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Tourism has arrived on the tiny island of Boracay with a vengeance. Where you could once only get catch of the day and local rum you can now sit in marbled luxury with chateaubriand and Cuban cigars. The rapid increase in the number of upmarket resorts has crushed some of the island's free-and-easy spirit, but the beach is still the best in the Philippines and the sunsets alone are worth the journey. Thirty kilometres square and shaped like a dumbbell, Boracay lies at the northwestern tip of Panay Island, 350km south of Manila. It may be only 7km long and 1km wide at its narrowest point, but it's a big tropical island in a small package, with thirty beaches and coves. The most famous is White beach , on the island's western shore: 4km of the kind of powder white sand that you thought only existed in Martini adverts. In fact, the word Boracay is said to have come from the local word borac, meaning cotton, a reference to the sand's colour and texture. One of the most popular activities in Boracay is doing nothing. Another is sitting on the beach at dusk watching the sun drift towards the horizon, or having an outdoor massage from one of the roaming beach masseuses. You can also go horse riding, rent mountain bikes, motorcycles, kayaks, or go scuba diving with one of the many dive operators. There are 24 official dive sites in and around the island, and because of the calm waters near the shore - although it can get very rough during the rainy season - it's a good place to learn. Other beaches worth exploring include Puka beach on the north coast, which is famous for shiny white Puka shells. The best way to get there is to hire a banca from local boatmen on White Beach for half a day (P500) per group. To the north of White Beach sits the little village of Din-iwid with its 200-metre beach, accessible from White Beach on a path carved out of the cliffs. At the end of a steep path over the next hill is the tiny Balinghai beach , enclosed by walls of rock. On the northeast side of the island Ilig-Iligan beach has coves and caves, as well as jungle full of fruit bats.
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