Caticlan: the gateway to Boracay beach

The Caticlan pier, departure point for ferries to Boracay, bustles daily with tourists heading toward the famous island.

Just minutes by boat, Boracay's White Beach stretches four kilometers of fine white sand, considered among the world's finest beaches.

Continuing along the island, you reach Puka Beach, less crowded, named for the puka shells once abundant on its sand.

Toward evening, the sunset from Boracay's Station 1 remains one of the most photographed in the Philippines, with the entire sky turning orange over the Sulu Sea.

Boracay was temporarily closed to tourism for six months in 2018 by the Philippine government to allow for environmental restoration work after decades of uncontrolled tourist development, reopening with stricter regulations.

The fine white sand of Boracay is composed mainly of pulverized coral and shells accumulated over millennia, a factor that makes it unusually cool to the touch even under the tropical sun.