Google on Sunday, June 30, 2019 put a special doodle celebrating the 7th anniversary of the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park (PPSRNP) making the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance.
The doodle featured the entrance of the famous natural wonder, one of the world’s longest underground waterways.
The Underground River made it to the New 7 Wonders of Nature in 2011. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The June 30 doodle celebrates the PPSRNP, a UNESCO World Heritage Site protected by the Ramsar Convention on June 30, 2012.
Ramsar designated PPSRNP as “unique in the biogeographic region because it connects a range of important ecosystems from the mountain-to-the-sea, including a limestone karst landscape with a complex cave system, mangrove forests, lowland evergreen tropical rainforests, and freshwater swamps.”
“The river is one of the world’s longest underground waterways at 8.2-kilometers (5.1-miles)—and one of the few that flows into the sea, creating the largest subterranean estuary in the world. Small boats carry sightseers underground to marvel at dramatic stalactite and stalagmite formations,” Google said.
The city government appreciated the effort to further promote PPSRNP.
“This is astounding! Google taking effort to promote us.!! This is a notable support for Puerto Princesa City,” said Atty. Carlo B. Gomez, City Environment and Natural Resources Officer.
PPSRNP, Puerto Princesa’s premier tourist destination, limits its daily visitors to 1,000 individuals based on the carrying capacity of the river in order to preserve its ecological balance.
One of the main draws is a cavern called “the cathedral,” which features rock formations resembling the statue of the Virgin Mary, the Holy Family, an angel and a giant melting candle.
Another is an area that has been dubbed “the market” because its formations resemble fruits and vegetables.
PPSRNP management said that there are 342,280 domestic and foreign tourists who visited the river as of December 31, 2018 compared that of only 299,000 in 2017.
The City Tourism Office reported that there is a 20 percent growth in city’s tourism arrivals in 2018.