and open compounds, the farm also has a small zoo, which include animals that can only be found on Palawan.