Vote for Palawan Underground River for 7 New Wonders of Nature

With barely two days to go before the declaration of the world’s Seven New Wonders of Nature, the Philippines’ Puerto Princesa Underground River is now one of the top 10 picks by the global voting community, giving the country’s lone nominee a better chance to become one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature.

Switzerland-based New7Wonders Foundation (N7W) said the top 10 “fascinating” choices at the moment are (in alphabetical order) the Dead Sea (Israel/Jordan/ Palestine), Grand Canyon (United States), Great Barrier Reef (Australia/ Papua New Guinea), Halong Bay (Vietnam), Jeita Grotto (Lebanon), Jeju Island (South Korea), Komodo Island (Indonesia), Puerto Princesa Underground River (Philippines), Sundarbans (Bangladesh/India), and Vesuvius (Italy).

“Clearly Asian finalists are strong at this stage, reflecting the way the world is evolving east, and at the same time I know the actual top seven will change in the coming days,” N7W President and Founder Bernard Weber said.

However, the N7W said the voting community should continue sending in those votes for their favorite sites because the rankings could still change as the global campaign enters its final days.

“In our first campaign for the man-made wonders of the world, many changes took place in the final week and days so the top 10 we have announced today will certainly change,” N7W head of communication Eamonn Fitzgerald said.

“With millions of votes still set to come in, finalists who are not in today's top 10 could yet make it into the chosen seven,” Fitzgerald added.

Voting for the Puerto Princesa Underground River is done through the N7W website at new7wonders.com or through SMS by texting PPUR to 2861.

The first count indicating the provisional voting result will be announced at 7:07 p.m. GMT (3 a.m. Philippine time) in November 11, 2011 on new7wonders.com.

“We remain excited and intrigued to see who will emerge as the provisional New7Wonders of Nature on 11/11/11,” Weber said.

The Underground River, also known as the Subterranean River Natural Park, located in Palawan is the only Philippine entry that qualified in the four-year global search.

It features a limestone karst mountain landscape with an 8.2 kilometer navigable underground river that winds through a cave before flowing directly into the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

It also includes major formations of stalactites and stalagmites, and several large chambers, and is known as the longest passable underground river in the world.

From more than 440 participating locations from over 220 countries in 2007, the Underground River was chosen as one of the 28 finalists to be advancing its way for the final voting to determine the Seven New Wonders of Nature.

The country's national nominees that were not chosen were Tubbataha Reef (Palawan), Chocolate Hills (Bohol), Mayon Volcano (Albay), Hundred Islands National Park (Pangasinan), Mount Pinatubo (Zambales), and Taal Volcano (Batangas).