Palawan is the Philippine's last frontier. For once it's almost true. Tourism has yet to penetrate much long, sword-shaped to the southwest of Luzon, and travellers willing to take the rough with the smooth will find a Jurassic landscape of coves, beaches, lagoons and razor-sharp limestone cliffs that rise from crystal clear water. Nature is making its last stand in Palawan, with government officials in the provincial capital, Puerto Princesa, declaring war on litterers, loggers and dynamite fishermen.

Even in the less-populated areas - of which there are many - the battle for the environment is on. Palawan is made up of 1780 islands and islets, most of which have irregular coastlines that make excellent harbours. Thick forests covering these steeply sloped mountains assure adequate watersheds for rivers and streams. Many of the islands are surrounded by a coral shelf that acts an enormous feeding ground and nursery for marine life; it is sometimes said that Palawan's Tubbataha Reef is so ecologically important that if it dies, the Philippines will also die. The area's history can be traced back 22,000 years, as confirmed by the discovery of caveman remains in Quezon, southwest Palawan. Anthropologists believe these early inhabitants came from Borneo across a land bridge that connected the two.

There are several stories regarding the origin of the name Palawan. Some contend that it was derived from the Chinese words "pa lao yu" meaning "Land of the Beautiful Harbours". Popular belief, however, is that "Palawan" is corrupted form of the Spanish word "Paragua", because the main island is shaped like a closed umbrella.

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