This part of the island, off the beaten path, has retained its authentisme, traditional lifestyle and exuberant nature. On the threshold of the country's largest protected natural park, Palawan Ecolodge in sitio Malakibay (Rizal Town) is an ecological and social project whose goal is a very small scale tourism in harmony with local life. You can book through airbnb :
https://www.airbnb.fr/rooms/52
26181
https://www.airbnb.fr/rooms/5237806
You have free access to : snorkle, fins, surfboards, bodyboards, sea kayaks and life jackets which allow you to play in the waves, go diving on coral reefs or explore the mangrove with its monkeys and colorful birds. The Amihan house has a large bedroom with a double bed and a mezzanine where can be installed one or two double beds with mosquito nets. Bathroom.
220V solar electricity. Beach beds and hammocks. Bath & beach towels, bed sheets and laundry service are included. The Habagat house has two bedrooms with double bed. One bedroom has a very large bed (2,20 m wide) made for jetlagged babies who wants to sleep with their parents. Bathroom.
12V solar electricity (light and cellphone charge)
Ice boxe. Amihan and Habagat houses are beachfront and separated by 90m of vegetation. In the middle you have the kid’s play house. We are close enough to the sea to have permanent light winds, cool nights and less insects. You will be greeted by Mommy Sally whose house is 80 meters back from your house. Mommy, well known for her kindness and generosity, was for ten years the "official" cook for festive meals in Rizal. She retired on the seashore and will have only you to take care. She will be assisted in her task by her grand-son Marvin and her neighbors. This happy team will guide you and satisfy your needs even if their english may be «colourful». All inclusive means three meals and an afternoon snack. A drink (beer or soda) per person per meal is included, additional drinks can be purchased. Unlimited coconut juice. Breakfast and snack consist of (on order) : coffee, tea, hot chocolate, cereals, pancakes (plain or with fruits), whole weat flour loaf bread or traditional "pan de sal", fresh fruit salad, eggs. Meals depends on the «catches of the day» delivered directly on the beach by fishermen and daily fresh market products. We will serve with every meal : vegetable salad with fresh palm vinegar and olive oil, fish or seafood (crab, shrimp, squid) and meat (barbecue, curry, adobo ...), fruits (mango, pineapple, banana, jackfruit ...) or a local cake (made of sticky rice or cassava, brown sugar and home made coconut milk). The water comes from our wells, filtered by a traditional charcoal system. We manually pump it into a tank without the use of a generator. Tap water is drinkable but we also provide you with purified water jerrycans. Ideal for lounging as for immersion in local life, Palawan Ecolodge is also a perfect place for water sports and mountain treks. Water sports
At high tide or low tide, swimming is perfect as there is only sand without stones or reefs in front of the houses and enough depth which is not always the case in Palawan. At both ends of the bay and especially on the north side, there is immense coral reefs with a wide variety of species that you can easily reach by kayak. At the north end of the beach you can go up a river for 300 meters before reaching a beautiful mangrove. You can explore the maze and land near the house of our friend Santi who is friends with a bunch of monkeys. Depending on the season you may have nice waves: A shorebreak on sandy bottom or bigger waves on the reefs. For kitesurfing or windsurfing, both Amihan and Habagat prevailing winds fit well and are side shore. The first waves outside the reef are safe with 2 meters of depth. Trekking
Palawan Ecolodge is at the entrance of Mount Mantalingahan Protected Landscape (the culminant point of Palawan), which won in 2013 the first national competition of protected areas. Although the specifications of the park plans to encourage ecotourism, it is still a very little visited area where new species of fauna and flora are still discovered. We can arrange for you the conservation fee (200 pesos) asked for those sites : Mt Mantalingahan, Tao't bato tribe, Mantayob falls, falls Turbong, Loran which range from few hours to several days expeditions. We are establishing partnership with the protected area administration to facilitate your visit and bring benefits to the local communities with a limited and respectful impact. And if you want to trek without a challenging expedition on the Mantalingahan there are also very nice walks around the house. You can for exemple reach the Rizal market with a 45mn walk along the sea, hiking small forested hills. The phone signal is good. You can get pre-paid internet with a local sim card available in Puerto Princesa (prefer Smart operator for our place)
Children from 0 to 3 years old are free of charge.
10% of the benefits will be used for community projects (building a community shelter with solar panels, open air screenings of educational films...) If you want to go on tour with one of the local folks (for fishing, planting or harvesting rice, meeting the monkeys in the mangrove) or if you want to have a treatment by the local healer, it is usual to give them directly a financial contribution. We can inform you of an order of price.
