Things to Do in Palawan, Philippines

Quick facts: A navigable underground river that winds some 24 kilometers through the limestone, though only 1.2 kilometers is accessible by boat. Thousands of swiftlets, whose edible nests are harvested in Asia for bird's nest soup, breed high against the cave ceiling.

Highlights: Halfway through the trip the guide extinguishes all the lamps, after which darkness falls and you hear only the splashing of paddles and the clicking of the swiftlets. Above your head hang curtains of stalactites that were formed drop by drop over hundreds of thousands of years.

Quick facts: On a small private island, limestone cliffs over seventy meters high tower above a narrow bay with mirror-smooth turquoise water. At most a few dozen villas are scattered across the slopes, and the entire complex runs entirely on solar energy with rainwater collection.

Highlights: At low tide a hidden lagoon appears between the cliffs that you reach only on foot, with water that is completely refreshed by the ocean every six hours. From the higher lookout point you see the waves crashing against the limestone wall, while the cave below amplifies the roar into a deep, rumbling low note you feel in your chest.

Quick facts: Every high tide flushes fresh seawater through this network of channels, causing the water level here to fluctuate by up to three meters. At low tide muddy tidal flats fall dry where starfish, conch snails and small stingrays wait for you.

Highlights: When dusk falls, thousands of fireflies pulse above the mangrove canopies, a light show you only get to see at full moon. Older guides know the exact trees where a gentle tap conjures up glowing green fungi.

Quick facts: About 150 pesos per person goes directly to a local reef protection fund that guards this patch of sea. Green sea turtles of around 80 centimeters show themselves here almost daily and swim calmly between the snorkelers.

Highlights: A collective of local fishermen has itself declared this reef a protected area and patrols it daily with a small boat. Underwater the guides silently point to white parrotfish nibbling away at the coral, while a green turtle with algae on its back glides right past your mask.

Quick facts: At a depth of about eight meters you can still see every pebble glisten, so crystal clear is the water. The white limestone bottom reflects the sunlight and gives the lake an almost fluorescent turquoise glow, while high limestone walls keep all wind and sound out.

Highlights: From the floating wooden jetty it seems as if you are floating over a pond of liquid glass, the bottom slopes so steeply that depth suddenly no longer feels like a fear. Local guides never drop an anchor there, they keep the boat in balance with a rope so that white limestone bed, clear as a freshly washed sheet, stays pristine.

Quick facts: Two lagoons are connected to each other via a short underwater tunnel, causing the water to shift color at every tide change. Guides recommend calm weather, because with heavy waves the narrow cave entrance can quickly become impassable.

Highlights: The magic lies in that one minute of darkness: paddling, you glide through a narrow cave opening and emerge into a quiet clearing where sunlight dances on the turquoise water. Stay as quiet as a mouse and you hear only the splashing of your paddles and birdsong among the mangrove roots.

Quick facts: Twice a day the seawater disappears from the lagoon, leaving a shallow mirror pool you wade through up to your knees. The color of the water shifts with the tide, from milky turquoise to dark emerald green, a live show from any beach chair.

Highlights: Choose a lodge on the east side of the water, because there a school of silvery little fish surfaces almost every morning around the poles under your terrace. At nightfall dozens of eels appear among the coral as soon as the sun sets, a spectacle you follow up close from the pier with a flashlight.

Quick facts: The whitewashed coral walls and the dark wooden roof make this house of worship the eye-catcher of the harbor district. Every year thousands of visitors pass through its doors, from fishermen to sailors, while the clock wakes the neighborhood every morning at six.

Highlights: On a shelf next to the main altar hang three weathered lifebuoys, rescued from a ship that ran aground in the sixties. Sailors still pay off that tradition with a candle, so the chapel always smells of a mixture of wax, soot and sea salt.