This is Palawan
An independent guide
Fly north to south

This is Palawan

An independent guide to the province’s 24 towns, told as one flight down its real terrain, from the Calamian Islands to Balabac.

Press F to fly the plane yourselfTapto fly the plane yourselfor scroll, and it flies you down the island

Calamianes

Where the South China Sea meets the Sulu Sea. The ships sunk in September 1944 still lie on the floor of the bays around Coron.

Towns
4
Barangays
61
Land
1,777 km²
Coron from the air: forested limestone islands, turquoise lagoons and boats moored between them
Photo: Florian Delée, via Unsplash

El Nido and Taytay

Limestone islands stand in Bacuit Bay. Across the mainland, Malampaya Sound keeps its Irrawaddy dolphins.

Towns
2
Barangays
49
Land
2,181 km²
Forested limestone islands off El Nido from above, with boats anchored over the reef in a sheltered cove
Photo: Alejandro Luengo, via Unsplash

Sulu Sea Islands

Far out in the Sulu Sea, the Cuyo islands keep their own language, and Spanish-era forts still enclose their churches.

Towns
4
Barangays
50
Land
198 km²
Clear shallow water over a sandy beach at Capusan, Cuyo, with the town and a ferry moored along the shoreline at dawn
Photo: LuzViMindaLife, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

North Central

The mainland narrows. On the west coast, the 14.7 km of Long Beach; on the east, Dumaran, where forests still hold the Philippine cockatoo.

Towns
4
Barangays
70
Land
3,280 km²
Alimanguan beach in San Vicente from the air: white sand, clear shallows and a palm-covered headland
Photo: Michael Maga-ao, via Unsplash

Puerto Princesa

The city in the middle, and across the island from it, a river that runs underground straight into the sea.

Towns
1
Barangays
66
Land
2,381 km²
Visitors in a paddle boat at the mouth of the Puerto Princesa Underground River, under a forested limestone cliff
Photo: Elaine Ore, via Unsplash

South Central

Rice fields down the east coast. Over the mountains, the Tabon Caves, where human fossils some 22,000 years old were found.

Towns
4
Barangays
65
Land
3,056 km²
Forested limestone cliff of Lipuun Point with cave openings and moored boats at the Tabon Caves shoreline
Photo: Alexcooper1, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Far South

Mt. Mantalingahan, 2,085 m, the highest peak in the province. Beyond the southern tip, the Balabac islands reach toward Sabah.

Towns
4
Barangays
71
Land
3,868 km²
Coconut palms leaning over a white-sand beach and clear shallows in Balabac
Photo: Cris Tagupa, via Unsplash

Palawan, measured

Length of the main island
420 km
The province, end to end
625 km, Calamianes to Balabac
At its widest
53.1 km
At its narrowest
11.6 km
Highest point
Mt. Mantalingahan, 2,085 m
Land area
17,031 km²
Towns
23 municipalities and 1 city

One more town lies about 520 km out to sea, northwest of Puerto Princesa: Kalayaan, in the Spratly Islands. It is Palawan too.

Measured on the PSGC 2023 town boundaries and Copernicus WorldDEM-30 terrain.

Drawn to scale

The island as an engineer would draw it, from the province’s own boundaries and terrain. Scroll to assemble it; once it is whole, tap two points to measure the distance between them.

Palawan, a dimensional drawingPlan view of the province, north up, the main island running from south-west to north-east. The main island is 420 km long, 53.1 km at its widest and 11.6 km at its narrowest. A section through Mt. Mantalingahan, 2085 m, crosses 35.7 km of land.NOTES:(UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED)1MEASURED ON PSGC 2023 MUNICIPAL BOUNDARIES, UTM 50N.2NORTH UP, AS ON THE MAP: L RUNS ALONG THE ISLAND, W ACROSS IT.3KALAYAAN LIES OFF THE SHEET, IN THE WEST PHILIPPINE SEA.4A–A FROM A 612 M ELEVATION GRID: THE SUMMIT READS LOW.5W2 IGNORES THE TAPERING 25 KM AT EITHER END.LENGTHS IN KILOMETRES, HEIGHTS IN METRES. DO NOT SCALE.L1L0W1W215CalamianesSulu Sea IslandsEl Nido and TaytayNorth CentralPuerto PrincesaSouth CentralThe Far SouthH1 · Mt. Mantalingahan2,085 mAA4N2KALAYAAN, OFF SHEET3Plan viewNorth up · 1.45 sheet units per kmL0 · SeaThe frame of the drawingL1 · Land17,031 km² · A1L2 · AreasThe guide’s eight · G1L3 · Towns23 municipalities and 1 cityExploded viewAxonometric · layer gaps not to scaleSEA LEVELH2W3Section A–AVertical ×7.9 · 612 m gridSizeCodeVariableValueL0province length625 kmL1island length420 kmW1island widest53.1 kmW2island narrowest11.6 kmW3width at A–A35.7 kmHeightCodeVariableValueH1summit, surveyed2,085 mH2summit on grid1,951 mVEsection vertical×7.9Area and countCodeVariableValueA1land area17,030.75 km²T1municipalities23C1cities1B1barangays433G1guide areas8

