Palawan Province, Philippines

By James Barcelona

Tourist Attractions

Puerto Princesa Subterranean River
National Park

Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park features a large limestone landscape with an underground river.

Tubbataha Reef Marine Park

Tubbataha Reef Marine Park is an excellent example of a pristine coral reef with a spectacular 100m perpendicular wall, extensive lagoons and two coral islands. 

Calauit Game Preserve and
Wildlife Sanctuary

Palawan, the largest province in the Philippines in terms of total area of jurisdiction, is located in the MIMAROPA region in Luzon. It consists of 1 city and 23 municipalities with Puerto Princesa City as the provincial capital. The province lies between the South China Sea and Sulu Sea. Palawan is composed of the long and narrow Palawan Island with roughly 1780 islands and islets dotting its almost 2000 kilometers of irregular coastline.

Calauit Game Preserve and
Wildlife Sanctuary

Palawan is a melting pot of 87 different cultural groups and races that live together in peace and harmony. About 18% of the province’s population is composed of cultural minority groups such as the Tagbanua, Palawano, Batak and Molbog. Basically, Palawan’s culture bears strong influence from China, India and the Middle East. There are 52 languages and dialects in the province, with Tagalog being spoken by 50% of the population. Other languages are Cuyonon, Palawano and Ilonggo. English is also widely spoken.

Tubbataha Reef Marine Park

Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion in Palawan. Other denominations and charismatic groups are also found in the province. Because of its proximity to Mindanao and even Malaysia, pockets of indigenous Muslims can be found in the southern municipalities like Balabac and Bataraza. Most of the ethnic minorities such as Batak and Tagbanua are animist, but many have become Christians or have joined other sects. 

Tubbataha Reef Marine Park

Palawan’s economy is basically agricultural. The three major crops are palay, corn and coconut. Mineral resources include nickel, copper, manganese and chromite. The province has one of the richest fishing grounds in the country. About 45% of Manila’s fish supply comes from here. It is also the only oil-producing province in the country. Pearl diving used to be a significant economic activity for Palawan until the advent of plastics. The world’s largest pearl, Pearl of Lao Tzu which was 240mm in diameter, was found off Palawan in 1934.

El Nido

Miniloc Island in El Nido, Palawan.

Coron Reef

Palawan has flora and fauna related to that found in Borneo. Among the many endemic species are the Palawan-Peacock Pheasant, Philippine Mouse Deer, Philippine Pangolin and Palawan Bearded Pig. Over 600 species of butterflies flutter around the mountains and fields of Palawan. In the forest and grasslands, the air resonates with the songs of more than 200 kinds of birds. Endangered sea turtles nest on white sand beaches of the province.