Boracay is an island of the Philippines located approximately 315 km (200 miles) south of Manila and 2 km off the

north

west tip of Panay Island in the Western Visayas region of the

Philippines. In 1990, it was voted by the BMW Tropical Beach Handbook as one of the best beaches in the world and again in 1996 by British publication TV Quick as the world's number one tropical beach.

The island comprises the barangays of Manoc-Manoc, Balabag, and Yapak (3 of the 17 barangays which make up the municipality of Malay), and is under the administrative control of the Philippine Tourism Authority in coordination with the Provincial Government of Aklan.

The island was originally home to the Ati tribe. Boracay is part of Aklan Province, which became an independent province on April 25, 1956.

Years ago, Boracay Island was an almost possessively guarded secret so that only a few knew of its existence. Tourism only began to develop in the 1970s,when, it is said, a foreign movie crew accidentally "discovered" this island paradise. Others maintain that it was the German traveler, 'Jens Peters' book, which included rave reviews of Boracay that changed the island’s pace from that of being a quiet secret to eventually being voted as having the best beach in the world. Whichever story is true, it was around this time that Boracay Island slowly ceased to be a private hangout for travelers.

In the 1980s, the island became popular with backpackers. Since then, Boracay has gradually become more and more a cosmopolitan tourism destination and, in the 21st century has become, one of the major tourist destinations in the Philippines.

The island roughly shaped like a dumb-bell, is 7 kilometers long and the narrowest spot is nearly 1 kilometer wide. Boracay Island, one hour flight time south of Manila, has more than 30 beaches and coves, among them the famous White Beach: Four kilometers of pure white sand beach, and rated among the world's best beaches by international publications. The water is shallow here, and its sand brighter and finer than most beaches in the archipelago. There are about 350 beach resorts with more than 2000 rooms to suit virtually everyone's taste. There is accommodation of all types and price categories.

Aside from a bevy of resorts, Boracay boasts of a diverse selection of restaurants, ranging from the native fast-food stalls to establishments that would satisfy even a gourmet. One can find bars, beer joints as well as discos with amazing light and sound equipments open until the latemorning hours. The White Beach may be the main attraction of Boracay, but there's much more, including watersports, beach volleyball, diving, snorkeling, motorbiking, mountainbiking, hiking, trekking, and even plain lazing around.

Boracay is also well known for its now very rare gleaming white puka shells, said to be the best in the world. For years puka shells were dug out of the beach at Yapak and then sold. It's already a fait accompli that large masses of land are soon going to be moved in the north of the island. The most important Philippine property developers, Ayala Land, FiI-Estate and Primetown Property Group have bought up 205 hectares of land. There they intend to build resorts and housing for the better off; construction on the obligatory golf course is already well under way. Not surprisingly, the culinary fare at Boracay is as diverse as thenationalities of its visitors. French, Australian, Belgian, German, Spanish and Thai--they're all here side by side the native cuisine. Lending ample support to this virtual rainbow of fruit shakes: from sweet yellow mango, green tart mango, to pineapple, coconut milk, cantaloupe and banana. Don't go home without a sip.