Tap any two points on the plan to measure the distance between them.

Found only here

Palawan belongs to a different faunal region from the rest of the Philippines, and several of its animals live here and nowhere else.

A male Palawan peacock-pheasant on the forest floor, its blue-green back and eyed tail spread behind it

Palawan peacock-pheasant

Polyplectron napoleonis

Palawan only. It is the bird on the provincial seal.

  1. Least concern
  2. Near threatened
  3. Vulnerable
  4. Endangered
  5. Critically endangered

Vulnerable, on the IUCN Red List

Photo: Francesco Veronesi, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A Palawan hornbill perched on a bare branch, its pale casque and tail against the leaves

Palawan hornbill

Anthracoceros marchei

Palawan and its nearby islands.

  1. Least concern
  2. Near threatened
  3. Vulnerable
  4. Endangered
  5. Critically endangered

Vulnerable, on the IUCN Red List

Photo: RanieljoseMCastaneda, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A Palawan pangolin rolled into a ball of scales, its pup climbing over it, in the forest

Palawan pangolin

Manis culionensis

The Palawan faunal region, and nowhere else.

  1. Least concern
  2. Near threatened
  3. Vulnerable
  4. Endangered
  5. Critically endangered

Critically endangered, on the IUCN Red List

Photo: Gregg Yan (uploaded by Shukran888), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A Calamian deer stag walking across the grass at Calauit Safari Park

Calamian deer

Axis calamianensis

The Calamian Islands, in the far north.

  1. Least concern
  2. Near threatened
  3. Vulnerable
  4. Endangered
  5. Critically endangered

Endangered, on the IUCN Red List

Photo: Bien02, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A Palawan binturong, the island's own bearcat, resting on a log

Binturong, the bearcat

Arctictis binturong

Its own subspecies lives on Palawan.

  1. Least concern
  2. Near threatened
  3. Vulnerable
  4. Endangered
  5. Critically endangered

Vulnerable, on the IUCN Red List

Photo: shankar s., CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Silhouettes from PhyloPic. Polyplectron, drawn from the wider group: Yuxin Li, CC BY 4.0. Anthracoceros, drawn from the wider group: Rohit N, CC0. Manis culionensis: Steven Traver, CC0. Cervidae, drawn from the wider group: Steven Traver, CC0. Arctictis binturong: Margot Michaud, CC0.

North to south in fifteen seconds

The outline draws itself while a line measures the main island, 420 km tip to tip, then four real places in the order you would reach them.

Kayangan Lake: M Becher, via Unsplash. Big Lagoon: this guide’s own photograph. The Underground River: Elaine Ore, via Unsplash. Balabac: Cris Tagupa, via Unsplash.

Coron from the air: forested limestone islands, turquoise lagoons and boats moored between them
Photo: Florian Delée, via Unsplash

Calamianes

The Calamian Islands sit at the northern end of Palawan, between Mindoro and the mainland, where the South China Sea meets the Sulu Sea. Four municipalities share them: Busuanga and Coron on Busuanga Island, Culion on its own island to the south, and Linapacan, a town made entirely of islands.

Coron Island is a Tagbanua ancestral domain, Calauit has been a wildlife sanctuary since the 1970s, and the Japanese ships sunk in September 1944 now lie on the floor of the bays around Coron.

