When one heads to “Coron”, oddly, one lands on the island of Busuanga on a large cattle farm, then you head to Coron town some 30-40 minutes away, but still on the island of Busuanga. From the port of Coron town, you look across at an amazing island, known officially as Coron island. Coron town is not on Coron island. And to make things a bit more confusing, locals refer to Coron island as Higantes or Punta Higantes. Now look at the photo above, can you make out the face and upper body of a sleeping giant? Hence the local name of the island…
Here, in the early morning light, is a more panoramic view of Coron island, and if you have a reasonable imagination, you can make out the silhouette of a sleeping giant from the stunning conglomeration of limestone cliffs/hills/formations. It is an impressive sight from afar.
Another view of the island from a boat when we were heading back to the town of Coron. This one taken at mid-morning.
Bancas at the port all lined up waiting to take tourists to Coron Island…
Here are some earlier posts on visits to this part of Palawan:
Marketman’s Busuanga/Coron/Culion Adventure
Prawns for Breakfast
The Banca Ride to Culion Island
Culion Sanitarium, The Island (and Hospital) of No Return
Coron/Higantes Island
The Village Lodge, Coron
Marketman’s Bangkero in Coron/Culion
Bañol Beach, Coron Island
Shopping for a Fish Dinner, Coron Town Market
Seafood Lunch, Coron
Pulang Lupa, Culion Palawan
Big Fish, Tiny Rays
Footprints in the Sand
Dinner in a Seaside Nipa Hut on Stilts
Coron, The Third Time Around
13 Responses
Just to add…Coron Island is actually an ancestral domain of the Tagbanwa tribe. This means that that present Tagbanwas (and all their heirs) legally own the island and control every aspect of its management. They have a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Claim (CADC) covering 22,284 ha of ancestral land and waters. I was a part of a team that helped the Tagbanwas draft their Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development and Protection Plan (ADSDPP) and the initial design of their monitoring and evaluation programs way back in 2005.
The Philippines is surprisingly quite progressive (at least in the past decade or so) when it comes to respecting the rights of indigenous peoples. But, there’s still a lot of room for improvement. Capacity building and education are still needed to help IP leaders manage their ancestral domains and resources wisely, in the context of a continuously developing and changing society.
I want to go there!! I’ve been wanting go :( When is the best time to go? I will be in the P.I. Dec 2011. I hope to squeeze in the trip to Coron. haay!
@Nadia, it’s nice to hear that it still belong to the rightful owner of the island. Hope they preserve the island. In other countries they only open their beach in certain month to let nature repair what mankind has done to it during the time it is open. I just hope it doesn’t become another boracay!
Hi MM, have you install another tool or it was a safari checker. I accidentally double click the submit button and the second one prompt me that there is a duplicate comment. How cool is that !!!
Kung Spanish ‘yan dapat “Punta Gigantes” kasi parating silent ang “H” sa Spanish, as in always hehehehe ibalik ang Spanish sa school curriculum, at sa dami ng OFW mag lagay ng optional Arabic class, kasi po may 21 Spanish Speaking countries at mas madali sa dila natin tapos halos lahat ng OFW nasa Middle East, mas madali silang makakasurvive kung marunong silang mag Arabic at may mahigit ding 20 na bansa ang nagsasalita ng wikang Arabe (yata)
MM, A little boy who walked with us all the way to the top of the cross has also mentioned that the siete picados are the offspring of Higantes Island.
BTW thanks for referring Mang Fred, he was such a great guy. We had quite an adventure with him during our stay in Banana Island and Malcapuya. He even showed us to some secret beaches and nice snorkeling area for the kids. For all those planning on a trip to Coron, you can skip Banana Island — the service is awful.
wow! beautiful island.
we learn something everyday. Thanks, Nadia. that’s like the indigenous Hawaiians…
WHOA! it really does look like a sleeping giant! complete with bedside pillow (island) pa! would really love to visit this island before it gets too commercialized! :o
Bali Hai alias “Coron” is calling!!
Cool, will go to coron on the 28th. looks like I and my cousins will have lotsa fun under the sun. Well, I hope the sun will shine while we are there.
nice!
hi, marketman.
was looking at the links of your old coron/culion posts just now and was happy to see that you featured the museum at the old culion sanatorium. my friend, ricky punzalan (UP professor, museum/archives specialist & Phd student at UMich), was one of those responsible for putting up the museum (around 2001 or 2002). when we visited culion years ago, he showed me the hospital archives (which he was preserving/organizing thanks to a US grant). the hospital records dating back almost 100 years were all there–photos of patients, details of their illness, their background, etc. it’s a sad but fascinating record of several generations of stigma and suffering. today culion remains a beautiful place, and one of the few places i’ve visited where strangers are not ogled. i was told that this is because the people of culion are mostly descended from leprosy patients, and know how horrible it is to be stared at.
Hi would like to ask about renting a boat. I saw kasi sa internet na its 1500 ung standard kasama na ba dun ung tour guide or separate pa?