El Nido, Palawan ,Philippines

El Nido really is a magical place. From its ageless towering marble cliffs to its white sandy beaches with crystal clear water, many refer to it as paradise. There are over 50 beaches to discover, so many in fact that sometimes you feel as if you are on your own secluded private beach. You will also find enchanting lagoons with tranquil turquoise-green water, caves that can take you to hidden beaches, and a very diverse variety of wildlife.

El Nido is a top destination for island hopping, book your boat, take some food, some drinks in a cool box and disappear into the heavenly marine reserve that is Bacuit Bay. It is a truly relaxing and inspiring place; Alex Garland wrote "The Beach" while living here. Scuba diving is also a popular activity here with over 30 dive sites for varying levels and skills; from taking the plunge and learning to dive for the first time, to perfecting your expertise and advancing your qualifications.

Yet El Nido has so many different treasures to offer beyond the obvious. Further activities available include cliff climbing, waterfalls, kayaking, cave exploration, windsurfing, plus you can also hire a motorbike and discover the surrounding north of Palawan.

he dry season is from around November to May with temperatures above 30 degrees centigrade and rain is rare. The most popular tourist times in El Nido are Christmas and Easter. With the Philippines being 95% Catholic the celebration of these two events in the Catholic calendar bring out another side to El Nido. Especially in Easter where there is a week long festival including town parades and markets.

Seafood is a local speciality, in fact many fish are exported to Manila, and on to other South East Asian countries. There are restaurants scattered around the town offering various foods to suit most palates. From seafoods to meat dishes, salads, pastas, stews there is something for everyone. Particular restuarants also have foreign influence including French, German, Swiss and Australian.

Transportation

The fastest and most direct way to El Nido is from Manila. The flight takes one hour and fifteen minutes, and lands directly at Lio airport, which is located about 4 kilometers from Poblacion (town proper). There are only two airlines that fly to El Nido, namely South East Asian Airlines (SEAIR) and Island Transvoyager Inc (ITI). ITI is a charter airline whom operates as a sister company to the two main resorts on El Nido. SEAIR is a commercial airline with flights from Manila to El Nido, with a stopover in Busuanga (Coron).

ElNido Resorts

-Miniloc Island

It is where the first resort in El Nido, which first started as a diving station for Japanese and European tourists, can be found. It is a great place for snorkeling, scuba diving and kayaking. Its Big and Small Lagoons showcase a kaleidoscope of marine life in its orchid-lined limestone walls.

-Lagen Island

The most luxurious exclusive resort in the area is situated in its cove, which is fringed by a lush forest and limestone walls. Its Leta-Leta Cave was an important burial site of the Late Neolithic Age, where a collection of stone and shell artifacts, and sophisticated pottery and nephrite adzes and axes were recovered. Other materials include stone ornaments and shell beads. It was excavated by Dr. Robert Fox in 1965.

The January, 2008 issue of international magazine Travel + Leisure, published by the American Express Co. (which partnered with Conservation International) listed El Nido’s sister hotel resorts El Nido Lagen Island and El Nido Miniloc Island in Miniloc and Lagen Islands as “conservation-minded places on a mission to protect the local environment.” Travel + Leisure’s 20 Favorite Green Hotels scored El Nido Resort’s protection of Palawan’s giant clam gardens and the re-introduction of endangered Philippine cockatoos: "8. El Nido Resorts, Philippines: "Guest cottages on stilts are set above the crystalline ocean. The resorts are active in both reef and island conservation." Doubles from $210." Palawan was also categorized as “doing well” in the 4th Destination Scorecard survey conducted by the National Geographic Center for Sustainable Destinations, and Conde Nast Traveler magazine voted its beaches, coves and islets as the tourist destination with the best beaches in Asia. Further, the aquatic views from the sunken Japanese warships off Coron Island are listed in Forbes Traveler Magazine’s top 10 best scuba sites in the world.

-Pangalusian Island

It has one of the widest stretch of powdery white beaches in El Nido, which is very ideal for sun bathing, sunset viewing, and other beach activities.

-Cudugnon Point

It is an important anthropological site, where jewelry and pottery dating back to the Sung Dynasty (960-1279 BC) were yielded. The anthropologists believe that the cave dwellers were from Borneo, and travelled across the ancient land bridge that connected Palawan from Borneo.

-Matinloc Island

Matinloc Island, the longest slim island in El Nido , has a secret beach that is inaccessible by boat and surrounded by steep rock walls. To reach it, divers must swim underwater through a narrow crevice in a rock wall. According to local legend, this beach inspired Alex Garland's novel The Beach.