Puerto Princesa Travel Video Guide

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The provincial capital PUERTO PRINCESA is the only major urban sprawl in Palawan, with 120,000 residents and an area that actually makes it the second biggest city in the Philippines after Davao. Rural areas 60km north fall under its administration. Puerto Princesa is also clean, green and gun-free, thanks partly to local mayor Edward Hagedorn, a larger-than-life character who has firmly nailed his flag to the environmental mast. Residents and visitors alike are fined for spitting and littering. Throwing your cigarette butt on the pavement brings swift justice in the form of a P200 fine, a small fortune to many locals and therefore a significant deterrent. The town's main artery is the narrow Rizal Avenue , which runs from the airport on Puerto's eastern outskirts to the cathedral and the wharf in the west. The distance from end-to-end is only 3km, and tricycles and jeepneys run the length of it, making transport within the town easy.

Many see Puerto as a one-night stop on the way to Palawan's coves and coral reefs, but it's not as if there's nothing to see or do. The Palawan Museum (Mon, Tues, Thurs & Fri 9am-noon & 2-5pm), in Mendoza Park on Rizal Street, gives a good overview of the history, art and culture of Palawan. At the Crocodile Farming Institute (Mon-Sat 10am-5pm) in Barangay Irawan, 12km from the city centre, scientists conduct research into crocodilian ecology, biology, nutrition and biochemistry, pathology and physiology. A visit to the farm will give you a good idea of what makes crocodiles tick. The local name for crocodile is buwaya, which means "greedy". To get to the farm take a jeepney (P15) from the terminal in Malvar Street on the northern outskirts of the city. A farm of a rather different kind, a Butterfly Farm , owned and operated by Rowell Rodriguez, is located at 27 Bunk House Rd, Santa Monica (tel 048/433 5343), and is a haven for hundreds of indigenous species. You can see the stage-by-stage metamorphosis from a caterpillar to a butterfly. Jeepneys go here hourly from Malvar Street.

Don't miss the Iwahig Penal Colony , also known as the Prison Without Bars. Prisoners live here as if in a normal village, fishing and cultivating rice and root crops. The "inmates" are identifiable only by their prison T-shirts and ID badges. They return to the prison halls only for meals and sleep. Some long-term residents - those deemed least likely to make a run for it - are allowed to stay in small nipa huts with their families. Tourists are also welcome at the souvenir shop which sells handicrafts made by the prisoners. Prison officials say the rate of recidivism by offenders at Iwahig is significantly lower than among those incarcerated in the country's traditional

jails. Iwahig is 23km from Puerto Princesa. Jeepneys leave Valencia Street every day at 9.30am.

Just ten minutes by tricycle from Puerto is the Vietnamese Refugee Centre , where refugees from Vietnam have established a community away from home, supported by the United Nations. Some choose to earn a living baking the excellent bread which is sold in the city. You can visit the camp anytime free of charge but with clearance from the guards, so take your passport for identification.

Your Tips For Puerto Princesa

what to see/do in 3 days

ava says "hi. we're visiting palawan next month, arriving fri evening and leaving tues am. what's a possible itinerary to maximize our time there? our musts include the croc farm and the underground river tour. know of accomodation thats accessible, affordable and clean too? tnx!"

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