White Beach — four kilometres of powder sand that put the Philippines on the world map
Boracay is a small island in the central Philippines whose four-kilometre White Beach — fine white coral sand, calm turquoise water, gentle sunsets — became one of Southeast Asia's most celebrated beach destinations. The island was closed for a six-month rehabilitation in 2018 after President Duterte called it a cesspool; it reopened with tighter controls on sewage and construction. Station 1, at the northern end of White Beach, has the finest sand and the most upscale resorts; Stations 2 and 3 are more accessible and livelier. The eastern coast's Bulabog Beach has world-class kitesurfing and…
Boracay was inhabited by the Ati indigenous people before Spanish missionaries arrived in the 17th century. It remained almost completely undeveloped until the 1970s, when a few adventurous backpackers discovered White Beach and word spread through the hippie trail. The first guesthouses were nipa huts; electricity didn't arrive until the early 1990s. By the 2000s it had become the Philippines' most visited island, hosting millions of visitors annually — and the environmental damage that accumulated over decades prompted the dramatic 2018 shutdown and cleanup.