PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan — For the past four days, tour boats in the world-famous Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR) were unable to ferry passengers due to strong winds and waves, a park management officer said Tuesday.
But tourists could still go inside the cave by hiking through the 3.66-kilometer “Jungle Trail,” said Jan Elmer Badilla, the spokesperson of the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park (PPSRNP) management.
“We’ve been experiencing strong winds and waves for four days now, but they can still go to the underground river through the jungle trail,” he said, explaining that the coast guard in the area had imposed the sailing ban since February 3.
Guests and visitors who were allowed to hike the trail were only those below 50 years old, he said.
“We make them sign waivers if they think they can manage the jungle trail, but those with histories of high blood pressure and other heart ailments, we don’t allow anymore to prevent any untoward incident,” he said.
Normal hike through the trail takes one hour to two hours, depending on the speed of the trekkers.
“I am not sure when the operations of the boat would return to normal. However, I think that it’s still not possible to go in tomorrow since the wind is still strong. A boat actually keeled over already near the wharf, but it has no passenger,” he added.
Going on boat tours to visit the subterranean river is the easiest access, but coast guard personnel stationed in the area are strict in the implementation of “no sail” when the winds and waves are strong.
Badilla is unable to give an estimate on the number of tourists who are unable to enter the underground river since boat operations are banned. (PNA)
