10 ways to enjoy sublime El Nido

Photo by Cris Tagupa/Unsplash

10 WAYS TO ENJOY SUBLIME EL NIDO

GET YOUR BEARINGS

El Nido in northern Palawan, about an hour’s flight from Manila, is the gateway to the Bacuit Archipelago, with its stunning beaches, virgin islands and limestone cliffs. Bacuit has some 45 limestone islands and islets, and the clearest waters this side of the planet.

O1 ISLAND HOP AROUND BACUIT BAY

Bulalakaw Island

Photo by ReyRey Ochavez

EL NIDO is no longer an under-the-radar destination, with about 160,000 tourists visiting each year. Thankfully, with close to 50 islands to explore, you can still find plenty of uninhabited islands to play Robinson Crusoe on, or have a picnic lunch between island-hopping tours. Tours with a group cost as little as Php1,200 per person (about US$18.81). Most tours start at 9AM and takes about eight hours, covering some 5-8 stops, depending on how long you’d like to linger in one spot. If budget allows, go for a private tour, so you could depart El Nido town earlier and get to the prime spots like the Small Lagoon and Big Lagoon by 7am, before the crowd descends on you. It is well worth getting up early for.

Secret Beach

Photo by ReyRey Ochavez

Small Lagoon and Big Lagoon on Miniloc Island are two spots you won’t want to miss. They’re spectacular and almost ringed-in by towering, mystical limestone cliffs. Other stops include the Secret Lagoon, Shimizu Island, 7 Commando Beach, Helicopter Island, Matinloc Shrine, Secret Beach, Star Beach, and Hidden Beach, all beach lovers’ paradise.

Matinloc Island, the longest island in El Nido, is where you’ll find Secret Beach, a hidden pocket of white sand beach. Go snorkelling around Dilumacad Island, also called Helicopter Island because of its shape. Take a selfie at the popular Matinloc Shrine.

It’s smart to time your El Nido visit off peak, sometime October to November, when there’s less people. The peak season is usually from December to May.

Go on a special tour in Bacuit Bay with Hayahay Adventures El Nido, Buena Suerte, El Nido Palawan, tel/viber +63 968 853 4423. Find Hayahay on Facebook @Hayahay Adventures El Nido. Visit www.hayahayadventures.com. We are Juan El Nido also offers private and group tours. Visit wearejuan-elnido.com

O2 SURF IN DULI BEACH

DULI BEACH in northern Palawan is at the center of El Nido’s surf scene, with a two-kilometer stretch of sandy beach offering a pretty consistent swell from November to April. The beach itself is beautiful, backed by a lush forest, and fringed by golden sand. Duli Beach Resort has spacious bungalows with balconies facing the sea for about P3,000 for two, including breakfast. Duli Beach rents out surfboards for Php350 an hour or Php1,000 a day and has in-house instructors for surf lessons.

Visit www.dulibeach.com or get in touch on Facebook @dulibeach.

O3 SAIL AROUND EL NIDO IN STYLE

Photo courtesy of El Nido Yachting Club

TAO PHILIPPINES’ offers sailing experiences tailored to your needs, from a luxury boat tour just for two or a small private group to an open tour with a group. Private charters are also available. A luxury boat tour for two, over three days and two nights, will take you to the best of Bacuit Bay, including further north to the rarely visited parts of El Nido, and end at Tao Beach Farm. Price is from $3,300 for up to five people. Tao’s boat is a traditional paraw, said to be the largest remaining Philippine traditional sailboat, equipped with modern rigging.

El Nido Yachting Club offers group boat tours and private boat tours in Bacuit Bay. A full day premium catamaran group tour aboard The Seacret, a 50-ft catamaran is from Php7,500. A private catamaran yacht cruise is from Php60,000.

Visit www.taophilippines.com, www.booking. philippineislandcruises.com.

O4 SEE TURTLE HATCHLINGS MAKE THEIR WAY TO THE SEA

Photo courtesy of the Asian Conservation Foundation

EL NIDO is a haven for sea turtles, with at least three out of five species of turtles in the Philippines — all considered threatened — known to nest in some of its beaches. The Ten Knots Group (The Knots) actively protect turtle nests and care for turtle hatchlings. Other resorts in the area such as Duli Beach Resort has the Hawksbill sea turtle and the Green sea turtle nesting on its beaches from November to February. The resort protects the nests from poachers and animals until they are ready to head to the sea.

Book a stay sometime September to April, the turtle nesting season, in one of the resorts known to protect turtle nests, and if you’re lucky, get the chance to see hatchlings make their way to the sea. Visit www.dulibeach.com.

O5 HIKE TO NAGKALIT- KALIT FALLS

FOR AN ACTIVE DAY OUT, hike to Nagkalit-kalit Waterfalls and swim in a refreshing pool of water underneath two waterfalls. Start the day early and avoid the crowds. Wear beach sandals and expect to walk through a forest and get wet crossing shallow rivers. Nagkalit-Kalit is south of Twin Beach and Nacpan Beach in El Nido.

