A tropical paradise that’s an hour by air from Manila

One hour by air southwest of Manila can be found what The Hufftington Post’s Carly Ledbetter describes as the “most beautiful island in the world.”

She gushes about its “sheer perfection,” for no other single tropical destination offers as much awe-inspiring natural beauty, adventure, fun, and yes, the sun, sea and sand, as Palawan.

Boracay? It’s about the beach, the strip.

Ha Long Bay in Vietnam? It beckons with its1,000-plus limestone karsts out on the bay, a thing of beauty in summer time.

Palawan? It is an array of destinations. Beaches, pristine lagoons hidden on mountaintops, hike trails, dive sites, fine beaches glinting with sunlight, and yes, those limestone cliffs that arise like sentinels from the serene, timeless sea in Coron.

The morning sun reveals the cliffs’ slate gray or brown tops and heavily lined faces, sprinkled with the green of trees that somehow have harpooned their roots into the crevices, their long wind-whipped grotesquely shaped stems reaching for the sun like bony hands raised in supplication.

An island-hopping tour around the bay takes the traveler to the limestone cliffs and the sacred lagoons of the Tagbanuas. Or to a stretch of fine white beach, unspoiled by the rampant feet of a thousand tourists, where one can lie lazily, one’s mind just drifting and ears occasionally rising to the occasional rustle of the wind through the nearby trees and the chirping of birds building their nests.

For the braver souls and more adventurous type, head into the water and go below the surface. Coron has some of the best spots to scuba dive in the world — barracuda-filled WW II-era Japanese shipwrecks, for example, line the bottom of Coron Bay.

Or have a day and a night in El Nido, sipping wine under a canopy of a billion stars and a crescent moon, without being drawn time and again to a timeless place that helps heal the body and mind.

No one goes to El Nido or Coron and not be stirred by their sheer physical beauty. “It’s hard to believe that there are islands this beautiful,” Ledbetter writes, and calls the Philippines “a much under-appreciated tropical travel destination”.

In particular Palawan, “a hidden piece of paradise,” she writes.“There, beautiful blue water mixes with emerald green, jungle-filled mountains that appear to rise up from the ocean, and small fishing villages dot the island.”

She adds, “Incredible (and rare) wildlife can be found on the islands, from purple crabs and mouse deer to pangolin and butterflies.”

If you’re there for just a short time, try a tour of the Puerto Princesa Underground River, which UNESCO calls “one of the most unique” in the world.

Or just enjoy city’s culinary delights.

Palawan was recently named “The Top Island in the World” by Conde Nast Traveler’s Reader Choice Awards.