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Quezon, South Central

Tabon Caves

The Tabon Caves sit at Lipuun Point near Quezon town, a limestone headland riddled with roughly 218 caves, of which some 38 have archaeological or anthropological importance.

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Forested limestone cliff of Lipuun Point with cave openings and moored boats at the Tabon Caves shoreline
Photo: Alexcooper1, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

In 1962, National Museum archaeologist Robert Fox found a human skullcap here later dated to about 16,500 years old, along with a leg-bone fragment dated to roughly 47,000 years, the oldest known human remains in the Philippines. The site is often called the country's cradle of civilization for the depth and span of its jar-burial and habitation record.

Only Tabon Cave itself, the largest and most accessible of the complex, is generally open to visitors, reached by a boat crossing from Quezon town followed by a walk up to the cave mouth; a site museum at Lipuun Point explains the wider excavations.

Nearby

Distant view of Mt. Mantalingahan's ridge rising over forested lowlands
Mt. Mantalingahan Protected LandscapeRizal, Mountains and waterfallsPhoto: Alastair Robinson, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
Sources (3)Last checked 21 Oct 2026
  • Coordinates 9°16'48"N 117°58'53"E, at Lipuun Point, Barangay Panitian, Quezon, Palawan; complex has roughly 218 caves, about 38 of archaeological importanceTabon CavesAccessed 21 Oct 2026
  • Tabon skullcap found in 1962 by Robert Fox, dated to about 16,500 years old; a leg-bone fragment dated to about 47,000 years, the oldest known Homo sapiens remains in the PhilippinesTabon ManAccessed 21 Oct 2026
  • Site managed by the National Museum of the Philippines, with a site museum at Lipuun Point reached by boat from Quezon townTabon Cave ComplexAccessed 21 Oct 2026