Gawad Kalinga Lodge & Restaurant at El Nido, Palawan, Philippines

• How much did I spend there?
• Contact Details
• Restaurant Menu
• Accommodation Details
• How to get there
• How to get out of there

It was a quiet morning of October 7, 2013 and I had totally nothing to do. In my pursuit to disrupt my unproductive day I decided to go around the town of El Nido and just keep walking. When I got to El Nido Corner that’s when I remembered a promise that I made to a staff of a restaurant near the cemetery. A promised for me to go back there during the day to take pictures of their place.

I continued my walk until I reach the community of Gawad Kalinga. You may know Gawad Kalinga for their housing & livelihood projects but this one was unique from what I saw of the other projects they had. This livelihood project was molded to El Nido being a prime tourist spot.

So I continued my walk on the peddy road on the side of a cliff, past Makulay Lodge and the Cementery and finally I arrived in Gawad Kalinga after 5 minutes of walking from El Nido Corner.

I got there around 11:16 AM. I walked directly to the restaurant to order immediately as the last time when we were there it took a while for our orders to be served. But there was no one in the restaurant. So I walked to the beach front to see the unobstructed view of Cadlao Island. That’s when I saw two people doing some construction work near their lodge. I approached them and asked if their restaurant was open, they told me that it was and they would just call their chief cook.

When their chief cook arrived, I ordered for a Garlic and Butter Shrimp for 250 Pesos/plate which includes rice.

While waiting for the food to be cooked, I talked to the lady that was managing the restaurant and got to know how this business venture came into fruition and how the community is involved through it. I’m glad they had a project like this.

I also asked about the details of their accommodation and got it. (I’ll post it below)

And when the food arrived at 11:49 AM I was really hungry and the food was tasty. I decided to eat Pinoy-style by using only my hands since we were all Filipino there.

While eating I got to talk to the person who called their chief cook, he also helped inside their kitchen, he told me about this beach that I could get to by just walking along the beach and through some walk-ways. It seemed really far but the farther it is the more it got my interest. He said that I would be able to reach El Nido Airport by just walking along that path.

After he said those words, there were 3 European ladies and a Pinoy who went to the restaurant. Apparently, they came from El Nido Airport and got there by just walking! Coincidence!

When they arrived, my modesty also arrived so I washed my hands and picked up the spoon and fork. And I was really enjoying eating with my hands.

After a lot of friendly chat of getting to know them, they went ahead as they wanted a good rest since they were walking for about more than 2 hours already.

As for me, I paid for my food and drinks and started walking back to the town proper.

How much did I spend there?

250 Pesos – Garlic and Butter Shrimp with Rice
50 Pesos – 1 Liter Bottle of Water
——————
300 Pesos – TOTAL

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Gawad Kalinga Lodge & Restaurant

Contact Details

• 0919-220-7208
• 0927-826-7236

Restaurant Menu

Accommodation Details

1,000 Pesos/room/night for 3 persons
+ 300 Pesos/person/night for additional person

Fan Room with Private CR.

Prices & details may change without prior notice.

How to get there

From the Town Proper of El Nido, go to the beach and walk up to El Nido Corner. There’s a pathway along the contour of the cliff, walk on that pathway. You’ll be passing by Makulay Lodge and the cementery.

When you get passed the cementery you’ll see the Gawad Kalinga arc sign. That’s where the Gawad Kalinga Lodge & Restaurant is.

For added thrill go there at night. Don’t forget to bring your flash light. 🙂

How to get out of there

Just walked back the way you came.

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