Discover Puerto Princesa

Puerto Princesa offers travelers a range of ways to explore: nearby, a karst landscape with an underground river; in the city, historic memorial sites, a park, an amphitheater, and public or cultural venues shape the scene. If you’re looking for hotels in Puerto Princesa, it helps to first decide what you want to focus on during your trip. Nature, remembrance and history, and cultural experiences each offer a different perspective.

Karst landscape and underground river

The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park is nearby, about 76 kilometers northwest of Puerto Princesa. Its limestone karst landscape and underground river define the natural character of this destination. The river is 8.2 kilometers long and flows directly into the sea. The two figures refer to different things: around 76 kilometers describes the park’s location northwest of Puerto Princesa, while 8.2 kilometers is the length of the river. This gives you two ways to understand the natural focus: through its landscape and through the river’s course.

Historic memorial sites

Plaza Cuartel is a restored ruin of an old garrison and a national historical site in Puerto Princesa. On the evening of December 14, 1944, about 150 American prisoners of war were burned by Japanese soldiers in a tunnel beneath the park’s entrance portals. Today, the site commemorates the atrocities of World War II. It thus brings together the visible ruins of a former garrison and a specific remembrance of the prisoners.

Mendoza Park is in Puerto Princesa. It contains a monument holding the remains of Dr. Higinio Mendoza and several unidentified soldiers. Old acacia trees provide shade in the park, which is surrounded by ornamental plants. The monument and park landscape together shape the character of Mendoza Park.

Public and cultural experiences

An amphitheater is located east of Mendoza Park, where presentations take place throughout the year. If you’re planning to attend a particular presentation, check its date in advance. The public can spend time at Puerto Princesa Baywalk. Alongside the memorial sites, these offer distinct ways to explore the city: a public gathering place and a venue for presentations.

The Butterfly Garden offers a cultural show. Visitors can also meet members of Palawan’s Indigenous communities. Together with the presentations at the amphitheater, these experiences form a cultural focus distinct from the national park’s landscape and the historic memorial sites.

Baywalk, the amphitheater, and the Butterfly Garden offer additional public or cultural points of interest. This distinction can help you decide what you want to focus on during your trip, without conflating the different places into a single experience.

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