Filipinos have something to be proud again after the official announcement that the Philippine's Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR) is among the World's New7Wonders of Nature. Earlier, the PPUR was also included as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco). Bernard Weber, the president of the New7Wonders based in Zurich (Switzerland) made the announcement in a press conference last Saturday.
The PPUR and South Korea's Jeju Island have been validated and proclaimed while the Amazon (South America), Halong Bay (Vietnam), Iguazu Falls (Argentina), Komodo (Indonesia), and Table Mountain (South Africa) are still being tabulated and verified.
The quest for the New7Wonders of Nature began in 2007 with 220 countries sending in around 440 entries. Initially, the votes were for the top 77 and was narrowed down to the shortlist of the top 28 then to the provisional 7.
One person who played an important role for the success of this extraordinary endeavor is President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III. His issuance of Presidential Proclamation No. 182 in 2011 that calls for a promotional campaign for the PPUR was a tremendous success. Filipinos heeded his call! One tv news I watched mentioned that there were more than 20 million Filipinos who voted for the inclusion of the PPUR.
The Puerto Princesa Underground River is the longest navigable underground river in the World and is located some 50km north of the city of Puerto Princesa, Palawan. It consists of a limestone karst mountain landscape, several large chambers containing significant formations of stalactites and stalagmites, and an 8.2 km. navigable underground river that winds through a cave before flowing directly into the West Philippine Sea. At the exit, a flawless lagoon is framed by ancient trees growing right to the water’s edge.
The photo above is borrowed from the New7Wonders of Nature website. Click here to see the site.
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