I went to Coron to attend a seminar.
I really didn't know what to expect from the place but I have read that Coron Island is one of Palawan's Pride.
Palawan is now in history because in the first count of votes last 11-11-11, the Puerto Princesa Underground River is now included in the new Seven Wonders of Nature. Although, the final results will still be in 2012.
from Wikipedia:
Palawan is an island province of the Philippines located in the MIMAROPA region or Region 4. Its capital is Puerto Princesa City, and it is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of jurisdiction. The islands of Palawan stretch from Mindoro in the northeast to Borneo in the southwest. It lies between theSouth China Sea and the Sulu Sea. The province is named after its largest island, Palawan Island (09°30′N 118°30′E), measuring 450 kilometres (280 mi) long, and 50 kilometres (31 mi) wide.[3][4]
Palawan is composed of the long and narrow Palawan Island, plus a number of other smaller islands surrounding the main island. The Calamianes Group of Islands, to the northeast consists of Busuanga Island, Culion Island, and Coron Island. Durangan Island almost touches the westernmost part of Palawan Island, while Balabac Island is located off the southern tip, separated from Borneo by the Balabac Strait. In addition, Palawan covers the Cuyo Islands in theSulu Sea. The disputed Spratly Islands, located a few hundred kilometres to the west is considered part of Palawan by the Philippines, and is locally called theKalayaan Group of Islands.
Coron Island and Busuanga Island are located in the northern part of Palawan and included in the Calamianes group of islands
from Wikipedia:
The Calamian is a group of islands in the Philippine province of Palawan. It includes:
- Busuanga Island
- Coron Island
- Culion Island
- Calauit Island
- several minor islands.
Historically, the Calamianes was site of the Spanish politico-militar Provincia de Calamianes. Spain later purchased mainland Paragua from the Sultan of Borneo. During the American occupation (1898-1948), the old Provincia de Calamianes was dissolved and jointly administered with the Island of Paragua as the new Province of Palawan.
During the American occupation and up until recently, Culion Island was host to a Leper Colony. Busuanga Island hosts the largest city, Coron, in the Calamian Islands. Coron Island is known for having the cleanest inland body of water in the Philippines, called Kayangan Lake. Calauit Island is known for hosting a number of endangered African animal species. Finally, one of the world's best diving spots, with beautiful coral reefs and sunken World War II Japanese shipwrecks, also lies within the waters of these islands.
Some of the finest beaches, islands and tourist spots in the Philippines are found in this island group.
Because this is a group of islands, I would like to share some aerial views taken while I was on the plane to and from Busuanga.
No, not by chopper this time... but this would have been a better way!
These are the islands when we were on our way to Busuanga.
These are the images we saw as we left Busuanga Island.
These are the individual islands I saw with white sandy beaches surrounded by pristine azure waters.
I couldn't identify them but I just loved looking at them.
From afar, we could already see how beautiful, how scenic and how enchanting the Calamianes group of Islands is!
