We leave the hotel at 8am this morning as we’re off to visit the famous underground river. We’re joining a group tour so our van needs to pick up a number of guests before starting the 1.5-2 hour drive to Sebang.
On arrival our guide informs us that we’re need to take a boat across the bay and then transfer to a smaller boat to visit the underground river. There are 14 in our group and we are split 8 / 6 and directed to our boats. We don life jackets and settle in for the 20 minute boat transfer.
We transfer to a smaller boat and don hard hats.
We’re also equipped with life jackets and audio guides, which are a requirement to enter the Underground River. The entrance to the cave is surrounded by dense jungle and monkeys straight out of Fagins Den ready to pilfer anything we have. We’re advised not to make eye contact with them.and definitely not take their photos!!
As we glide into the darkness, a cool breeze greets us, and the sound of dripping water echos around the cavern. Inside the cave, we are treated to stunning limestone formations sculpted over millions of years. Stalactites and stalagmites of varying shapes and sizes create a surreal atmosphere. Our guide points out formations that resemble animals, people, and even religious iconography it’s quite a stunning work of nature.
The Underground River stretches for about 8.2 kilometers, making it one of the longest navigable underground rivers in the world. The section we explore spand approximately 1.5 kilometers. It’s eerily silent other than the dipping of paddles into the water, throughout our journey through the river as all visitors are requested not to speak as we risk disturbing the navigation of the resident bats. The only lights we see are those of the headtorches of the boatman. It’s a very tranquil experience.
We emerge from the cave back into the daylight disembark our boat and walk to our larger boat for our return trip for lunch ch. En route Brownie spots a Monitor Lizard and I get closer to take a photo.
We return to the boat and make our way our way back to Sebang for lunch with about 100 other people. Fed and rehydrated we return to the van and make our way back to our hotel. A swim is in order and we decline cocktails this time around.
We eat dinner in the hotel and retire to bed. We on the move tomorrow for our final in the Philippines 🇵đź‡
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