Wow Philippines Series: Tabon Cave & Natural and Cultural Heritage Museum of Palawan

In the morning of Friday, our visit to the local government of Quezon, Palawan marked the end of our work in the province. In the afternoon, Mayor Ronilo Caputilla of the municipality of Quezon, entertained our group by showing us their museum and the famous Tabon cave complex.

Natural and Cultural Heritage Museum of Palawan

See the third & fourth picture in the first row? That's the stuff you will find in our 1000 peso bill. That is the manuggul jar found in Tabon Cave. This burial jar has a cover which features two men rowing a boat, suggesting the belief of the early Filipinos in an afterlife that one reaches after crossing a mythical body of water. It is dated to as early as 710 - 890 B.C. The Manunggul jar was declared a National Treasure of the country.

Tabon Cave Complex

The Tabon cave complex is located on Lipuun Point, Quezon, Palawan . It is a 138-hectares, of rugged cliffs and deep slopes, discovered by Dr. Robert B. Fox and his team of Archaeologist from the National Museum in 1962. The discovery of the caves have yielded important Archaeological find - Fossil human bones tentatively dated from 22,000 to 24,000 years ago. Of the 200 caves found in Lipuun Point only 29 caves were fully explored, including Tabon Cave, which were found to been used for habitation and/or burial sites by ancient people.

Our very tiring but fascinating journey to Tabon Cave.

Tabon Cave was declared a Museum Reservation Site by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 996 in 1972 by the Philippine Government. Out of the 29 explored caves, only three caves are available or open for the visitors. The Tabon cave complex is currently being maintained and managed by the National Museum.

Suggestions: Wear rubber shoes or a comfortable footwear because some parts of the cave are slippery at dadaan ka sa matatarik na hagdanan paakyat. Also, make it your first stop, if you're planning to see other tourist spots in the province kase kung pagod kana, di mo na maaakyat ang lahat ng caves, just like what happened to us. It really requires a lot of energy para akyatin ang matatarik at matataas na hagdan at slopes. And if you're afraid of heights, just like me, di mo maeenjoy ang pagakyat. Hehe.