Palawan's beaches, mountains, rainforests, islands and diving spots are among the country's most popular tourist destinations. 

 

 The island has had a Biosphere Reserve status since the early 1990s which has served local interest in conservation and sustainable development.

 

Renowned underwater explorer Jacques Cousteau has described the province as having one of the most beautiful seascapes in the world.  
 

Caril Ridley, founder of Palawan Environmental and Marine Studies Center (PEMS) says the islands of northern Palawan are destined to become a future destination for Asia's growing economic and environmental tourism. 

 

 

 

PALAWAN'S INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

 

Palawan is home to several indigenous ethnolinguistic groups namely, the Kagayanen, Tagbanwa, Palawano, Taaw't Bato, Molbog and the Batak tribes.

They live in remote villages in the mountains and coastal areas.

 

It is believed that their ancestors occupied the province long before Malay settlers from the Majapahit Empire of Indonesia arrived in these islands in the later 12th or 13th centuries. 

 

In 1962, a team of anthropologists from the National Museum unearthed fossils at Lipuun Point(now known as the Tabon Cave Complex) in Quezon town that were classified as those of Homo sapiens and believed to be 22,000 to 24,000 years old. 

 

The recovery of the Tabon Man and other significant findings in the area earned for Palawan the title, "the Cradle of Philippine Civilization."