Boracay is a small island in the Philippines located
approximately 315 km (196 mi) south of Manila and 2 km off the northwest tip of
Panay Island in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. Boracay Island
and its beaches have received awards from numerous travel publications and
agencies. The island comprises the barangays of Manoc-Manoc, Balabag, and Yapak
in the municipality of Malay, in Aklan Province. The island is administered by
the Philippine Tourism Authority and the provincial government of Aklan. Apart
from its white sand beaches, Boracay is also famous for being one of the
world's top destinations for relaxation. It is also emerging among the top
destinations for tranquility and nightlife.
oracay was originally home to the Ati tribe. Boracay Island
was already an inhabited place before the Spaniards came to the Philippines. It
was known to the Iberian conquerors as Buracay. At the time of contact with the
Europeans, Buracay had a population of one hundred people, who cultivated rice
on the island and augmented their income by raising goats.
Boracay Island is located off the northwest corner of Panay
Island, and belongs to the Western Visayas island-group, or Region VI, of the
Philippines. The island is approximately seven kilometers long, dog-bone shaped
with the narrowest spot being less than one kilometer wide, and has a total
land area of 10.32 square kilometers.
South-facing Cagban Beach is located across a small strait
from the jetty port at Caticlan on Panay island, and the Cagban jetty port
serves as Boracay's main entry and exit point during most of the year. When
wind and sea conditions dictate, east-facing Tambisaan Beach serves as an alternative
entry and exit point. Boracay's two primary tourism beaches, White Beach and
Bulabog Beach, are located on opposite sides of the island's narrow central
area. White Beach faces westward and Bulabog Beach faces eastward. The island
also has several other beaches.
White Beach, the main tourism beach, is about four
kilometers long and is lined with resorts, hotels, lodging houses, restaurants,
and other tourism-related businesses. In the central portion, for about two
kilometers, there is a footpath known as the Beachfront Path separating the
beach itself from the establishments located along it. North and south of the
Beachfront Path, beachfront establishments do literally front along the beach
itself. Several roads and paths connect the Beachfront Path with Boracay's Main
Road, a vehicular road which runs the length of the island. At the extreme
northern end of White Beach, a footpath runs around the headland there and
connects White Beach with Diniwid Beach.
Bulabog Beach, across the island from White Beach, is the
second most popular tourism beach on the island and Boracay's main windsurfing
and kiteboarding area.
Boracay is divided for land use and conservation purposes
into 400 hectares of preserved forestland and 628.96 hectares of agricultural
land.
