This is our third look at the Philippines in the last couple of weeks and the last for some time. After a foray into the attractions of Metro Manila and a virtual, whirlwind tour of some of the most superb destinations in the archipelago country, we focus exclusively now on Palawan.

What was to be a brief explanation of the island province’s many charms in our last Philippines installment evolved into a full-blown feature. Why is that? Simple. Palawan just deserves more coverage. Not because the island – which makes up most of the province of the same name – is first in the Philippines in size, has a world class UNESCO World Heritage Site and hundreds of kilometers of exotic coastlines to explore. Well actually, on second thought, yes, those are the reasons!

Visitors who take the extra time and overlook the possible additional expense to make the journey to Palawan find the trip well worth the effort. The capital, Puerto Princesa City, is a mere 80 minute flight from Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport, with regular legs throughout the day on Philippine Air.

Puerta Princesa is a highly diverse city by Filipino standards and has a population of over 200,000 people. If you can spare a day to tour the city, do so. If not however, Palawan has too much to offer to waste precious time in the capital.

The municipality of El Nido for example, on the northern tip of Palawan island, is a gem. Reminiscent of Halong Bay in Vietnam, with limestone cliffs and gorgeous scenery, the biodiverse region borders the South China Sea and Sulu Sea. Miniloc Island is home to one of the first resorts on Palawan.

Coron Island is off the main island and represents the northernmost point in Palawan province. Famous for spectacular scenery and Japanese shipwrecks from the Second World War, the lush, rocky island is consistently lauded as one of the best scuba dive sites on the planet.

Even those who choose to stay near Puerta Princesa can choose from a wide variety of resort areas. Honda Bay is one of the most popular, with exceptional beach escapes in store. Visitors can go high end and stay on semi-private islands off Palawan and relax, or take advantage of peerless water sports and recreation.

One Palawan attraction no visitor should head back to Manila, or elsewhere for that matter, without checking off their travel list is the inimitable Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park. The crown jewel and most famous point of interest in splendid Palawan is first and foremost, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and New Seven Wonders of Nature finalist. Good enough. But forget the titles and hyperbole. The park, a mere fifty kilometers north of Puerto Princesa, is unique.

The star of the show is of course, the underground river, which after a short hike from the town of Sabang, appears in brilliant azure. Incredibly, the river is navigable – by tour of course – some 8 km below a limestone karst mountain. The rock formations are just as remarkable as the river itself, which eventually crawls out of view and flows into the vast South China Sea. Huge cave chambers, stalactites, stalagmites and other sculptures abound in the national park, which contains some of the most biodiverse habitats in all of Asia. A first-rate conservation ground, Puerta Princesa Subterranean River National Park features macaques, wild pigs, bearcats, stink badgers, porcupines, monitor lizards and pythons. If you like to birdwatch, the park is one of the best for that activity as well. All in all, the most prominent of many fine, gorgeous and extremely delicate natural resources the beautiful island province of Palawan has to offer visitors to the Philippines.

Check out some sweet hotel deals in Palawan.

Photo credits: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8