El Nido Palawan

Palawan El Nido is a perfect place for island hopping, kayaking, snorkeling and diving. It has 250 million year-old limestone cliffs, 888 species of fish, 4 archaeological sites, 45 islands and 2,645 hectares of mangrove.The limestone cliffs of El Nido were naturally carved out of extensive and thick layers of coralline deposits. They formed 250 million years ago in the shallow sea covering the area that North Vietnam and South China now occupy. These layers slowly rose from the sea as a result of the collision ofIndia and mainland China about 60 million years ago. El Nido is part of the Eurasian Plate, an entirely separate plate from the Philippine Mobile Belt to which the rest of the country belongs. A proof of this fact is that Palawan has no active volcanoes, unlike the rest of the Philippine archipelago. Another is that limestone cliffs similar to those in Palawan can be found in Ha Long Bay in Vietnam and Guilin in China, countries which are part of the Eurasian Plate. It is believed that Palawan was detached from mainland China some 40 million years ago. Palawan drifted southward and linked up with the rest of the Philippines around 15 million years ago. El Nido is composed of 45 islands and islets, each with its own unique features. Most of the islands have pockets and coves of fine white sand beaches, perfect for sunbathing and picnic lunches. Within some of the islands are ancient caves with fascinating dripstone formations. In other islands, limestone walls open up to lagoons. Weathering and erosion created and continue to shape these interesting geological formations.

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