Its towns
TownBarangaysLand area
Busuanga14393 km²
Coron23689 km²
Culion14500 km²
Linapacan10195 km²

Places here

Open the Calamianes page

Forested limestone islands off El Nido from above, with boats anchored over the reef in a sheltered cove
Photo: Alejandro Luengo, via Unsplash

El Nido and Taytay

El Nido and Taytay share the northern mainland and the El Nido-Taytay Managed Resource Protected Area, about 903 km² of land and sea declared in 1998. El Nido looks over Bacuit Bay and its limestone islands; Taytay holds Malampaya Sound, home to the Irrawaddy dolphin.

Taytay, founded by Augustinian Recollects in 1623 and once capital of the Spanish province of Calamianes, keeps its seventeenth-century fort.

Its towns
TownBarangaysLand area
El Nido18923 km²
Taytay311,258 km²

Places here

Open the El Nido and Taytay page

Clear shallow water over a sandy beach at Capusan, Cuyo, with the town and a ferry moored along the shoreline at dawn
Photo: LuzViMindaLife, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sulu Sea Islands

Out in the Sulu Sea, east of the mainland, lie the Cuyo Archipelago and the reef islands of Cagayancillo. Cuyo and Magsaysay share Cuyo Island, Agutaya holds the eastern islands of the group, and Cagayancillo is the closest settlement to Tubbataha Reefs.

This is the home of the Cuyonon language and culture, and of Spanish-era forts at Cuyo, Agutaya and Cagayancillo that still enclose their churches.

Its towns
TownBarangaysLand area
Cuyo1785 km²
Agutaya1037 km²
Magsaysay1149 km²
Cagayancillo1226 km²

Places here

Open the Sulu Sea Islands page

Alimanguan beach in San Vicente from the air: white sand, clear shallows and a palm-covered headland
Photo: Michael Maga-ao, via Unsplash

North Central

North of Puerto Princesa the mainland narrows. San Vicente faces the open sea on the west coast with the 14.7 km of Long Beach and the harbour village of Port Barton, while Roxas, Dumaran and Araceli face the Sulu Sea on the east.

Dumaran and Araceli share Dumaran Island off the northeast coast, a quieter corner where the forests still hold the Philippine cockatoo.

Its towns
TownBarangaysLand area
San Vicente101,463 km²
Roxas311,178 km²
Dumaran16435 km²
Araceli13204 km²

Places here

Open the North Central page

Visitors in a paddle boat at the mouth of the Puerto Princesa Underground River, under a forested limestone cliff
Photo: Elaine Ore, via Unsplash

Puerto Princesa

Puerto Princesa is the province's highly urbanized city and its main gateway, set on Puerto Princesa Bay in the middle of the mainland. It reaches across the island to the west coast, where the Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, protects an underground river that runs straight into the sea.

Founded by the Spanish in 1872, it is a meeting place of many cultures, with Cuyonon families among its oldest residents.

Its towns
TownBarangaysLand area
Puerto Princesa662,381 km²

Places here

Open the Puerto Princesa page

Forested limestone cliff of Lipuun Point with cave openings and moored boats at the Tabon Caves shoreline
Photo: Alexcooper1, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

South Central

South of the city the national highway runs down the east coast through Aborlan, Narra and Sofronio Española, past rice fields and resettlement towns, while Quezon lies across the mountains on the west coast.

Narra is the province's rice granary and includes Rasa Island, a refuge of the Philippine cockatoo; Quezon holds the Tabon Caves, where human fossils some 22,000 years old were found.

Its towns
TownBarangaysLand area
Aborlan19807 km²
Narra23832 km²
Quezon14943 km²
Sofronio Española9474 km²

Places here

Open the South Central page

Coconut palms leaning over a white-sand beach and clear shallows in Balabac
Photo: Cris Tagupa, via Unsplash

The Far South

The far south is the land of Mt. Mantalingahan, at 2,085 m the province's highest peak, whose protected landscape spans Brooke's Point, Rizal and Bataraza along with Quezon and Sofronio Española. Bataraza takes the southern tip of the mainland, and beyond it the Balabac islands reach toward Sabah.

Muslim, Palaw'an and Molbog communities have long histories here, from the datus who gave Bataraza its name to the Molbog people for whom Balabac was first named.

Its towns
TownBarangaysLand area
Brooke's Point181,303 km²
Rizal111,256 km²
Bataraza22726 km²
Balabac20582 km²

Places here

Open the The Far South page