Palawan's very own bat cave: 15-07-2008
Travellers visiting the beautiful Palawan islands in the Philippines are enjoying a unique travel experience by boating down an underground river, which is home to over 40,000 bats.
The Puerto Princesa River, the longest underground river in the world, is eight kilometres long, although tourists will normally only be taken around 1.5 kilometres in unless they slip the boatman a few extra pesos, according to James Ellis of The Metro.
The caverns contain stunning rock formations, some said to look like naked ladies, old men and giant candles, but the highlight is the 65 meter high chamber dubbed the Cathedral Cave.
The journey to and from the caves is equally as exciting, taking in an 81 kilometre jeep journey, much of which made on a dirt track through beautiful scenery, before a 20 minute boat journey to a cove, once used by pirates, occupied now only by large monitor lizards basking in the sun.
The caves are a World Heritage Site and part of a national park.
Palawan, a group of 1,768 islands, is also famed for its many beautiful and secluded beaches.