Just recently Palawan has been cited as the top island for 2016 by a travel magazine. This is not the first time that palawan earned this citation. I have been to Palawan and I couldn't agree more with the citation. Undoubtedly, Palawan is the last frontier of the Philippines and the top island of the world.
This month, I got an opportunity to visit Palawan for the third time. Together with friends we visited Dumaran, another spot in Palawan that is slowly attracting attention of tourists and travelers alike. It is a town north east of Palawan facing Sulu sea. A woman seated next to me on the van asked if where we will be in Dumaran and continued by asking mainland or island? I found out that the municipality covers a portion of Palawan island(mainland) and a portion of the namesake Dumaran island. The poblacion is located at the island which is approximately 45 minutes boat ride from the mainland. I never heard the place before and I was clueless about what to expect. But i had pristine beaches in my imagination, after all that is what Palawan is famous for. While on our way i can't hide my excitement.
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| Calampuan, Renambakan & Maruyog-ruyog Islands |
There are five of us in this adventure arriving on the same day at Puerto Princesa but with different flight schedules. Vans and buses ply the Puerto Princesa-Dumaran-Puerto Princesa route. Trips are limited though. As advised by the woman seated next to me, vans have 3 trips and 2 for the bus. Van trip schedule are 5am, 10am, and 3pm while bus has 1 trip in the morning and 1 in the afternoon. Our group took the first trip of the van the next day. Travel time is approximately 4 hrs by van and longer by bus. Van fare is 350 pesos while bus fare is 300 pesos. We left Puerto Princesa around 6am and arrived in Sta. Teresa, Dumaran past 9am.
Everything was already arranged the night before from our contact person to the things that we will be doing in Dumaran. Pastor Leove, an active pastor and at the same time president of Dumaran's tour guide association was our contact person. It was a Sunday when we arrived and we had to wait for pastor who was at a church service. While waiting, we took the chance to dropped by the market to buy supplies that we will be needing. When we head back to the port, pastor and crew where already there waiting for us. We wasted no time but before jumping to the boat, pastor gave a short briefing all about the history of the town and the things prohibited on our schedule of activities.
Off we sailed to our first destination, the Renambakan island. Clear water and white sand shore greeted us. it was past 12 noon when we arrived and everyone was hungry. While our lunch was being prepared, pastor toured us around the island which we did in 15 mins. we took a dip into the clear water under the mid-day sun before finally taking our hearty meal. snorkeling was our next activity. This i enjoyed the most! the underwater of Renambakan island is teeming with marine life. Thick and healthy corals of different shapes, sizes and colors were amazing! School of fish of different sizes and colors were fantastic! I even spotted dory!!! 
The snorkeling site was huge and when ebb occurred a big portion of it was exposed.
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| Dumaran's underwater |
Calampuan island was our next destination. It is in this island that we stayed for the night. The island was thickly forested but no accommodation available. We scouted and found a perfect spot next to the beach with trees strong enough to hold us in our hammock. It was also the perfect spot to watch the setting sun. Perhaps, the snorkeling activity drained our energy that we fell asleep while dinner was being prepared by pastor and crew. It was already past 8 pm when we're waken up to have our dinner. We enjoyed the food by the bonfire. It was a starry night and i fell asleep caressed by the soft sound of the waves the gentle wind blowing occasionally. There were no other souls in the island but us.
On our day 2, we ventured again into snorkeling around Calampuan island. Again, I was in awe of the rich marine life underneath. Definitely Dumaran has one of the best snorkeling sites that i have been into. Good thing i had my under water camera. I got snapshots and captured the beauty under water.
Pastor took us to Maruyog-ruyog island for our lunch. So far this is the only island with developments. It has its own port and some cottages but surprisingly no tourists. The island is privately owned by a business man. We had our lunch on a concrete hut at the port.
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| Pungtod Sandbar |
After our lunch, we headed to the poblacion. I found it interesting that the center of the town is located in the island and not in the mainland. I asked pastor on this and according to him, it is because during the early years of Dumaran, the mayor is from the island. Ok i got it! I just thought that is more convenient if poblacion is in the mainland. We dropped by the municipal hall to log our names. Right after we trekked to Mt.Turing, the highest point in the island. From the view deck, a 360 degree view awaits. However, we're annoyed by so much mosquitoes. On our way back to the port, I noticed a ruin which according to Pastor was built during the Spanish era.
Our last stop before going back to the mainland was Pungtod sandbar. It was a sunset when we got there. The sandbar is long and of course beautiful. We took pictures and yes, including jump shots!
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| some snapshots of the ruin, trail to mt. turing, calampuan island. |
During our entire stay there are no other groups but us. We had the snorkeling sites, islands and the sandbar all to ourselves. Most of the islands remained untouched. No amenities. No accommodation. Not touristy. Commercialism has not taken place just yet in Dumaran. I hope it will stay as is in the years to come. But i'm sure that would only be a wishful thinking.
Interested in going to Dumaran, Palawan? Below contact numbers maybe of great help.
Joseph (van driver) - 09988686926
Pastor Leove (tourguide) - 09302610066