Contact El Nido Paradise Adventure Tours, Calle Hama, Barangay Buena Suerte, 1513 El Nido, Palawan, tel +63 949 132 8952. Emailto info@elnidoparadise.com, visit www.elnidoparadise.com.

O6 TRY SOME OF THE BEST SCUBA DIVING IN THE WORLD

Dive El Nido’s Dilumacad Tunnel, a challenging dive for experienced divers. The tunnel is about 25 meters long

EL NIDO is part of the Coral Triangle, a marine area in the western Pacific Ocean named for its wealth of corals and marine species. It’s home to the endangered sea cow, marine turtles, some 200 fish species and about 50 types of hard corals, making it a paradise for divers of every level, from novice to fullblown expert.

Popular dive sites include South Miniloc for its amazing cabbage coral and a good chance of seeing stingrays, sea turtles and perhaps manta rays; North Rock for its pelagic life; Dilumacad Tunnel for a challenging dive targeted at experienced divers; and Cave Paglugaban for its rock formations and many swim-throughs. El Nido is a great place to learn diving or indulge in a fun dive with several PADI centers in El Nido town.

Visit www.submarinerdiving.com, email to info @submarinerdiving.com, tel (WhatsApp) +63 917 140 1188. Hama Street, El Nido.

O7 HEAD WEST AND WATCH THE SUNSET

Sunset in Corong Corong

Photo by Charles Deluvio/Unsplash

WHILE THERE ARE LOTS OF PLACES to watch the epic sunset in El Nido, Corong Corong in the El Nido area near Lagùn Hotel in Balinsasayaw Road has the best sunset views. Dine in one of the beachfront restaurants in the area or grab a sundowner and enjoy nature’s display. Las Cabanas Beach, south of Corong Corong Beach, in Barangay Corong Corong also offers some of the best seats in the house to watch the sun setting behind El Nido’s limestone cliffs. Another place to catch the sunset is Maremegmeg Beach, also to the south of El Nido town. There are several small resorts and casual little bars where you can grab a cocktail or a beer and grab yourself a deckchair on the sand.

O8 LOOK OUT FOR BLACKTIP REEF SHARKS

BLACKTIP REEF SHARK sightings in El Nido are quite rare and are usually from December to February, the plankton season, although there have been sightings outside this period. At the luxury Cauayan Island Resort in Cauayan Island, El Nido, baby blacktip reef sharks, are sometimes found swimming freely in the shallows close to the beachfront villas.

Another area where you’re likely to find these sharks is in Destacado Reef, located on the outskirts of Bacuit Bay, west of Guntao island. Palawan Divers can arrange dive tours to see blacktip reef sharks in Destacado. And if you’re lucky, you might be rewarded with sightings of dolphins and sea turtles along the way. Baby blacktip reef sharks, which grow to about two meters are active predators, but feed only on small fish, crustaceans, cephalopods, mollusks and at times seabirds and sea snakes.

Cauayan Island, Bacuit Bay, El Nido, www. cauayanresort.com, mobile +63 919 587 7350. Or visit Palawan Divers at www.palawan-divers.org.

09 SHOP PHILIPPINE ARTS AND CRAFTS

Shop Kalye Artisano for beach wear, native bags, woven mats, tribal art and more

Beautifully crafted woven bags

STOP BY KALYE ARTISANO, a one-stop shop for beautiful Philippine arts and craft, from baskets, woodcarvings and tribal masks to paintings and sketches, and native summer bags and accessories. Stop by Talindak Arts and Boutique for souvenirs, and K-Art Collective for artisanal soaps, oils and wellness products, handmade bamboo combs, loom-woven apparel, bamboo toothbrushes and natural toothpaste.

Kalye Artisano, Lio Tourism Estate, El Nido, tel +63 917 107 0637. Visit www.kalyeartisano.com.

Kalye Artisano: Best place to buy your resort wear and island souvenirs

10 SEE EL NIDO FROM ABOVE

El Nido Via Ferrata

THERE’S NOTHING LIKE seeing El Nido from the top of its iconic Taraw Cliff, the karst limestone cliffs you see rising from above the waters of Bacuit Bay. If you’re feeling brave, you could hike up the cliff, but there is an easier way. El Nido Via Ferrata now offers a canopy walk. You go up metal staircases and cross hanging bridges wearing safety gear. Blogger Charlie Pauly

(www.wanderersandwarriors.com) describes it as “more of a short walk up safe stairs and secure scaffolding.”

El Nido Via Ferrata, 59 HQ +2WQ, Rizal St., El Nido, Palawan, tel +048 723 3401. Taraw Cliff and canopy walk costs Php400; Taraw Cliff and Dream Catcher, Php400; combination of Taraw Cliff, canopy walk and Dream Catcher, Php730.

Email elnidotourism@hotmail.com or find them on Facebook @talindak.