With its fine beaches, crystalline waters, and largely unspoiled islands, and islets, El Nido in the northern region of Palawan is on everyone's bucket list.
But as El Nido's popularity grows, so does its tourist population. How do you promote a tourism ecosystem that's fun and full of activities, while being responsible and sustainable at the same time? Luckily, Lio Tourism Estate is one of the few properties in El Nido that has taken on that challenge.
Stay
Lio, an Ayala Land property that's managed by Ten Knots, currently has three properties that cater to different markets. Casa Kalaw (P7,000 per night) is a 42-room Filipino-themed beachfront hotel with a swimming pool that's primarily targeted at families and balikbayans.
The 20-room Balai Adlao (P6,000 per night) is marketed toward couples and young professionals who prefer a quiet place to stay.
Hotel Covo (Php 5,000) is geared toward millennials and backpackers.
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A fourth one, Seda Lio, is a 153-room hotel and is scheduled to be fully operational this year.
Bamboo Bike and Beachfront
Lio has a 4.2-kilometer-long beach which opens out into Bacuit Bay with its limestone islands and picturesque sunsets. You can explore the entire beachfront with Lio's bamboo bikes that are readily available at the base camp. It's also worth noting that Lio also has a 100-meter jetty port that you can bike or walk along.
PHOTO: JOHN PATRICK MENESES
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Support Local Art
Purchase handicrafts from the island's indigenous people or other art pieces by local Palawan artists, at Kalye Artisano. The art hub at Lio is the brainchild of Bea Zobel, Jr. and her daughter Paloma Urquijo Zobel, together with Tony Gonzales and Tess Pasola. It opened in January and features a Cogon House for the works of Palawan artists, a Rattan House for Manila-based artists, and a Bamboo House that can serve as an events venue or a gallery. Also soon-to-open at Kalye Artisano is the Rattan house flagship store of Piopio. Adjacent to the building are Josele (a Spanish-Filipino Fusion restaurant by Chele Gonzalez), Diwata (bar), and Kubo, a co-working and co-living space.
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PHOTO: JOHN PATRICK MENESES
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Eat, Drink, Shop, and Hop
Lio has a total of 21 retail outlets, 11 of which are already operational. The merchants are a combination of dining establishments, souvenir shops, spas, and booking centers for scuba-diving and island hopping tours. There are also a few establishments just outside Lio that are worth visiting, such as Tambok's, a roadside eatery that serves Bacolod cuisine and other Filipino favorites. It's only a five-minute ride away from Lio.
Indulge in Nature
Lio Tourism Estate was built following strict ecological footprints, and is a showcase of sustainable, and responsible tourism. Architectural guidelines such as no building beyond the height of a coconut tree and to only develop 55 percent of the land area (about 179 hectares) allow huge pockets of nature reserves and natural space to coexist with the estate's infrastructure. One of these is the Nature Path that connects the Lio basecamp to one of the outer roads. Guests can walk along this road that was carefully and responsibly built through a small chunk of forest, without cutting any of the large trees.
Go to Town
If you have time, the main town proper of El Nido is just a 25-minute ride from Lio. Like any regular town, it's bustling with commerce and has almost everything that will meet the needs of a typical tourist, such as restaurants and souvenir shops. The town is also home to the Canopy Walk where tourists can hike one of the limestone cliffs that surrounds the town.
Island Hopping Tours
Whether your starting point is Lio or the town proper, El Nido's main attraction are its island hopping activities. To the uninitiated, there are four primary tours to choose from. You can either go with a group or rent your own private boat. Here are short descriptions of each tour:
The first is is arguably the most popular of the four, and its main highlight is the kayaking activity in the small and big lagoons of Miniloc Island. Other stops include the Secret Lagoon, and as its namesake suggests, it is a small, shallow, and waist-deep lagoon enclosed in limestone cliffs and can only be accessed via an opening from the main beach. Shimizu Island features a beautiful strip of white sand beach, where lunch is usually served. The last stop of the tour is the coconut tree-lined Seven Commandos Beach, where tourists can spend the rest of the day (sunbathing or buying snacks from any of the merchants along the beach) before heading back to town.
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The second offering is a combination of exploring caves and beaches but a trip to its natural caves is what makes this tour distinct from the rest. Cathedral Cave is an open chamber at the center of the Pinasil Island, and as its name suggests, resembles the shape of a cathedral surrounded by karst cliffs. Cudugnon Cave, on the other hand, is a geological marvel with its stalactite and stalagmite rock formations, fascinating interiors, and elevated cavernous ceilings. Pinagbuyatan Island is one of El Nido's many snorkeling sites and is also famous for its coconut grove set atop a field of tall, green grass. Snake Island, on the other hand, is one of the most picturesque islands in El Nido with its beautiful sandbar that connects to the neighboring island. The tour ends with a stop on Entalula Island.
Another option includes going to the best beaches and snorkeling sites. The first stop of the tour is the peculiarly-shaped Dilumacad Island, more famously known as Helicopter Island, which has one of the finest sands in El Nido. Hidden Beach is a beautiful but shallow white sand beach that's nestled between two limestone cliffs. Secret Beach, like the Secret Lagoon, can only be accessed via a small opening, but instead of coming in from the beach, the opening is situated under the side of a cliff on open water, so a bit of swimming is required, especially during high tide where most of the entrance is submerged in water. Lunch is served at either Star Beach or Talisay Beach along the Tapiutan Straight, where the water is bluest, and clearest compared to the blue-green hue that dominates the rest of El Nido's waterscapes. Snorkeling is also done within the area of these beaches.
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If you want to go on your own, you can also arrange a private tour that will take you to beaches you can have have all to yourself, including the inland beaches and lagoons of Cadlao Island which include Ipil, Paradise, Bukal, Natnat, Pasandigan Beaches, and Cadlao Lagoon.
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