Palawan is variously cited as the Philippines' "last frontier," "the world's best-kept secret" and "a nature-lover's dream."

There's still some truth to all three claims.

Closer to Borneo than it is to the nation's capital, Manila, the more than 1,700 islands that constitute Palawan make it the largest (and least developed) province of the Philippines.

Until the 1970s, it was all but unknown to the majority of Filipinos. Those who did know about it largely regarded it as an uncivilized jungle wilderness and a convenient place to put people who were inconvenient.

Vietnamese boat people were impounded here, one island still is a leper colony, and Manila exported its criminals to prison farms confident that if they did escape they'd probably be eaten by salt-water crocodiles.

Then the logging companies arrived and Palawan Island itself, like so many Philippine islands, began to dance to the sound of the chain saw's snarling whine. In 1970, the Philippines had 70 percent tropical forest cover. Now it has, at best, 10 percent. During those years, Japan has not been short of disposable chopsticks and throwaway wooden boards for molding concrete.

As the largely Catholic population of the Philippines continued to grow, waves of "last frontier" settlers arrived from other, overpopulated islands and began slash-and-burn farming. The process involves chopping down forest, burning the bits, planting, growing, and then when the thin rain-forest soil is exhausted, moving on to slash and burn somewhere else.

"There was more smoke rising from Palawan than from Woodstock," was how one member of the Philippines Haribon conservation organization put it.

There still is. Flying in, you see plumes of smoke rising from here and there and over there and a bit further. But there are indications that things might be improving.

Puerto Princessa, Palawan's modest-size regional capital, claims to be the cleanest city in the Philippines. The authorities are clamping down on the wantonly destructive practices of dynamite and cyanide fishing that have destroyed so many of the coral reefs elsewhere in the Philippines.

And ecotourism is definitely the buzzword.

Despite the destructive onslaught of recent decades, Palawan still has all the archetypal props of a tropical paradise vacation: white sandy beaches, turquoise seas, corals, whispering palms and clement weather.

St. Paul Subterranean National Park, with its exquisite beaches, mangroves, lagoons and 8-km-long underground river, has received UNESCO World Heritage status. Understandably so. Taking a boat trip through its cathedral-like caverns while bats flit through the stalactites and the dark water ripples past is one Palawan must-do. Sharks and sea turtles have been observed in this subterranean wonderland.

Ecologically, Palawan is quite distinct from the rest of the country, sharing many species of plants and animals with Borneo. Indeed, it was originally part of the Borneo landmass before plate tectonics broke it loose. It is also home to many indigenous species, including the endangered Palawan peacock pheasant, which is the most beautiful (and, but of course, most elusive) of all pheasants.

While most Filipinos are of Malay origin, Palawan is, arguably, where humans first settled in the Philippines and as a result is ethnically very diverse.

Many thousands of years before Malays migrated north in the 12th century and started colonizing the 7,400 islands that make up what is now the Philippines archipelago, Homo sapiens were busy at work in the Tabon cave complex. Remains estimated to be 24,000 years old have been unearthed here and nicknamed "Tabon Man."

Indeed, until very recently the indigenous Taot Batu (literally "people of the rock") lived a Stone-Age life here virtually unchanged from that of Tabon Man. Even now they spend much of the year in caves and have very little contact with the outside world. Tourist contact with the Taot Batu is not encouraged.

Other indigenous tribes include the Tagbanua, Pala'wan and the Bataks. Some wear T-shirts, some wear loin cloths. Most still live very close to nature. The Palawan Provincial Information Office informed us that "they are familiar with certain concepts of the market system such as wage, labor and money." This said, we didn't see any of them working in the banks at Puerto Princessa, or calling their brokers in London to fret about oil prices.

Their religious beliefs remain animist and their cultures are still precariously intact despite the capitalist incursions of the late 20th century.

Various community tourism initiatives have been developed and the Haribon Foundation for the Conservation of Natural Resources can organize guides to visit Batak communities. Unlike overly-commercialized visits to hill tribes in Thailand, which are frequently disruptive to local cultures and ways of life, the Haribon treks are designed to be low-impact. Visitors to Batak communities are offered the chance to learn how the people extract a living from the forests, how they hunt and gather rattan, wild honey and resin from the almaciga trees.

Haribon will also organize expeditions into the rain forest.

Accommodation on Palawan Island ranges from the upscale and gorgeous resort of El Nido, with its soaring sea cliffs and spotless beaches, to more modest Gilligans Island-style beach lodges and cabins. Some villages have organized communally run guest houses and share the profits. Most of the outlying Palawan islands have no tourist infrastructure whatsoever.

Transport on Palawan proper is provided by the ubiquitous and gaudily decorated Philippines jeepneys (expect to travel on the roof -- these things are seriously overcrowded) and by bangka boats that shuttle passengers along the coast, through the mangroves and across to outlying islands.

While snorkeling and diving off Palawan is good, particularly at El Nido, it is truly extraordinary at the Tubataha reef in the Sulu Sea. Boat-based dive trips of several days duration to this world heritage site can be organized in Puerto Princessa.

The southern Philippines island of Mindanao is currently unsafe to visit due to the presence of Abu Sayyef rebels -- quasi-Islamic militants who kidnap foreigners. Palawan however is trouble free, hospitable and politically stable.