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El Nido is a
municipality located at the northwestern tip of the province of Palawan in the
Philippines. It is about 430 kilometers southwest of Manila, and about 238
kilometers northwest of Puerto Princesa, Palawan’s capital. El Nido is bordered
by the Linapacan Strait in the north, the Sulu Sea in the east, and the South
China Sea in the west. The
Municipality of El Nido is composed of 18 barangays (villages) covering a total
land area of 50,000 hectares. Its population of 27,000 people, is a mix of
native Palaweños, with a heavy presence of migrants from other parts of the
Philippines.
El Nido is
named after the edible nests of Swiftlets (Collocalia Fuciphaga) found in the
crevices of its limestone cliffs. These nests, “nido” in Spanish, are the main
ingredient for the gourmet nido soup.El Nido is
considered as a showcase of Palawan’s geology and diverse wildlife. Its majestic
limestone cliffs stand guard over clear waters, with hundreds of species of
tropical fishes and corals, and three species of endangered sea turtles. El
Nido’s forests are host to more than 100 species of birds, a large number of
which are endemic to Palawan.
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